World War Photos

Consolidated B-24 Liberator 389th Bomb Group over target 1944

389th Bomb Group  – “The Sky Scorpions”:

Overview:

• Assigned to Eighth Air Force (8th AF): June 11, 1943
• Primary Aircraft: B-24D (from blocks 15-CF, 75-CO); B-24E (few); B-24H, B-24J, B-24L, B-24M
• Component Squadrons: 564th, 565th, 566th, and 567th Bombardment Squadrons (H)

Wing & Command Assignments:

• VIII Bomber Command (BC), 2nd Bombardment Wing (BW), 201st Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing (PCBW): June 11, 1943
• VIII BC, 2nd Bombardment Division (BD), 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing (CBW): September 13, 1943
• 2nd BD, 2nd CBW: January 8, 1944
• 2nd Air Division (AD), 2nd CBW: January 1, 1945

Stations:

• Hethel: June 11, 1943 – May 30, 1945 (Ground echelon arrived July 8-10, 1943; Air echelon June 11-25, 1943)
• Temporary Bases in North Africa:
  • Benghazi No. 10, Libya: July 3, 1943 – August 25, 1943
  • Massicault, Tunisia: September 19, 1943 – October 3, 1943

Group Commanding Officers:

• Col. Jack W. Wood: May 16, 1943 – December 29, 1943
• Col. Milton W. Arnold: December 30, 1943 – March 29, 1944
• Col. Robert B. Miller: March 29, 1944 – August 17, 1944
• Col. Ramsey D. Potts Jr.: August 17, 1944 – December 4, 1944
• Col. John B. Herboth Jr.: December 4, 1944 – April 7, 1945 (MIA)
• Lt. Col. Jack G. Merrell: April 14, 1945 – June 1945 (Lt. Col. Chester Morneau acted from April 9, 1945, to April 13, 1945)

Combat Record:

• First Mission: July 9, 1943 (first from the UK on September 7, 1943)
• Last Mission: April 25, 1945
• Total Missions: 321 (including 14 from North Africa)
• Total Credit Sorties: 7,579
• Total Bomb Tonnage: 17,548 tons
• Aircraft MIA (Missing in Action): 116
• Other Operational Losses: 37
• Enemy Aircraft Claims: 209 destroyed, 31 probable, 45 damaged

Major Awards:

• Distinguished Unit Citation: August 1, 1943, for the Ploesti mission
• Medal of Honor: 2/Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes for the Ploesti mission on August 1, 1943

Claims to Fame:

• One of three 8th AF B-24 groups that took part in the famous Ploesti mission.
• At one period, provided Pathfinder Force (PFF) aircraft for all 2nd Bombardment Division groups.
• The 564th Bomb Squadron was judged the “best squadron in the ETO in 1945” based on efficiency.

Early History:

• Activated: December 24, 1942, at Davis-Monthan Army Air Base, Arizona.
  • Physical formation began at Biggs Field, Texas, on February 1, 1943, under Lt. Col. David B. Lancaster.
  • Between April 17-20, 1943, the group moved to Lowery Field, Colorado, for final training.
  • Ground Echelon: Arrived at Camp Kilmer, NJ, on June 11, 1943, and embarked on the Queen Elizabeth on June 30, 1943, sailing the next day and arriving at Gourock on July 6, 1943.
  • Air Echelon: Began overseas movement on June 13, 1943, via Dow Field, Maine; Goose Bay, Labrador; Gander, Newfoundland; Meeks Field, Iceland; to Prestwick, Scotland.

Subsequent History:

• Redeployed to the USA: May/June 1945
  • The first aircraft left the UK on May 20, 1945.
  • Ground echelon sailed from Bristol on the USS Cristobal on May 30, 1945, arriving in New York on June 8, 1945.
  • Personnel went to Camp Kilmer, NJ, and received 30 days R&R.
  • The group was re-established at Charleston Army Air Field, SC, on June 12, 1945, for transport duties but was apparently not fully manned. Inactivated on September 13, 1945, at that base.

Aircraft Markings and Identification:

• B-24D/H/J/L/M Liberators (August 1943 – May 1945):
  • Original B-24Ds: Dark Olive Drab and Neutral Gray factory finish. Radio call letters were painted on fins below tail numbers in yellow, 28 inches high.
  • Squadron Markings:
    • 564th and 566th Bomb Squadrons: Used letters in alphabetical order from A.
    • 565th and 567th Bomb Squadrons: Used letters from Z in reverse alphabetical order.
    • Distinctive Markings:
      • 566th and 567th had a yellow bar, approximately 12 by 4 inches, forward of the call letter as a means of distinction.
    • Circle C Group Marking: Applied to the vertical tail and right wing after the aircraft returned from North Africa in late August 1943.
      • The white disc on the tail was 69 or 72 inches in diameter with a 36-inch Insignia Blue “C”.
      • Tail numbers were repositioned lower on the fin, as was the call letter.
    • November 1943 Marking System:
      • 564th Bomb Squadron: No symbol with its call letter.
      • 565th Bomb Squadron: Bar before the call letter.
      • 566th Bomb Squadron: Plus sign after the call letter.
      • 567th Bomb Squadron: Bar after the letter.
    • March 1944 Markings: Squadron code letters were painted in light grey (Sky), 48 inches high, on the fuselage aft of the waist gun windows.
      • 564th Bomb Squadron: YO
      • 565th Bomb Squadron: EE
      • 566th Bomb Squadron: RR
      • 567th Bomb Squadron: HP
    • Natural Metal-Finish B-24Js (April 1944): Code letters were initially painted in yellow but soon changed to black. The Circle C was white on black, and the call letter was black on “silver” aircraft.
    • May 1944 High-Visibility Markings: Applied to the outward-facing surfaces of the vertical tail.
      • A 27-30 inch wide white vertical stripe was placed centrally, with the remainder of the fin and rudder painted black.
      • The call letter, 24 inches high in black, was positioned centrally on the white stripe.
      • 565th Bomb Squadron: Identified by a bar above the letter.
      • 567th Bomb Squadron: Bar below the letter.
      • 566th Bomb Squadron: Plus sign below the letter.
    • Late Summer 1944: Call letters were also painted on the rear fuselage of 389th Group Liberators, positioned just forward of the tailplane, 36 inches high and in yellow, with the appropriate symbol below or above, also in yellow.