RAF THURLEIGH : USAAF STATION 111/ PART 1 скачать в хорошем качестве

RAF THURLEIGH : USAAF STATION 111/ PART 1

a great explore around RAF THURLEIGH with my mate Dob ....The place was massive and lots of the site is now used for other purposes ,but we managed too find lots of buildings still accessible.Lots of vegetation around lots of the buildings which made it hard too get in too some of them ,but well worth the effort .... Very much enjoyed the explore .There will be 3 parts too this explore as was quite a lot too see ..hope you enjoy . INFO WIKIPEDIA ....Thurleigh (pronounced "thur-lie") was built for RAF Bomber Command in 1940 by W & C French Ltd. 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the village of Thurleigh on farmland between the farms of Buryfields, Bletsoe Park, Manor, and Whitwickgreen. It was eventually modified to Air Ministry Class A airfield specifications, with three converging runways, extended in 1942 to lengths of 6,000 feet (runway 06-24) and 4,200 feet (runways 18-36 and 12-30). Thurleigh was unique among bomber bases in having four T2 type metal hangars where most bases had only two.[citation needed] RAF Bomber Command use[edit] Its first use was by No. 160 Squadron RAF, forming on 16 January 1942 as a ground echelon then deployed to the China-Burma-India Theater at Drigh Road on 4 June 1942.[1] The airfield was also used by No. 18 Operational Training Unit RAF.[2] Other units No. 2813 Squadron RAF Regiment[2] Central Gunnery School[2] Radar Research Squadron[2] USAAF use[edit] Thurleigh was one of 28 fields listed for use by the U.S. Eighth Air Force on 4 June 1942, tentatively designated station B-4, and was allocated on 10 August 1942. The RAF had found that the initial construction of Thurleigh was inadequate for the combat weight of B-24 bombers. After the departure of the RAF, Thurleigh's runways were lengthened, increased in thickness, and additional hardstands constructed to Class A standards so it could accommodate a USAAF heavy bomber group.[citation needed] From 16 September 1943 though 25 June 1945, Thurleigh served as headquarters for the 40th Combat Bombardment Wing of the 1st Bomb Division.[3] 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy)[edit] With the essential construction completed, the 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy)[4] deployed to Thurleigh on 7 September 1942 from Wendover AAF Utah.[5] The 306th was assigned to the 40th Combat Wing also at Thurleigh. The group tail code was a "Triangle H".[6] Its operational squadrons were:[6] 367th Bombardment Squadron (GY) 368th Bombardment Squadron (BO) 369th Bombardment Squadron (WW) 423d Bombardment Squadron (RD) The group flew the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft,[4] and remained at Thurleigh until 1 December 1945.[5] That was the longest tenure of any U.S. air group at a UK base.[7] At Thurleigh, the group operated primarily against strategic targets initially in occupied France and the Low Countries, then later in Germany. The group struck locomotive works at Lille, railway yards at Rouen, submarine pens at Bordeaux, shipbuilding yards at Vegesack, ball-bearing works at Schweinfurt, oil plants at Merseburg, marshalling yards at Stuttgart, a foundry at Hannover, a chemical plant at Ludwigshafen, aircraft factories at Leipzig, and numerous other targets on the Continent.[4] The 306th led the Eighth Air Force on its first mission to bomb a target in Germany on 27 January 1943, attacking U-boat yards at Wilhelmshaven, and suffered severe losses in attacks on Bremen on 16 April 1943, and Schweinfurt, 17 August 1943.[4] On 11 January 1944, without fighter escort and in the face of strong opposition, the 306th was part of a 1st Bombardment Division mission against aircraft factories in central Germany in which all groups were awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation. The 306th Bomb Group received a second DUC during Big Week, the intensive campaign against the German aircraft industry, when it effectively bombed an aircraft assembly plant at Bernberg on 22 February 1944, after poor weather forced other groups to abandon the mission.[5] The 306th Bomb Group flew its 342nd and final mission[8] on 19 April 1945, the most of any Eighth Air Force B-17 unit except the 303rd Bomb Group. It compiled 9,614 sorties; dropped 22,575 tons of bombs; and had 171 B-17's fail to return from missions.[citation needed] Twelve O'Clock High[edit] Twelve O'Clock High was a 1949 film and book about bomber crews of the United States Army Air Forces who flew the initial daylight bombing missions against Germany during the Second World War. Twelve O'Clock High is frequently cited[citation needed] by surviving bomber crew members as the most accurate depiction by Hollywood of their life during the war. This film is used by both the British Royal Navy and U.S. Navy as an example of leadership styles in their Leadership and Management Training Schools for officers and enlisted personnel. The Air Force's College for Enlisted Professional Military Education also uses this film as an education aid in its Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Academies.[citation needed]