Clifford Heflin
Military | Colonel | Commanding Officer, Pilot | 801st Bomb Group
CMDR of the 'Carpetbaggers' the first AF Special Forces Unit
Dist. Serv. Medal/Legion of Merit, DFC; Air Medal w/Oak Leaf Clusters
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Group
The 801st Bomb Group was established as part of the Eighth Air Force in late March 1944 to carry out 'Carpetbagger' missions. These were night missions over France and other parts of occupied Europes to support resistance forces by dropping in agents, supplies and leaflets. The B-24 Liberators flown by the Group were painted black to help the crews evade detection by enemy anti-aircraft postions. On 13 August 1944, the Group was redesignated as the 492nd Bomb Group.
Military | Colonel | Commanding Officer, Pilot | 801st Bomb Group
CMDR of the 'Carpetbaggers' the first AF Special Forces Unit
Dist. Serv. Medal/Legion of Merit, DFC; Air Medal w/Oak Leaf Clusters
Command
Squadron
Squadron
During early May 1944, General Peck, Commanding general of the 96th CBW, invited Colonel Shower, CO of the 467th BG, Colonel Isbell, CO of the 458th BG, and Colonel Pierce, CO of the 466th BG, to wing HQ at Horsham St. Faith. They were told that one of...
Squadron
Squadron
4 January 1944
801BG/406BS conducts the first CARPETBAGGER operation with B-17s. Number despatched, bundles dropped and location(s) in France not in available. source data. During World War II, Operation Carpetbagger was a general term used for the aerial resupply of...
6 January 1944
An unknown number of B-24s are despatched by 801BG/406BS on a night "CARPETBAGGER" operation to drop wepaons and supplies to French partisans.
7 January 1944
An unknown number of B-24s are despatched on a night "CARPETBAGGER" operation to drop weapons and supplies to French partisans.
5 February 1944
An unknown number of B-24s from 801BG/406BS are despatched on a night "CARPETBAGGER" operation to drop weapons and supplies to French partisans.
7 February 1944
An unknown number of B-24s are despatched on a night "CARPETBAGGER" operation to drop weapons and supplies to French partisans.
8 February 1944
An unknown number of B-24s are despatched from 801BG/406BS on a night "CARPETBAGGER" operation to drop weapons and supplies to French partisans.
10 February 1944
An unknown number of B-24s from 801BG/406BS are despatched on a night "CARPETBAGGER" operation to drop weapons and supplies to French parisans. There are no losses or claims.
29 February 1944
12 B-24s from 801BG/406BS are depatched on a night "CARPETBAGGER" operation to drop supplies to partisans in France. There are no losses, casualties or claims.
2 March 1944
A single B-24 attached to 100th Group RAF was despatched to provided Radar Counter Measures to an RAF night operation. The aircraft was shot down and Failed to Return (FTR) - 1KIA 7POW.
2 March 1944
A CARPETBAGGER mission is flown by B-24s from 801BG/406BS. Number despatched not included in source data. 1 aircraft Failed to Return (FTR) - 6KIA 6POW.
Station | Location | Date |
---|---|---|
Based | Harrington | 25 March 1944 |
Re-designated 492nd Bomb Group | Harrington | 13 August 1944 |
Military | Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade) | Tail Gunner | 490th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA). Member of Kline crew in B-24H Carpetbagger, #42-50386, which was shot down by ME 110 south of Paris at 0200hrs. T/O from Harrington, site of crash Les Trois Mares, Oise. MACR 6991.
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Pilot/Squadron Commander | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
Flew B-17 #42-37516. Dropped leaflets at night over enemy occupied territory. Col Aber's remains were found in May 2002 in the river Stour at Harwick. He was buried on 5/10/02 at Cambridge American Cemetery. The airplane was the Tondelayo. The 406th...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Pilot | 490th Bomb Group
Carl R Adams was killed on a training mission. His aircraft crashed near Eaton Socon in England. All 3 crewmen were killed.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 467th Bomb Group
Returned from operations and crash landed on a Carpetbagger mission in A/C 42-50584 on August 6/7, 1944.
Military | Tail Gunner | 492nd Bomb Group (Heavy)
Military | Engineer | 492nd Bomb Group (Heavy)
Military | Radio Operator | 492nd Bomb Group (Heavy)
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 492nd Bomb Group (Heavy)
Assigned to 492BG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 406BS, 801BG, 8AF USAAF. Survived crash landing at RAF Oulton in B-24 42-94775 18-Nov-44 Returned to Duty (RTD).
Awards: WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Pilot | 492nd Bomb Group (Heavy)
Military | Bombardier | 490th Bomb Group
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 18/9/43; Assigned 563BS/388BG Knettishall 7/10/43; Missing in Action Dessau 28/5/44 with Marquis Fjelsted, Co-pilot: Bill Hudson, Navigator: Herb Honlihan, Bombardier: Chester Tracewaki, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: John...
B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
Returned from operations and crash landed on Carpetbaggers mission on August 6/7, 1944.
B-24 Liberator
Shot down at Pressoir, France on 19 June 1944. All eight crewmen were Killed in Action (KIA).
B-24 Liberator
Crashed in a mid-air collision with Halifax V LL364 on 18 July 1944 near Marigny-l'Eglise. Both crews were killed in action.
None
Date | Contributor | Update |
---|---|---|
13 March 2015 15:29:44 | rossingtonj | Changes to type and mission associations |
Sources | ||
Type added. |
||
Date | Contributor | Update |
27 September 2014 18:42:46 | AAM | AAM ingest |
Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / The Mighty Eighth. A History of the Units, Men and Machines of the US 8th Air Force.' by Roger A. Freeman (1989). 'Air Force Combat Units of World War II' compiled by the Department of the US Air Force, edited by Maurice Maurer (1983). / Units in the UK from ETOUSA Station List, as transcribed by Lt. Col. Philip Grinton (US Army, Retired) and extracted by IWM; air division data from L.D. Underwood, based on the 8th Air Force Strength Report of 6th August 1944, as published in 'The 8th Air Force Yearbook' by Lt. Col. John H Woolnough (1980) |