B-17G Flying Fortress of the 390th Bomb Group 571st BS 44-8844

Belly landed B-17G-85-VE Flying Fortress code FC-E of the 390th Bomb Group 571st BS 44-8844. Framlingham 27 February 1945

390th Bomb Group:

Overview:

Assigned to Eighth Air Force (8th AF): July 1943
Primary Aircraft: B-17F (from blocks 95-BO, 45-DL, 35-VE); B-17G
Component Squadrons: 568th, 569th, 570th, and 571st Bombardment Squadrons (H)

Wing & Command Assignments:

VIII Bomber Command (BC), 4th Bombardment Wing (BW), 402nd Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing (PCBW): July 1943
VIII BC, 3rd Bombardment Division (BD), 13th Combat Bombardment Wing (CBW): September 13, 1943
3rd BD, 13th CBW: January 8, 1944
3rd Air Division (AD), 13th CBW: January 1, 1945

Stations:

Framlingham: July 14, 1943 – August 4, 1945 (Air echelon arrived July 14-28, 1943, Ground echelon arrived July 28, 1943)

Group Commanding Officers:

Col. Edgar M. Wittan
Col. Frederick W. Ott
Col. Joseph A. Moller
Lt. Col. George W. Von Arb

Combat Record:

First Mission: August 12, 1943
Last Mission: April 20, 1945
Total Missions: 300
Total Credit Sorties: 8,725
Total Bomb Tonnage: 19,059.2 tons (includes 295.3 tons of supplies)
Aircraft MIA (Missing in Action): 144
Other Operational Losses: 32
Enemy Aircraft Claims: 342 destroyed, 74 probable, 97 damaged

Major Awards:

Two Distinguished Unit Citations:
- August 17, 1943: Regensburg (all 4 BW groups)
- October 14, 1943: Schweinfurt

Claims to Fame:

Highest claims of enemy aircraft destroyed by a bomb group on a single mission (October 10, 1943).
Hewitt Dunn, who flew 100 missions with the 8th AF, did so with the 390th Bomb Group.

Early History:

Activated: January 26, 1943, at Geiger Field, Washington. Formation began in late February 1943.
- Training: Conducted at Geiger Field until June 6, 1943, when the group moved to Great Falls Army Air Base, Montana, for final preparations.
- Air Echelon: Began overseas movement on July 4, 1943, taking the northern ferry route via Iceland to Prestwick, Scotland, where the first aircraft arrived on July 13, 1943.
- Ground Echelon: Left for Camp Shanks, New York, on July 4, 1943, and sailed on the USS James Parker on July 17, 1943, arriving in Liverpool on July 27, 1943.

Subsequent History:

Redeployed to the USA: June-August 1945
- Aircraft left Framlingham on June 25 and 26, 1945.
- Ground echelon sailed from Greenock on the Queen Elizabeth on August 5, 1945, arriving in New York on August 11, 1945.
- Personnel received 30 days of R&R. The group was re-established at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, and inactivated there on August 28, 1945.

Aircraft Markings and Identification:

B-17F/G Flying Fortresses (July 1943 – July 1945):
- Original B-17Fs: Dark Olive Drab and Neutral Gray factory finish. The Square J Group marking was applied soon after the aircraft arrived at Framlingham.
  - Square J Marking: Initially a 60-inch high by 48-inch wide white rectangle with a 36-inch high Insignia Blue “J” thereon. There was considerable variation in the size and shape of the Square J device on tails throughout the Group’s stay at Framlingham.
  - Call Letters: 24 inches high in yellow, placed below the tail number. Original complement also had 36-inch call letters on the rear fuselage in blue-grey, but many early replacements did not have them.
  - Squadron Letters:
    - 568th and 570th Bomb Squadrons: Used letters in alphabetical order from A.
    - 569th and 571st Bomb Squadrons: Used letters from Z in reverse alphabetical order. The letter I was not used until late 1943.
  - October 1943 Marking System: The group started painting SO110 squadron code letters on the B-17 fuselages forward of the national insignia on both sides. Their color was bluish-grey, and the letters were 36 inches high.
    - 568th Bomb Squadron: BI
    - 569th Bomb Squadron: CC
    - 570th Bomb Squadron: DI
    - 571st Bomb Squadron: FC
  - Natural Metal B-17Gs (March 1944): The Square J was white on black, and all other letters were black. Sizes remained as with camouflaged aircraft, though there were a few exceptions.
  - July 1944 Squadron Colors: Painted as a 12-inch nose band just aft of the Plexiglas.
    - 568th Bomb Squadron: Red
    - 569th Bomb Squadron: Dark Blue
    - 570th Bomb Squadron: Yellow
    - 571st Bomb Squadron: Bright Green
  - Late January 1945 Markings: A 48-inch yellow stripe was painted down the trailing edge of the vertical tail, soon amended to the rudder only. A 48-inch wide yellow stripe was also painted diagonally across the upper right and lower left wing surfaces, from just beyond the outboard engines to the center of the aileron.