History of the 389th BG
Training and Movement Overseas
The 389th Bombardment Group (BG) underwent intensive training at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, following its activation on November 19, 1942. Under the command of Colonel Jack W. Wood, the group honed its skills in flying the B-17 Flying Fortress and executing precision bombing techniques. After months of rigorous preparation, the 389th BG relocated to Biggs Field, Texas in February 1943, where further training exercises and unit cohesion activities took place.
In April, the group moved from Biggs Field to Lowry Field, just outside of Denver, Colorado. There the group honed their skills at cross-country flying to simulate missions, and this is also where the group received new B-24D's that they would take overseas to use in combat. These new B-24D's were some of the latest off of the production line at the Consolidated Aircraft plant in San Diego and included additional wing tip fuel tanks and the Sperry ball turret which improved their range and defensive firepower over previous versions.
In May 1943, the group was visited by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and shortly afterwards the group received orders for overseas deployment. They would soon begin of their journey to the European Theater of Operations. During that same period of time, Colonel Jack W. Wood became the new group commanding officer, replacing Col. Lancaster who had been experiencing health issues. The cadre of 389th BG's crews made their transatlantic crossing in early June 1943, making stops at Lincoln, Montreal, Bangor, Goose Bay, and Iceland before arriving at their new base at Hethel, England by mid-June. Other than a few crew chiefs and staff specialists, the ground crews and support units traveled separately by ship (Queen Elizabeth), leaving Camp Kilmer, NJ in June and arriving in England on July 6th.
Before the group could enter combat operations, they were ordered to pack up and fly to North Africa where they joined the 9th AF on temporary duty in support of the Allied invasion of Sicily and preparation for the upcoming mission against the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The group left on June 30th and arrived at a base in the desert near Bengasi, Libya that would be their home for the next two months.
The 389th Bombardment Group (BG) underwent intensive training at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, following its activation on November 19, 1942. Under the command of Colonel Jack W. Wood, the group honed its skills in flying the B-17 Flying Fortress and executing precision bombing techniques. After months of rigorous preparation, the 389th BG relocated to Biggs Field, Texas in February 1943, where further training exercises and unit cohesion activities took place.
In April, the group moved from Biggs Field to Lowry Field, just outside of Denver, Colorado. There the group honed their skills at cross-country flying to simulate missions, and this is also where the group received new B-24D's that they would take overseas to use in combat. These new B-24D's were some of the latest off of the production line at the Consolidated Aircraft plant in San Diego and included additional wing tip fuel tanks and the Sperry ball turret which improved their range and defensive firepower over previous versions.
In May 1943, the group was visited by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and shortly afterwards the group received orders for overseas deployment. They would soon begin of their journey to the European Theater of Operations. During that same period of time, Colonel Jack W. Wood became the new group commanding officer, replacing Col. Lancaster who had been experiencing health issues. The cadre of 389th BG's crews made their transatlantic crossing in early June 1943, making stops at Lincoln, Montreal, Bangor, Goose Bay, and Iceland before arriving at their new base at Hethel, England by mid-June. Other than a few crew chiefs and staff specialists, the ground crews and support units traveled separately by ship (Queen Elizabeth), leaving Camp Kilmer, NJ in June and arriving in England on July 6th.
Before the group could enter combat operations, they were ordered to pack up and fly to North Africa where they joined the 9th AF on temporary duty in support of the Allied invasion of Sicily and preparation for the upcoming mission against the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The group left on June 30th and arrived at a base in the desert near Bengasi, Libya that would be their home for the next two months.
1943: Entering Combat
On July 9th, the group flew its first combat mission. The target was an airfield at Maleme, Crete. Flying alone without fighter support the group ran into a number of Me-109's shortly after the bombing run. One aircraft, that of the Scates crew of the 567th BS was shot down off the coast of Crete.
Two days later the invasion of Sicily began and the group began flying missions regularly with the four other B-24 units based around Bengasi. Targets included Reggio, Messina and Bari. After several of these invasion support missions and one to attack the railyards just outside of Rome, the group was pulled off of operations to prepare for a secret mission.
The mission the group was to prepare for was the attack on the Ploesti oil refineries, known as Operation Tidalwave. The plan was for the five B-24 groups based around Bengasi to fly 1200 miles to Ploesti and then make bombing runs at 200' off the ground against specific refinery targets to avoid detection, cause the maximum amount of damage, and avoid civilian casualties with a single surprise strike. The mission did not go as planned. The Germans were aware of the incoming raid, and navigational challenges led to the lead group turning too early on its bomb run. The 389th BG was assigned its own specific target at Campina and despite the loss of four aircraft, the group executed it attack in a textbook manner, knocking the Steaua Romana refinery out of the war.
After further missions in support of the invasion of Sicily and a long mission to Wiener-Neustadt, Austria from Bengasi, the group returned to Hethel on August 27, 1943. Now combat experienced, they were reunited with the ground crews and staff, and were set to begin operations with the 8th AF.
During the fall of 1943 the group battled the weather and the enemy as they flew missions against targets in Holland, France, Norway and Germany. Many missions were recalled or scrubbed all together. The group had particularly tough missions to Vegesack (Oct 8), Munster (Nov 5), Solingen (Dec 1), and Ludwigshafen (Dec 30). Without long range fighter support, and based on the lessons learned from Black Week in October 1943 where the 8th AF lost 150 bombers in a week, the targets during this time were largely around the edges of the German defenses. The bombing results were mixed largely as a result of the weather. In response, the 8th AF began using radar equipped aircraft to lead the groups to targets even with 100% cloud cover.
As the year of 1943 was coming to close, the 8th AF began using a new fighter to protect the bombers, the P-51B Mustang. At the same time, new fuel tanks were being developed to give the P-47 Thunderbolts longer range as well. The number of new crews and replacement aircraft were also ramping up. The new replacement aircraft were B-24H and B-24J's which came with a twin-gun turret mounted on the nose. The extra turrets added defensive fire compared to the B-24D, but at the expense of forward visibility and added weight. As these new aircraft were arriving, some of the original crews were now getting close to completing their 25 missions required to complete a combat tour, allowing them to rotate out of combat. Veteran pilots would often fly with new crews on their first mission to help them learn the ropes of combat flying. The stage was set for the 389th BG and the 8th AF to execute on their intended mission as the calendar year turned to 1944.
On July 9th, the group flew its first combat mission. The target was an airfield at Maleme, Crete. Flying alone without fighter support the group ran into a number of Me-109's shortly after the bombing run. One aircraft, that of the Scates crew of the 567th BS was shot down off the coast of Crete.
Two days later the invasion of Sicily began and the group began flying missions regularly with the four other B-24 units based around Bengasi. Targets included Reggio, Messina and Bari. After several of these invasion support missions and one to attack the railyards just outside of Rome, the group was pulled off of operations to prepare for a secret mission.
The mission the group was to prepare for was the attack on the Ploesti oil refineries, known as Operation Tidalwave. The plan was for the five B-24 groups based around Bengasi to fly 1200 miles to Ploesti and then make bombing runs at 200' off the ground against specific refinery targets to avoid detection, cause the maximum amount of damage, and avoid civilian casualties with a single surprise strike. The mission did not go as planned. The Germans were aware of the incoming raid, and navigational challenges led to the lead group turning too early on its bomb run. The 389th BG was assigned its own specific target at Campina and despite the loss of four aircraft, the group executed it attack in a textbook manner, knocking the Steaua Romana refinery out of the war.
After further missions in support of the invasion of Sicily and a long mission to Wiener-Neustadt, Austria from Bengasi, the group returned to Hethel on August 27, 1943. Now combat experienced, they were reunited with the ground crews and staff, and were set to begin operations with the 8th AF.
During the fall of 1943 the group battled the weather and the enemy as they flew missions against targets in Holland, France, Norway and Germany. Many missions were recalled or scrubbed all together. The group had particularly tough missions to Vegesack (Oct 8), Munster (Nov 5), Solingen (Dec 1), and Ludwigshafen (Dec 30). Without long range fighter support, and based on the lessons learned from Black Week in October 1943 where the 8th AF lost 150 bombers in a week, the targets during this time were largely around the edges of the German defenses. The bombing results were mixed largely as a result of the weather. In response, the 8th AF began using radar equipped aircraft to lead the groups to targets even with 100% cloud cover.
As the year of 1943 was coming to close, the 8th AF began using a new fighter to protect the bombers, the P-51B Mustang. At the same time, new fuel tanks were being developed to give the P-47 Thunderbolts longer range as well. The number of new crews and replacement aircraft were also ramping up. The new replacement aircraft were B-24H and B-24J's which came with a twin-gun turret mounted on the nose. The extra turrets added defensive fire compared to the B-24D, but at the expense of forward visibility and added weight. As these new aircraft were arriving, some of the original crews were now getting close to completing their 25 missions required to complete a combat tour, allowing them to rotate out of combat. Veteran pilots would often fly with new crews on their first mission to help them learn the ropes of combat flying. The stage was set for the 389th BG and the 8th AF to execute on their intended mission as the calendar year turned to 1944.
1944: The Long Campaign
More information to come.
More information to come.
1945: Going Home
More information to come.
More information to come.
