Category: World War Two

Filmed sometime during 1945, this fascinating reel shows Ridgewell’s 381st Bomb Group and its fleet of B-17 Flying Fortresses returning from a mission. Some of the bombers’ nose art is shown before the film offers a glimpse of base life with colour images of the domestic sites and surrounding villages. Music includes Jo Stafford’s beautiful…

Eight members of the 434th Bomb Squadron Group 12 reunited again on Friday in Chantilly. http://wj.la/19QiGFZ _______________ Stay up to date with our social media: WJLA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wjlatv/ WJLA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ABC7News Subscribe to WJLA on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfIjR00qhYUFkbWIugAAbGg/?sub_confirmation=1 Daily News Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSvyoe-YmPKDGkW96ly8Qt_JR67erE_zt For more information, visit https://wjla.com/ Have a news tip? Send it directly…

This is a one-of-a-kind veteran interview. William Pennebaker was a command pilot for a B-17 group. This means he was in the lead plane for the 390th Bomb Group or sometimes the entire wing (390th, 100th and 95th Groups); or the lead for all groups in the stream of B-17 bombers. His leadership role provides…

Interview with Vincent J. “Bill” Purple-WWII B-17 Pilot at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in May 2018. U.S. Army Air Corps 8th Air Force 379th Bomb Group – Kimbolton, England Video produced by Ken LaRock-NMUSAF Public Affairs Division

He joined the Army Air Corps and attended gunnery school in Denver and Las Vegas. Burnham was assigned to crew #4, 568th squadron as the tail gunner and a waist gunner. To deploy to Europe, the crew sailed on the Queen Mary. While serving in the war Burnham would participate and complete 20 missions. Burnham…

Coonan enlisted for the Army Air Corps in 1940, where he spent a year as an engineer before beginning flight training. He was sent to California to begin his flight training. He was then sent to New Mexico to train with the B-17. It was in Salt Lake City, Utah that he would meet his…

B-17 airman stationed in England during WWII with the 384th Bomb Group describing his training and missions. He tells the harrowing story of his mission to the bomb the ball bearing factory at Schweinfurt. One of the best descriptions from a pilot about what it was like to fly a B-17 in combat.

B-17 airman stationed in England during WWII with the 452nd Bomb Group describing his training, missions and bailing out over Poland. He tells the story of being hidden by the Polish underground as he was pursued by German troops. A portion of the interview was videotaped in the cockpit of a B-17.

B-17 airman stationed in England during WWII with the 95th Bomb Group describing his training and missions. He tells the story of flying a B-17 from Florida to South America to Africa and eventually crash landing in Ireland with a load of oranges and a monkey.