B-17G of the 91st Bomb Group en route to targets around Brunswick 30 January 1944

324th BS, 91st BG B-17G over Germany en route to targets around Brunswick 30 January 1944. 42-39967 DF-K “MARY KAY”

The 91st Bomb Group (H), known as “The Ragged Irregulars,” played a significant role in the Eighth Air Force during World War II.

The group operated B-17F (from blocks 10-BO) and B-17G models throughout their service.

Kimbolton: 12 Sep 1942 – 13 Oct 1942 (Air echelon arrived 10 Oct 1942 to 17 Oct 1942).
Bassingbourn: 14 Oct 1942 – 23 Jun 1945.

Col Stanley T. Wray: 15 May 1942 – 1 May 1943.
Lt Col William M. Reid: 1 May 1943 – 23 May 1943.
Lt Col Baskin R. Lawrence: 23 May 1943 – 25 Jun 1943.
Lt Col Clemens L. Wurzbach: 25 Jun 1943 – 12 Dec 1943.
Col Claude E. Putnam: 12 Dec 1943 – 16 May 1944.
Col Henry W. Terry: 17 May 1944 – 30 May 1945.
Lt Col Donald E. Sheeler: 30 May 1945 – Jun 1945 (also acting commander 15 Nov 1944 – 30 Dec 1944).

Distinguished Unit Citations:
- 11 Jan 1944: Oschersleben (1st Division).
- 4 Mar 1943: Hamm.

Highest total claims of enemy aircraft destroyed among all 8th Air Force bomb groups: 420.
Highest loss among all 8th Air Force bomb groups: 197 MIA.
First group to attack a target in the Ruhr: 4 Mar 1943; Hamm.
Led the famous Schweinfurt mission: 17 Aug 1943.
First 8th Air Force bomb group to complete 100 missions: 5 Jan 1944.
Tested the first flak suits in March 1943.
B-17G “Nine-O-Nine” completed 140 missions without a mechanical turn-back, setting an 8th Air Force record.

Activated on 15 Apr 1942 at Harding Field, Louisiana.
Began expansion and first-phase training at McDill Field, Florida from 16 May 1942 to 22/25 Jun 1942.
Conducted second and third-phase training at Walla Walla Army Air Base, Washington under the 2nd Air Force from 26 Jun 1942 to 24 Aug 1942.
The ground echelon moved to Fort Dix, NJ, and boarded the Queen Mary on 2/5 Sep 1942, arriving at Gourock on 11 Sep 1942.
The air echelon departed Walla Walla on 24 Aug 1942 for Gowen Field, Idaho, where they received their first B-17s.
The air echelon moved to Dow Field, Maine, and by early Oct 1942, they had enough new B-17s to complete the group’s complement. The first squadron flew the North Atlantic route in late Sep 1942.

Redeployed to the USA in May/Jun 1945.
The first aircraft left the UK on 27 May 1945.
The ground echelon sailed on the Queen Elizabeth on 24 Jun 1945, disembarking at Camp Kilmer, NJ, on 29 Jun 1945.
On 2 Jul 1945, the group was established at Drew Field, Florida.
Although scheduled for Pacific service, the group was never fully manned and was inactivated on 7 Nov 1945.

B-17F/G Fortresses (Sep 1942 – Jun 1945):
- Original B-17Fs were in Dark Olive Drab and Neutral Gray with some Medium Green blotching along the flying surfaces.
- In Oct 1942, 24-inch yellow radio call-letters were painted on the fins below the tail numbers.
- Squadron codes painted on the fuselage forward of the cocarde on both sides from December 1942:
  - 322nd Bomb Squadron – LG.
  - 323rd – OR.
  - 324th – DF.
  - 401st – LL.
- The Triangle A Group marking (standard 72-inch size with an Insignia Blue A) was applied to the fins and right wing upper surfaces from late June/early July 1943.
- For natural metal-finish B-17Gs arriving in March 1944, the squadron and call-letters were painted in black, and the Group marking was white on black.
- July 1944: Red scheme applied to wing tips and tail surfaces for 1st Combat Bomb Wing aircraft. Tail numbers and call-letters were repainted on the red panel, in black on bare metal-finished aircraft and in yellow on camouflaged aircraft.