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Frantic, where the bombers would land at air-
fields in Ukraine after completing their mission
and then return to England via 15th Air Force
bases in Italy. The first took place from June 21st
The 100th Bomb Group over the target. Smoke trails come from ‘flares’, special bombs dropped by the lead aircraft, signaling others in the formation to drop bombs. (Don
Bradley collection)
B-17G 43-38514 ‘E
-
Z Goin’, with which the crew of Lt. Joe C. Martin returned home after being collided from behind
by a German Bf 109 fighter. (Joseph A. Ciotola collection)
to July 5th, 1944, the second between September
18th and the 22nd. The second Frantic mission
was aimed at dropping supplies and weapons
to aid the Warsaw Uprising. It was not the Hun-
dredth’s first such operation, as the unit had pre-
viously participated in supplying the resistance
movement in the south of France.
The apparent calm during the fall and early
winter of 1944, when the unit flew another 45
sorties after the Ruhland mission with combat
losses of seven aircraft, was shattered by the
very end of the year with a raid on the refiner-
ies in Hamburg. On Sunday, December 31st, 1944,
The Hundredth’s statistics were to fluctuate con-
siderably again. The unexpected ferocity of Luft-
waffe fighters and flak meant the loss of twelve
aircraft.
In the following months, two Berlin missions,
on February 3rd and March 18th, 1945, were
among more the memorable for the Bloody Hun-
dredth with the loss of four aircraft and their
crews in each of them. With the loss of ‘only’ two
machines, the mission to Buchen on April 7th,
1945 also went down in the history of the unit,
with reasons for the losses being unusual for
the unit. That day, some formations of Ameri-
can bombers were met with ramming attacks
by German fighters. Even the Hundredth did not
escape these attacks. In addition to two lost
B-17s, there were also several that suffered se-
rious damage, which by combination of miracle
and pilot skill, managed to return home.
Germany Quits
On February 2nd, Col. Jeffrey was succeeded in
the capacity of Commanding Officer, by Col. Jack
Sutterlin. He led the unit until June 23rd, when
he was succeeded by two more Commanders,
Col. John Wallace and Col Harry F. Cruver.
On April 20th 1945, the 100th Bomb Group took
off on its last bombing mission designated num-
ber 306. The target was Oranienburg railway sta-
tion, and all returned home without loss.
Base No. 139, Thorpe Abbotts in Norfolk, hosted
around 7,000 members of the 100th Bomb Group
and its support units during the war. In 22 months
of operation over the European continent, the unit
lost 229 aircraft, 757 men, some of them remain
missing to this day, and 923 were captured.
However, the 100th Bomb Group’s operations in
Europe were not yet over. At the end of April 1945,
many territories were still under German rule,
and the guns were far from silent. A large part of
the Netherlands was plagued by famine, civilians
suffering from Nazi tyrrany until the last days of
the war. The Bloody Hundredth flew over the con-
tinent several more times. Between May 1st and
7th, 1945, like other American and British bomber
units, it flew a total of six Chowhound missions,
during which its B-17Gs dropped food parcels in
low-flying aid missions. They flew at low alti-
tudes over the territory still occupied by German
troops. However, they were warned in advance
not to interfere with the bombers carrying food.
In the weeks following the end of the war in
Europe, the One Hundredth took part in repatri-
ation flights for prisoners of war and conscripts
of Western countries from various parts of Ger-
many and Austria.
By the end of June, 1945, almost all aircraft
were flown out of the base, with the exception of
some radar pathfinders. Men for whom the war
was over were returning home. Part of the unit
moved to Germany, where it participated in the
administration of the occupation. Some of the
support units involved in the partial dismantling
of the base remained at Thorpe Abbotts until late
1945. It then served until 1956, when it was closed
and essentially forgotten.
It was not until many years after the war that
the thick concrete slabs and asphalt of the run-
ways and most taxiways and hardstands were
removed. The landscape returned to something
resembling its original state. However, the her-
oism of the men who, many decades previous,
took off with trepidation from here on missions
over occupied Europe into horrific air battles
with the sky soaked with the stench of exploding
flak shells, burning gasoline, gunpowder, blood,
sweat and tears, is not forgotten. It remains in
the legacy of the men and women of the great-
est generation, so that we can be reminded of
the value of our freedom, and how much it cost.
Freedom of individuals and nations. And how im-
portant it is to fight evil, even though it seems
we can never completely overcome it. However,
the determination and faith of the men of the
Bloody Hundredth remain an inspiration.
Former 350th Bomb Squadron Commander Maj. Gale W. ‘Buck’ Cleven (center) returned to the base in April 1944
after he managed to escape from captivity. Pictured with Lt.Col. David Lyster, later also 350th BS commander,
and Maj. Robert Rosenthal, who commanded the same squadron until his emergency landing in France
on 10 September 1944. (Gale W. Cleven collection)
Two poor quality, but still rare, images from Chow-
hound missions, when the 100th Bomb Group partic-
ipated in supplying food to the starving population of
the occupied Netherlands (1-7 May 1945)
(100th BG Archives)
HISTORY
Speciál B-17F / The Bloody Hundredth 1943 INFO Eduard
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June 2024