Contrails II A Pictorial History of The 95th Bomb Group (H); 8th United States Army Air Force Horham, England 1943-1945

Unpaginated. Illustrations (some in color). Maps. Gilt lettering on the front cover and spine. No dust jacket present. Previous owner's mailing label affixed inside front cover. William "Dub" Matley Vandegriff Jr. July 29, 1924 - June 25, 2017 was a veteran of the US Army Air Corps and a member of the B-17G 412th Bomb Squadron 95th Bomb Group (H) 8th United States AAF during WWII. From the Preface: With the exception of the original Copyright page and associated pages, this CONTRAILS II book contains all of the pages of the book entitle, The 95th Bombardment Group H. (labeled on the form cover and popularly referred to as CONTRAILS). In addition it contains 96 new pages (6 signatures) of pictures and information submitted by members who served with the 95th Bomb Group (H) in various capacities during World War II, their families and friends." During World War II its predecessor, the 95th Bombardment Group, was a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress unit in England, stationed at RAF Horham. It was the only Eighth Air Force group awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations, with the highest total claims of enemy aircraft destroyed of all Eighth Air Force Bomb Groups 425 aircraft. It was also the first U.S. Army Air Forces group to bomb Berlin. The wing was activated in 1942 as the 95th Bombardment Group at Barksdale Field, Louisiana with the 334th, 335th, 336th, and 412th Bombardment Squadrons assigned. The group began training in August at Geiger Field, Washington, where it was equipped with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. The unit trained for combat operations until moving overseas starting in March Final training was conducted at Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota from 14 December 1942 to 11 March 1943. The air echelon processed at Kearney Army Air Field, Nebraska and flew its Forts to RAF Alconbury in the United Kingdom. The ground echelon moved to Camp Kilmer, then sailed on the RMS Queen Elizabeth to Scotland, arriving in May. The squadron then reunited at RAF Framlingham. The group arrived in England equipped with late model B-17F aircraft equipped with "Tokyo Tanks", additional fuel cells located outboard in the wings that gave this model additional range. It flew its first combat mission on 13 May 1943 against an airfield near Saint-Omer, France. For the next two months the 95th focused on attacking airfields and V-1 flying bomb launch sites in France. The entire 95th group moved to RAF Horham in June. The 95th began strategic bombing operations in July and continued until flying its last operation on 20 April 1945. Its targets included harbors, marshaling yards and other industrial targets along with attacks on cities. On 13 June 1943 the group was leading the 4th Bombardment Wing in an attack on Kiel, Germany. The lead aircraft carried Brigadier General Nathan B. Forrest as an observer. The aircraft was hit by fighters on its approach to the target, and again after the bomb run was complete. It was last seen spiraling out of control with much of its tail shot away. General Forrest was the first United States general officer killed in action in Europe during the war. The group received its first Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) during an attack on an aircraft factory at Regensburg, Germany on 17 August 1943 when it maintained its defensive formation despite severe attacks by enemy interceptor aircraft. On 10 October, during an attack on marshalling yards at M?nster, Germany, the squadron was subjected to concentrated fighter attacks on the approach to the target and intense flak over the objective. Despite these obstacles, the group's bombs were clustered close to the target. It was awarded a second DUC for withstanding these attacks to bomb its objective. From 20 to 25 February 1944 the group participated in the Big Week offensive against the German aircraft manufacturing industry. A few days later, on 4 March, the squadron attacked Berlin despite adverse weather that led other units to either abandon the operation or attac.