First Over Germany
Events in December 1942 and early January 1943 resulted in Colonel Frank A. Armstrong Jr. (a member of the VIII Bomber Command staff) being ordered to relieve the 306th Bombardment Group commanding officer. These and other events would become the basis for the book and movie Twelve O’clock High. Later that month, Colonel Armstrong and the 306th would lead the first 8th AAF mission over a target in Germany, bombing Wilhelmshaven 27 January 1943, and laying claim for the 306th as “First Over Germany.”
The 25-Mission Limit
During these early months of 1943 as enemy opposition grew, combat losses of aircraft and crewmen from the 306th and other bombardment groups of the 8th Army Air Force took a mounting toll on men and machines. Major Thurman Shuller, flight Surgeon for the 306th, recognized the physical and mental stress that was being endured by combat aircrews. He wrote a letter in March, that was forwarded through the chain of command, expressing his concerns and recommending that the 8th AAF establish a limit to the number of missions that a man would be required to fly before being relieved of combat duties. Three weeks later General Ira Eaker, 8th AAF Commander, directed that 25 combat missions be established as the limit for bomber crews. In 1944 the mission limit would be raised to 30, and then 35 missions, as the 8th Air Force established greater air superiority in the skies over Europe.
The Air War of 1943
Through 1943 the 306th BG combat missions were opposed by ever-increasing numbers of Luftwaffe fighter aircraft and German antiaircraft flak, resulting in greater combat losses of aircraft and crew. From October 1942 through August 1943, the 367th Bombardment Squadron suffered the heaviest losses of any unit in VIII Bomber Command, earning them the “Clay Pigeons” moniker. During approximately the same period of time, from January to late July 1943, the 369th Squadron set the record for 42 consecutive missions flown without losing any aircraft in combat. Heaviest losses were experienced on missions to Bremen, Germany, 17 April when ten B-17s were shot down, while another ten aircraft were lost on the infamous “Black Thursday” second Schweinfurt raid of 14 October 1943. A mission to St Nazaire on 1 May resulted in only a loss of three airplanes, but another six sustained heavy battle damage in the airspace over Brest, France, in one of the 306th Group’s fiercest battles and most memorable missions.
During this mission, Sergeant Maynard “Snuffy” Smith earned the Medal of Honor, fighting multiple fires in his aircraft while continuing to engage the enemy with machine guns and rendering first aid to wounded crewmates, exemplifying the courage displayed by the 306th during its operations.
1944 — D-Day and the Royal Visit
During early 1944 the 306th Bombardment Group continued to bomb strategic targets in Germany and France. As D-Day arrived in June, more tactical support missions were mixed with strategic bombing. Again, heavy losses of multiple aircraft occurred on a number of missions. Ten aircraft were shot down on 24 April 1944 during a mission to Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, and nine more were lost on a mission to Ruhland, Germany, on 12 September. The year was also marked by a visit to Station 111 by the Royal Family, the King and Queen of England, and their daughter, Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen. The occasion was the christening of a new replacement 306th Bomb Group B-17G, the Rose of York that was named in honor of young Princess Elizabeth.
1945 — Final Missions
The 306th lost only eight aircraft to combat action during the first four months of 1945 (the last four months of the war). The last airplane lost in combat was on 10 April when Flak Shack, piloted by 1st Lt Allen L. Babin was brought down by German flak batteries on a mission to Oranienburg. The tail gunner in the plane, Sgt Theodore J. Rickerl was the only fatality from the crew, the last 306th crewman to die in combat. The final 306th Bombardment Group combat mission was flown to Falkenberg, Germany on 19 April 1945 with only one aircraft being damaged by flak which also resulted in the last 306th crewman being wounded in combat.
End of War and Post-War Service
With the end of the war in Europe on 8 May 1945, the 306th BG was selected to remain as part of the occupation forces and would be assigned to Project Casey Jones, an ambitious endeavor to map the continent through extensive aerial photography. The “Mighty Eighth” Air Force was re-established in Okinawa on 16 July 1945. During this transitional period the 306th Bombardment Group was reassigned to the 9th AAF, remaining in England and at Station 111 at Thurleigh. Most of the Project Casey Jones missions were now being flown from airfields in Germany and France and other continental locations with aircraft servicing still performed, but with less frequency, at Thurleigh. On 15 December 1945, the last of the 306th ground echelon personnel vacated Station 111 and joined the rest of the Group in continental Europe. The 306th completed its participation in “Casey Jones” in June of 1946 and was finally inactivated 25 December 1946 while stationed at Giebelstadt, Germany.
The 306th was soon reactivated in July 1947 with the newly established United States Air Force, Strategic Air Command as a B-29 “Super Fortress” bombardment group (very heavy). The 306th continues today as the 306th Flying Training Group (306th FTG) that was reactivated in October 2004 at the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado, operating the USAF Academy Airfield and providing the associated training activities for the USAFA cadets.
Casualties and Legacy
During the period of the war the 306th BG, termed a “pioneering” group by noted 8th AAF historian Roger A. Freeman, lost 177 aircraft in combat with 738 air crewmen being killed in action. Another 38 men lost their lives in non-combat flying accidents. 885 men were taken prisoners of war with another 44 evading capture. An additional 69 men were interned in Sweden and Switzerland. Eleven men who began their combat tours with the 306th would go on to command other heavy bombardment groups in the ETO. One of the originally assigned officers, Immanuel Klette, would fly 28 missions as a pilot and copilot with the 306th before being severely injured in a crash. After recovering, he would go on to serve as the Commanding Officer of the 324th Bombardment Squadron of the 91st BG, and complete a legendary total of 91 combat missions.
