448 Bomb Group
A memorial to the 448th. Bomb Group in the churchyard of St. Margaret and St. Remigius in Seething, Norfolk.
The 448th. Bombardment Group was organized on 6th. April 1943 and activated on 1st. May 1943 at Gowen Field, near Boise, Idaho were initial training was conducted. The initial training of the air crews took place in Florida. The entire group then moved to Wendover Field, Utah on 4th. July 1943 for the second phase of training, final training took place at Sioux City AAB, Iowa from 16th. September to early November 1943. The ground unit went to Camp Shanks, New York, and sailed on the Queen Elizabeth on the 23rd. November 1943, arriving on the River Clyde on the 29th. November 1943. The aircraft left Sioux City on 3rd. November 1943 for Herrington Field, Kansas. The aircraft flew to the UK via the southern ferry route from Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Belem, Dakar, and Marrakesh. Three aircraft were lost in route.
The 448th. BG was comprised of:
712th. Bombardment Squadron - Heavy
713th. Bombardment Squadron - Heavy
714th. Bombardment Squadron -Heavy
715th. Bombardment Squadron - Heavy
The group was stationed at USAAF Station 146 Seething, Norfolk from December 1943 to July 1945. The ground crews arrived in Seething by early December 1943 while the air crews arrived by 22nd. December 1943.
The groups Consolidated B-24 Liberators were part of the Allied bombing campaign against the Axis countries. Their first mission was on 22nd. December 1943 to Gacabruck, Germany.
The 448th. BG flew 262 missions, totalling 6,774 sorties, through to their last mission on 25th. April 1945. The total tonnage of bombs dropped was 15,272 tons. The group lost 350 men and 101 aircraft in action.
The group was redeployed back to the US during June and July 1945. The first of the aircraft departed the United Kingdom in mid June 1945. On 12th. June, B-24M Liberator, serial number 44-50695, code IG-S of the 713th. Bomb Squadron crashed on Goodman’s Cairn near Stranraer, Scotland. The aircraft was one a large number of B-24s which were to be returned by air to the United States following the end of the war in Europe. It’s crew were tasked with flying from Seething to Prestwick on the Ayrshire coast prior to continuing onwards across the Atlantic, they also had 10 passengers onboard. The crew had followed the west coast of England northward, after crossing the Solway made a series of turns to try and continue following the coastline. Shortly after this the aircraft struck Goodman’s Cairn and broke up across the entire width of the ridge. The wreck itself is reported to have lain undiscovered for some time, it was only after one of the survivors was found near the foot of the hill by a gamekeeper that the crash site was located.
Of the men on the aircraft, 17 died and three survived. Seven of the crew & passengers, including the pilot, Captain James G. Blank are buried at Cambridge American Cemetery, the remainder were returned to the USA.
The ground echelon sailed from Greenock, Scotland on the Queen Mary on 6th. July 1945, arriving in New York on the 11th. July 1945. Upon retuning home personnel were given 30 days R and R.
The group established at Sioux Falls AAF, South Dakota where it was trained as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit. On 6th. May 1946 the 715th. Bomb Squadron was re-assigned to the 509th. Bomb Group and was inactivated in 1965. The 448th. Bomb Group was officially inactivated on 4th. August 1946.
448 Bomb Group
A memorial to the 448th. Bomb Group in the churchyard of St. Margaret and St. Remigius in Seething, Norfolk.
The 448th. Bombardment Group was organized on 6th. April 1943 and activated on 1st. May 1943 at Gowen Field, near Boise, Idaho were initial training was conducted. The initial training of the air crews took place in Florida. The entire group then moved to Wendover Field, Utah on 4th. July 1943 for the second phase of training, final training took place at Sioux City AAB, Iowa from 16th. September to early November 1943. The ground unit went to Camp Shanks, New York, and sailed on the Queen Elizabeth on the 23rd. November 1943, arriving on the River Clyde on the 29th. November 1943. The aircraft left Sioux City on 3rd. November 1943 for Herrington Field, Kansas. The aircraft flew to the UK via the southern ferry route from Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Belem, Dakar, and Marrakesh. Three aircraft were lost in route.
The 448th. BG was comprised of:
712th. Bombardment Squadron - Heavy
713th. Bombardment Squadron - Heavy
714th. Bombardment Squadron -Heavy
715th. Bombardment Squadron - Heavy
The group was stationed at USAAF Station 146 Seething, Norfolk from December 1943 to July 1945. The ground crews arrived in Seething by early December 1943 while the air crews arrived by 22nd. December 1943.
The groups Consolidated B-24 Liberators were part of the Allied bombing campaign against the Axis countries. Their first mission was on 22nd. December 1943 to Gacabruck, Germany.
The 448th. BG flew 262 missions, totalling 6,774 sorties, through to their last mission on 25th. April 1945. The total tonnage of bombs dropped was 15,272 tons. The group lost 350 men and 101 aircraft in action.
The group was redeployed back to the US during June and July 1945. The first of the aircraft departed the United Kingdom in mid June 1945. On 12th. June, B-24M Liberator, serial number 44-50695, code IG-S of the 713th. Bomb Squadron crashed on Goodman’s Cairn near Stranraer, Scotland. The aircraft was one a large number of B-24s which were to be returned by air to the United States following the end of the war in Europe. It’s crew were tasked with flying from Seething to Prestwick on the Ayrshire coast prior to continuing onwards across the Atlantic, they also had 10 passengers onboard. The crew had followed the west coast of England northward, after crossing the Solway made a series of turns to try and continue following the coastline. Shortly after this the aircraft struck Goodman’s Cairn and broke up across the entire width of the ridge. The wreck itself is reported to have lain undiscovered for some time, it was only after one of the survivors was found near the foot of the hill by a gamekeeper that the crash site was located.
Of the men on the aircraft, 17 died and three survived. Seven of the crew & passengers, including the pilot, Captain James G. Blank are buried at Cambridge American Cemetery, the remainder were returned to the USA.
The ground echelon sailed from Greenock, Scotland on the Queen Mary on 6th. July 1945, arriving in New York on the 11th. July 1945. Upon retuning home personnel were given 30 days R and R.
The group established at Sioux Falls AAF, South Dakota where it was trained as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit. On 6th. May 1946 the 715th. Bomb Squadron was re-assigned to the 509th. Bomb Group and was inactivated in 1965. The 448th. Bomb Group was officially inactivated on 4th. August 1946.