485th Bomb Group
485th Bomb
Group (H)
This Is How It Was
by Sam Schneider
15th Air Force
B-24 Liberator
Venosa, Italy
New 485th
Bomb Group Book
MISSIONS
BY
THE NUMBERS
Edited by Sammy
Schneider
AN ACCOUNT OF THE 187 MISSIONS FLOWN
BY THE 485TH BOMB GROUP OVER EUROPE
MISSIONS BY THE NUMBERS tells the story of the 485th Bomb Group
that was stationed in Venosa, Italy and flew combat missions in B-24 Liberator
Bombers over Europe during World War II.
The debriefing of each mission tells it like it was. Also described is the great amount of
planning and teamwork involved in flying a successful combat mission. The mission began in the afternoon when
a coded message was received from Wing Headquarters with preliminary
information about the next day’s mission and ended with the dropping of the
payload on the target the next day.
The planning and preparation before that first plane was allowed to take
off is described in articles written by the men who were there. Included is a narration of the perfect
bomb run, a story of a crewman who bailed out and tried to avoid capture and
another story of a harrowing flight through the Brenner Valley (Flak Alley) on
two engines.
Over 180 pages of history in a book with a colorful soft cover
which includes strike photos, a map of secret landing strips, the pilot’s
flimsy (the secret plan of the mission), flak photos, bomb types, photos of
damaged planes and much more. It
is a story told by the men who lived it and is interesting reading for people
of all ages.
ORDERING INFORMATION:
Please
send your name, address, and a check or money order for
$20.00 ($15.00 +
$5.00 S/H) to
MISSIONS BY THE NUMBERS
6425 Dorado Beach, NE
Albuquerque, NM 87111
Purchase Information
B-24s
485th REUNIONS
485th
BOMB GROUP REUNION HISTORY
The
485th BG has been holding reunions each year in Sept for the last 35 years.
After the end of World War
II some veterans remained in the service, but most of us returned home to
continue our careers and raise our families. The experiences during the war were put in the background.
After several years we wondered what had happened to all the guys that we knew
and were close to in Italy. Well, during the Summer of 1960 a few members of
the 828th Squadron and their families got together and held a picnic. They
decided to meet each year. Attendance and correspondence from the other
squadrons increased and after five years the event was changed to the
485th Group reunion. The first Group reunion was held in Newton Falls, Ohio on the
weekend of August 14 and 15, 1965 and was hosted by Mr. And Mrs. William
Schoultz. Why has our group hung
together after all these years? One explanation is; that to complete successful
bombing missions we depended on each other to do his job, both on the ground
and in the air. We were young and endured many things together. A great spirit
of camaraderie developed and it’s hard to explain but that bond is still with
us today. So there is no
misunderstanding, we are not an official representative of the 485th Bomb
Group. We are just a group of veterans from the 485th Bomb Group that meet each
year. We have a couple of drinks, tell a couple of stories and visit with our
old buddies. We don’t have any axe to grind, promote any causes or charities.
No fees to join, no membership cards; our group is strictly a social bunch. No
wild parties (anymore), just dancing to Big Band 40's music; when music was
music. We meet each year in
September in a different city. We are able to get a discounted hotel rates and tours
are available for our group. A
newsletter is published each year and sent to each veteran on our roster. There
are between 800 and 900 veterans on the roster. This includes the headquarters
group and the four squadrons; 828th, 829th, 830th and 831st. About 150 veterans
plus spouses and guests (total around 300) attend the reunions.
This
year the reunion will be held in Littlerock, Sept 17-21.
LITTLEROCK, AK
SEPTEMBER 17 -21 2003
CONTACT US
485TH HQ INSIGNIA
485TH BOMB GROUP
SQUADRON INSIGNIA
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE 485TH
The 485th Bomb Group
History presented by E.L. Bundy, September 29th, 1987 at the Army Air Force
Academy Dedication Ceremony at Colorado Springs, Colorado. We dedicated a
bronze plaque to members of the 485th Bomb Group who gave their lives during
World War II for our freedom.
The 485th Bomb Group
Heavy was constituted on the 14th of September 1943 at Fairmont Army Air Field,
Geneva, Nebraska.
Personnel for the group
were drawn from the 29th Bomb Group, stationed at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho.
Activation of the 829th
Bomb Squadron was accomplished on the 28th of September 1943, with a nucleus of
personnel drawn from the 43rd Bomb Squadron, stationed at Gowen Field.
The 11th Anti Submarine
Squadron was redesignated the 831st Squadron and assigned to the 485th Bomb
Group on the 20th September 1943.
The 828th and 830th Bomb
Squadron, with a nucleus of personnel from the 11th Anti- Submarine were also
activated and assigned to the 485th Bomb Group on the 20th of September 1943.
The 15th Bombardment
Operational Training Wing Replacement Pool, at Gowen Field was the main source
of Combat Crews received, with the additional crews transferred to the group
from the Army Air Field at Pocatello, Idaho.
Lt. Col.Walter E. Arnold
Jr. became the first Group Commander, Capt. Edward H. Nett- 828th Squadron
Commander-
Capt.Maurice W. Boney,
829th Squadron CO- Capt. Richard V. Griffin,
830th Squadron CO--and
Capt. Daniel L. Sjodin, 831st Squadron CO.
Departing Gowen Field,
for Orlando, Florida on the 28th September 1943, the basic Air Echelon trained
for 30 days in an endeavor to meet future combat conditions.
Returning to Fairmont, we
continued training of Air Crews and Ground Echelon 24 hours per day, until
completion- March 11,1944.
The combat crews proceeded
to Lincoln, Nebraska, for final procession prior to overseas deployment on
March 14th to Morrison Field, Florida.
Leaving Morrison Field
individually, the Bombers crossed the Atlantic via the southern route arriving
in Oudna, Tunisia on March 18th.
For the next month, the
combat crews engaged in tactical combat excercises. All of the Bombers and
crews arrived at Venosa Air Field by the 22nd of April.
The Ground Echelon
departed Fairmont, Nebraska, on the 11th of March, for Hampton Roads- Port of Embarkation.
The Ground Esvhelon began
their voyage to Italy on the 2nd of April. The crossing of the Atlantic was
uneventful until the 20th of April as the convoy approached Cape Echelon, near
Algiers, where they were attacked by the Lutwaffe. They sunk the D>E>
Lansdale and two merchant vessels
On board one of the
merchant vessels, The US Paul Hamilton, were personnel (154) from the 831st
Bomb Squadron. We lost almost all of the ground personnel in the 831st.
By the 30th of April all
personnel and aircraft were at Venosa Air Field. On May 10th, the Group flew
their first mission to Knin Yugoslavia (Marshalling Yard). and completed 16
missions during the month with the loss of three aircraft.
The peak number of
encounters with enemy aircraft was reached in June, when 481 attacked our
formations.
There was a slight
decline in July and a pronounced decline in.
August. November marked
the beginning of winter season and MUD. The weather continued to deteriorate
during the following months restricting the number of missions.
On the 8th of February,
1945, the Group was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for a highly
successful mission to the Florisdorf Oil Refinery in Vienna, Austria on the
26th of June, 1944
A grand total of 187
combat missions were flown from the period of the 10th of May 1944 to the 25th
of April. 1945- dropping 10,550 tons of bombs on enemy installations.
During the month of May
1945, the Group returned to the United States and was deactivated on the 4th
August, 1946.
During its combat tour the
Group participated in the following campaigns: AIR COMBAT, EAME THEATER, AIR
FRANCE, NORTH APENNINES, RHINLAND, CENTRAL EUROPE and the PO VALLEY.
Reunion Pictures
Sam, Matty & Nick