Stories, announcements, and updates from the 306th Bomb Group Historical Association.
In the fall of 1934, the US Army Air Corps, precursor to the US Air Force, asked airplane manufacturers to build prototypes for a multi-engine coastal defense plane. One catch: there was no money from the government to build it. Boeing essentially “bet the company” and spent all available cash to design and build what […]
Wendover Army Air Base was activated on March 28, 1942 as a B-17 and B-24 heavy bombardment training base, and the first unit, the 306th Bombardment Group of four squadrons of B17s, arrived in mid-April 1942. During the 2015 306th Bomb Group Historical Association Reunion in Salt Lake City, Utah, we visited the base. The […]
Not long after arriving in Thurleigh, England, the 306th was sent on its first mission to hit the locomotive works at Lille, France. Twenty-four B-17s took off from Thurleigh between 07:32-08:14 and arrived over the target at 09:30–09:48. All of the squadrons took part, and the 306th suffered its first loss when Captain John Olson’s […]