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1 April 1943 |
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The 401st Bombardment Group
(Heavy) was activated at Fort George Wright, Spokane, Washington. Colonel Neil B.
Harding was appointed the Group's first Commanding Officer. Much of the original cadre
of the 401st came from the 395th Bomb Group then stationed at the Ephrata, Washington Army
Air Base, and from the 383rd Bomb Group, a parent training unit at the Rapid City, South
Dakota Army Air Base.
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27 May 1943 |
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The Group was ordered to
Geiger Field, Spokane, Washington to began intensified operational training, supplemented
by the usual physical exams, shots, lectures, classes, close order drill, and plenty of
P.T.
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June 1943 |
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Colonel Harold W. Bowman succeeded Colonel
Harding as Group Commanding Officer. Colonel Harding was summoned to the European
Theater and became CO of the 100th Bomb Group.
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1 July 1943 |
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The Group was ordered to Great
Falls, Montana to complete its training and prepare for overseas deployment.
(Photograph)
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18 October 1943 |
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The Group departed Great Falls
for the England. The ground echelon went by way of Camp Shanks, New York, then
(in the dead of night) to New York City where they boarded the Queen Mary, and
arrived at the Firth of Clyde on 2 November. The air echelon flew various routes,
typical of which was by way of Scott Field, on to Goose Bay, Labrador, followed by Meeks
Field, Iceland, and finally to Prestwick, Scotland.
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26 November 1943 |
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First combat mission - target
Bremen, Germany. Colonel Bowman commanded the 401st in the lead aircraft. In
terms of numbers, this was the largest mission the Eighth Air Force had thus far sent to
Germany.
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1 December 1943 |
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Second combat mission, led by Lt. Colonel Harris E. Rogner, Deputy Group Commander.
The Group received credit for downing its first enemy aircraft.
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5 December 1943 |
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B-17 piloted by Lt. Walter B. Keith crashed on take-off
into the Village of Deenethorpe. All members of the crew escaped from the airplane and
alerted residents of Deenethorpe before the plane exploded. Although most of the buildings
in the village were severely damaged, no lives were lost.
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20 December 1943 |
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The Group formally assumes control of Station 128, which
was previously an RAF training base. (Photograph)
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24 December 1943 |
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Enlisted men at the base entertained 650 English
children at a Christmas party in the mess halls, with plenty to eat!
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30 December 1943 |
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The Group suffered its first loss of a crew, that of Lt.
Trian Neag, on a mission to Ludwigshaven.
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31 December 1943 |
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Two 401st aircraft were lost in an attack on Cognac
Airdrome, Lt. Colonel I. W. Eveland,
commander of the 614th Squadron, parachuted safely and subsequently escaped from France by
walking over the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain.
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January 1944 |
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The Group was commended by the Commanding General of the
94th Combat Wing for the accuracy of its bombing and its efficiency in adapting to Eighth
Air Force procedures.
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11 January 1944 |
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The 401st led the combat wing on what has been termed
“the greatest air battle of WW II”. The Group encountered fierce enemy aircraft
resistance, in which it was supported by Colonel James Howard, a P-51 pilot, who
single-handedly fought off 30 Nazi fighters, destroying four, and for which he was awarded
the Congressional Medal of Honor. For this mission, the First Air Division, including the
401st, received the Presidential Citation.
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20 February 1944 |
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For its performance on a mission to Leipzig, the Group
was singled out for the award of its second
Presidential Citation.
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6 March 1944 |
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The 401st flew its first mission to Berlin,
led by Lt. Colonel Edwin Brown,
followed by its second mission to Berlin two days later, led by Lt. Colonel D. E. Silver.
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1 April 1944 |
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The Group celebrated its first anniversary at a banquet
attended by the Commanding Generals of the 1st Air Division and the 94th Combat Wing. A
musical revue, “You Can’t Miss It”, was staged and produced by members of
the 401st.
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13 April 1944 |
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The Group, led by Lt. Colonel D.E.Silver, participated in the costly raid on the ball
bearing works at Schweinfurt, losing two crews.
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24 May 1944 |
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After bombing Berlin, Lt. John S. Whiteman’s crew
crash landed in Denmark, where they “procured” some boats, rowed to Sweden and
eventually returned safely to England.
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28 May 1944 |
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On a mission to Dessau, the Group suffered its heaviest
loss on a single mission. The 401st was singled out for attack by 200 enemy aircraft and
as a result lost six crews, while a seventh ditched in the English Channel.
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June 1944 |
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During June the 401st was recognized as having set a new
record for bombing accuracy among all groups in the Eighth Air Force, having placed 73
percent of all bombs within 1,000 feet and 96 percent within 2,000 feet of the aiming
point.
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6 June 1944 |
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The Group participated in the massive Eighth Air Force
effort to support the D Day landing in Normandy
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12 June 1944 |
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A defective fragmentation bomb being unloaded by the
armament section of the 614th Squadron exploded, killing seven men and badly injuring
eleven others.
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25 June 1944 |
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The Group completed its 100th mission, which was
celebrated the following day by a hanger party featuring beer and hot dogs. The Group was
commended by the Commanding General of the 1st Air Division for being the first Group in
the European Theater of Operations (ETO) to complete 100 missions within seven months.
(Photograph)
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8 August 1944 |
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On a mission to the Caen area, the lead aircraft of the
401st was shot down. While five members of the crew bailed out, the ball turret gunner was
unable to extricate himself, and because of a pre-arranged pact, four members of the crew
crashed with the ship in what was one of the strongest bonds of friendship ever recorded
in the ETO.
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28 September 1944 |
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The Group completed its 150th mission.
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September 1944 |
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The 401st Fliers, the Group’s crack softball team,
won the American Red Cross invitational meet at Northampton and were generally regarded as
ETO champions.
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15 November 1944 |
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The Group celebrated its first year of operations,
during which it flew 172 missions, the 172nd being to Merseburg.
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5 December 1944 |
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Colonel Bowman was called to Headquarters of the United
States Air Force in Europe as Deputy Chief of Staff to General Carl Spaatz and was
succeeded as group commander by Colonel William
T. Seawell, the Deputy Commanding Officer.
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19-26 December 1944 |
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During what became known as the " “Battle of
the Bulge”, the Group flew a mission to Schleiden, after which the entire group was
diverted to an RAF airbase near Land’s End in southwestern England because of dense
fog at Deenethorpe. The Group flew another mission from that point but was again diverted
upon returning to England. Not until December 26, an absence of a week for 32 crews, did
all airplanes return to Deenethorpe.
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28 January 1945 |
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For its 200th mission, the Group flew to Cologne, led by
Lt. Colonel William C. Garland. During
January, the 401st completed 30 consecutive missions without loss of a crew.
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1 February 1945 |
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A party in the form of a carnival-circus was held in
Hanger No. 1 to celebrate the 200th mission. Among the guests were Lt. General James H.
Doolittle, Commanding General of the Eighth Air Force, and the commanding generals of the
1st Air Division and 94th Combat Wing
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February 1945 |
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The Group closed the month by flying thirteen
consecutive missions in thirteen days.
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March 1945 |
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A new record of twenty-two missions in a month was set,
which included 754 sorties. During the month the Group encountered its first Nazi jet
fighters.
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20 April 1945 |
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The 401st flew its 254th and last mission, targeting
Brandenberg. The Group received the 94th Combat Wing Best Bombing Plaque for its record in
March.
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8 May 1945 |
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VE Day meant the end of hostilities in Europe and a
permanent stand-down of the 401st Bomb Group, which was celebrated by a huge fireworks
display. Formal ceremonies were held the following day.
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May 1945 |
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The Group flew three low level flights over the Ruhr
Valley for ground personnel to enable them to observe the results of aerial bombing. Also,
the 401st made four trips to Linz, Austria, to evacuate French and British prisoners of
war.
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15 May 1945 |
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A Field Order was received stating that the 401st was to
be moved immediately to the United States.
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30 May 1945 |
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The first of 78 aircraft, piloted by Colonel Seawell,
departed from Deenethorpe for the United States, landing at Valley in Wales, Iceland and
Goose Bay, Labrador, before touching down at Bradley Field, Massachusetts.
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20 June 1945 |
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A series of trains loaded with ground personnel departed
from Geddington Station for Gurock, Scotland, where they boarded the Queen Elizabeth
for the voyage home, leaving the Firth of Clyde on 25 June.
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29 June 1945 |
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The Queen Elizabeth docked in New York harbor to
receive the greatest welcome ever extended to any ship in the history of the city.
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July 1945 |
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After thirty days leave, members of the Group reported
to the air base at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where it was announced that the 401st, like
other Eighth Air Force units, was to be deactivated. Members were assigned to new B-29
groups formed for the war against Japan or were held at Sioux Falls awaiting new orders.
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2 September 1945 |
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The surrender of Japan
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1Adapted from History of the 401st Bombardment Group (H)
by Gordon R. Closway, 401st Group Public Relations OfficerTop of Page
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