RAF Polebrook
Encyclopedia
Oundle
Oundle is an ancient market town on the River Nene in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 5,345 or 5,674 . It lies some north of London and south-west of Peterborough...
, at Polebrook
Polebrook
-History:There is evidence that Polebrook as a settlement dates back to 4000 BC,. The farms were mainly centred around the modern day village of Ashton...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, UK. The airfield was built on Rothschild estate land starting in August 1940.
It was from Polebrook that the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
carried out its first heavy bomb group (B-17) combat mission on August 17, 1942, and from which Major Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
flew combat missions in 1943.
Origins
RAF Polebrook was the first airfield to be completed out of a number in the NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
/Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
area which were laid down for RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
during late 1940 and early 1941.
Like other airfields in the construction program at the time, Polebrook was built by George Wimpey & Co., Limited
George Wimpey
George Wimpey was formed in 1880 and, based in Hammersmith, operated largely as a road surfacing contractor. The business was acquired by Godfrey Mitchell in 1919 and he developed it into the UK’s pre-eminent construction and housebuilding firm. In 2007, Wimpey merged with Taylor Woodrow to create...
. The initial construction was of three runways, the concrete runway lengths were 08-26 at 1,280 yards, 14-32 at 1,200 yards and 02-20, 1,116 yards. In addition, thirty square hardstands most on the eastern side, were reached by very long access tracks.
The weapons store was unusual in that it lay within the perimeter track at the southern end. One Type J and two Type T-2 hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
s were erected on the technical site outside the northern perimeter with the domestic sites dispersed in woodland beyond.
RAF Bomber Command use
One of the first units to operate from the airfield was 90 Squadron, RAF, which carried out operational trials from June 1941 to February 1942. Several of the hardstands and taxiwayTaxiway
A taxiway is a path on an airport connecting runways with ramps, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller airports sometimes use gravel or grass....
s were still under construction when the squadron arrived.
No. 90 Squadron was equipped with the American B-17C, called "Fortress 1" by the RAF. Although the US Army Air Force did not consider the B-17C as being combat ready (the E-version was already under procurement as the result of combat reports from Europe), the RAF was sufficiently desperate in 1941 that these planes were immediately pressed into front-line service.
The Fortress's were used for very high-altitude attacks in daylight, the first operation from Polebrook being flown on July 8, 1941 when three Fortresses were dispatched on a raid to Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
. Engine trouble forced one of the planes to divert to a second target, but the other two went on to attack the naval barracks at Wilhelmshaven from an altitude of 30,000 feet. Unfortunately, the planes were not able to hit anything from such extreme altitudes. In addition, their crews found that the temperatures at this altitude were so cold that their defensive machine guns froze up when they tried to fire them. However, all planes returned safely to base.
Their last raid launched from Polebrook was on September 2, 1941. RAF Fortresses had flown 22 attacks against targets such as Bremen, Brest, Emden, Kiel, Oslo, and Rotterdam. A total of 39 planes had been dispatched, out of which eighteen planes had aborted and two had been forced to bomb secondary targets because of mechanical problems. Eight Fortresses had been destroyed in combat or lost in accidents. Discouraged by these losses, the RAF decided to abandon daylight bombing raids over Europe.
Although two Fortresses were missing from operations, the only loss resulting from a raid flown from Polebrook involved a badly battle-damaged aircraft that crash landed at a south-coast airfield.
As a result of RAF experience with the Fortress, it was determined that there was a need for vast improvements in defensive gunnery, a need for operating the Fortresses in greater numbers in tighter formations for better defensive firepower, and a need for better and more intensive crew training. Nevertheless, their British crews generally were quite pleased with the Fortress I, regarding it as easy to fly, very maneuverable, and aerodynamically stable in the bomb run.
While at Polebrook, No. 90 was then the sole operational squadron assigned to No. 8 Group and, before it was disbanded on February 12, 1942, its remaining aircraft and crews were only involved in experimentation and training.
The short runways at Polebrook were found to be unsatisfactory for the operation of the heavy-loaded, four-engine B-17. In 1942 the airfield was improved to Class A airfield
Class A airfield
Class A airfields were military installations originally built for the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. Several were transferred to the U.S...
standards. The main runway was extended to 1,950 yards and the secondary runways to 1,400 yards each. In addition, additional hardstands were constructed, increasing the total number from 30 to 50. This enlargement resulted in the unusual situation that the ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
storage area was inside the extended perimeter track. The living and communal sites were dispersed in woodlands north of the airfield. They provided accommodations to about 2,000 personnel.
USAAF use
From December 12, 1943 though June 12, 1945, Polebrook served as headquarters for the 94th Combat Bombardment Wing of the 1st Bombardment Division. It was designated USAAF Station 110.97th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
and the airbase became the base of the 97th Bombardment Group, the first USAAF heavy bomber organization to arrive in the UK.
The 97th BG was assigned to the 1st Combat Wing, at RAF Bassingbourn
RAF Bassingbourn
RAF Bassingbourn is a former military airbase located in Cambridgeshire approximately north of Royston, Hertfordshire and south west of Cambridge. During World War II it served first as an RAF station and then as a bomber base of the U.S. Eighth Air Force...
. It's operational squadrons were divided between Polebrook and RAF Grafton Underwood
RAF Grafton Underwood
RAF Grafton Underwood is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 4 miles NE of Kettering in Northamptonshire.-RAF use:...
:
- 340th Bombardment Squadron (RAF Polebrook)
- 341st Bombardment Squadron341st Bombardment SquadronThe 341st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 4038th Strategic Wing. It was last stationed at Dow Air Force Base, Maine, and was inactivated on 1 February 1963.-History:...
(RAF Polebrook) - 342d Bombardment Squadron342d Bombardment SquadronThe 342d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 4137th Strategic Wing. It was last stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, and was inactivated on 1 February 1963.-History:...
(RAF Grafton Underwood) - 343d Bombardment Squadron (RAF Grafton Underwood)
Combat operations by the USAAF began on August 17, 1942, when the 97th BG flew the first Eighth Air Force heavy bomber mission of the war, attacking the Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
-Sotteville marshalling yards in France. The lead aircraft of the group, Butcher Shop, was piloted by the Group Commander, Colonel Frank A. Armstrong
Frank A. Armstrong
Frank Alton Armstrong, Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Army Air Forces and the inspiration for the main character in the novel and subsequent film, Twelve O'Clock High. After the war he became a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force.Armstrong was born in Hamilton,...
, and squadron commander Major Paul W. Tibbets
Paul Tibbets
Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force, best known for being the pilot of the Enola Gay, the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in the history of warfare. The bomb, code-named Little Boy, was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima...
(who later flew the Enola Gay
Enola Gay
Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, mother of the pilot, then-Colonel Paul Tibbets. On August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb as a weapon of war...
to Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
Japan on the first atomic bomb mission). In the leading aircraft of the second flight, Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle
"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known Anglo-American song, the origin of which dates back to the Seven Years' War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today and is the state anthem of Connecticut...
, flew General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Ira C. Eaker, the commanding general of the Eighth Air Force Bomber Command.
The 97th BG conducted a total of 14 missions from Polebrook, attacking airfields, marshalling yards, industries, naval installations, and other targets in France and the Low Countries.
The group sortie
Sortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
d 247 aircraft, dropped 395 tons of bombs on Nazi-controlled territory, and lost 14 aircraft. On October 21, 1942, the 97th Bomb Group was transferred to the Twelfth Air Force in the Mediterranean theater and Polebrook was unoccupied until April 1943.
351st Bombardment Group (Heavy)
On April 15, 1943, the 351st Bomb Group351st Bomb Group
The 351st Operations Group is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with to the 351st Missile Wing, being stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. It was inactivated on 31 July 1995....
arrived at RAF Polebrook. It was assigned to the 94th Combat Wing, also at Polebrook. The group tail code was a "Triangle J". It's operational squadrons were:
- 508th Bombardment Squadron (YB)
- 509th Bombardment Squadron (RQ)
- 510th Bombardment Squadron (TU)
- 511th Bombardment Squadron511th Bombardment SquadronThe 511th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 351st Bombardment Group, stationed at Fairfax Field, Kansas. It was inactivated on 27 June 1949.-History:...
(DS)
The 351st's first completed combat mission took place on May 14, 1943, when 18 B-17's targeted a German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
airfield at Kortrijk
Kortrijk
Kortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...
, Belgium. As the war progressed, the 351st operated primarily against strategic objectives in Germany, striking such targets as ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of Würzburg.- History :...
, communications at Mayen
Mayen
Mayen is a town in the Mayen-Koblenz District of the Rhineland-Palatinate Federal State of Germany, in the eastern part of the Volcanic Eifel Region. As well as the main town, there are five further settlements which are part of Mayen, they are: Alzheim, Kürrenberg, Hausen-Betzing, Hausen and Nitztal...
, marshalling yards at Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
, a locomotive and tank factory at Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, industries at Berlin, bridges at Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, an armaments factory at Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, and oil refineries at Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
.
The group also struck harbor facilities, submarine installations, airfields, V-weapon sites, and power plants in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Norway.
The 351st Received a Distinguished Unit Citation for performance of October 9, 1943 when an aircraft factory in Germany was accurately bombed in spite of heavy flak and pressing enemy interceptors. It received another DUC for its part in the successful attack of January 11, 1944 on aircraft factories in central Germany. The group participated in the intensive air campaign against the German aircraft industry during Big Week, February 20–25, 1944.
In addition to its strategic missions, the group often operated in support of ground forces and attacked interdictory targets. Bombed in support of the Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
in June 1944 and the Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
breakthrough in July. The group hit enemy positions to cover the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September 1944. Struck front-line positions, communications, and airfields to help stop the German counteroffensive in the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, December 1944-January 1945. Flew missions in support of Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
, the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.
In 1944 Polebrook also became the headquarters of the 94th Combat Wing, which controlled the 351st, the 457th Bomb Group at RAF Glatton
RAF Glatton
RAF Glatton is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 10 miles N of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire.-USAAF use:Glatton was constructed in 1943 and was assigned to the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force as a heavy bomber airfield...
and the 401st Bomb Group at RAF Deenethorpe
RAF Deenethorpe
RAF Deenethorpe is a former World War II airfield in Northamptonshire, England, about two miles east of Corby.- USAAF use:Deenethorpe was constructed in 1943 and was allocated to the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force...
.
The 351st conducted routine 8th Air Force missions
Military operation
Military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state's favor. Operations may be of combat or non-combat types, and are referred to by a code name for the purpose...
from RAF Polebrook until the end of the war. The unit completed 311 combat missions from Polebrook. The 351st lost 175 B-17's and their crews. The gunners in the Group fired off 2,776,028 rounds of ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
and were credited with destroying 303 enemy aircraft. The 509th Bomb Squadron completed 54 consecutive missions without losses between June 1943 to January 1944.
The unit returned to the US soon after V-E Day with the air element leaving May 21 and the ground echelon sailing June 25. Reassigned to Sioux Falls AAF, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
during August 1945. the 391st Bomb Group was inactivated on August 28, 1945.
RAF Polebrook was subsequently returned to the RAF on August 28, 1945, and the base was placed on care and maintenance status.
Medal of Honor
Two members of the 351st, Lt. Walter E. TruemperWalter E. Truemper
Walter Edward Truemper was a United States Army Air Forces officer in World War II and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor...
and S/Sgt. Archibald Mathies
Archibald Mathies
Archibald Mathies posthumously received the Medal of Honor as an enlisted member of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.-Childhood:...
, were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
. On a mission to Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Germany, February 20, 1944 their B-17 Ten Horsepower was attacked by German fighters. The co-pilot was killed and pilot Lt. Clarence Nelson was badly wounded. Truemper and Mathies flew the badly damaged B-17 back to England where the remainder of the crew bailed out, then attempted to land the plane to save the life of the unconscious pilot. On their third attempt Ten Horsepower crashed on final approach and all three airmen were killed.
Legacy
During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
351st Strategic Missile Wing stood alert with Minuteman I and later, Minuteman II ICBMs starting in 1963 at Whiteman AFB Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. The wing was bestowed the lineage, honors and history of the World War II USAAF 351st Bomb Wing upon activation.
The 351st SMW won the SAC missile combat competitions and Blanchard Trophy in 1967, 1971, and 1977. Named as SAC's "best Minuteman wing" in 1972. It stood down from alert and was deactivated in 1995.
Hollywood at Polebrook
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
was stationed at Polebrook to produce a recruiting film for aircraft gunners. He had trained with the 351st Bomb Group at Biggs Army Air Base, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Pueblo Army Air Base
Pueblo Memorial Airport
Pueblo Memorial Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located five miles east of the central business district of Pueblo, a city in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. It is mostly used for general aviation, but is also served by one commercial airline. The Pueblo Airport is a popular...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, then accompanied it overseas in early April 1943. While with the 351st, he flew five combat missions as an observer. Much of the film was shot by former MGM cinematographer 1st Lt. Andrew McIntyre, who MGM had arranged to enlist with and accompany Gable in training, and scripting was by John Lee Mahin
John Lee Mahin
John Lee Mahin was a prolific screenwriter and producer. He was the son of John Lee Mahin, Sr. , a Chicago newspaper and advertising man, and Julia Graham Snitzler....
, a Hollywood screenwriter also in the unit.
Gable's first combat mission occurred on May 4, 1943, when Gable accompanied 351st group commander Lt. Col. William A. Hatcher on a late afternoon familiarization mission before the 351st became operational. Flying squadron lead with Capt William R. Calhoun of the 303rd Bomb Group, RAF Molesworth
RAF Molesworth
RAF Molesworth is a Royal Air Force station located near Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom with a history dating back to 1917.Its runway and flight line facilities were closed in 1973 and demolished to support ground-launched cruise missile operations in the early 1980s...
, against the Ford and General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
plants at Antwerp, Belgium, Hatcher and Gable's B-17 was nicknamed The 8 Ball MK II (s/n 41-24635). Gable fired a few rounds from a machine gun mounted in the radio room and suffered a minor case of frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
from wearing leather gloves in the extreme cold.
Gable's second mission came July 10, 1943, flying with 2nd Lt. Theodore Argiropulos of the 351st's 508th Bomb Squadron in Argonaut III (42-29851) to bomb the airfield at Villacoublay, France. The mission was frustrating in that clouds forced the bombers to return without dropping their ordnance, but did not prevent German fighter attacks. His third combat mission occurred on 24 July 1943, again in Argonaut III as the lead aircraft of the 351st, with group executive officer Lt.Col. Robert W. Burns. The mission to bomb the Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...
chemical plants in Herøya
Herøya
Herøya is a peninsula in the municipality of Porsgrunn, Norway. It is located between the fjords of Frierfjord to the west and Gunneklevfjord to the east, at the mouth of Telemarksvassdraget...
, Norway, was unopposed, but was also the longest by the Eighth Air Force to that date and began a week-long series of intensive operations against German targets known as the "Blitz Week".
On the morning of August 12, 1943, his fourth mission was to bomb a synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
in the Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
, joining 351st operations officer Maj. Theodore "Ross" Milton and Capt. John B. Carraway's crew in Ain't It Gruesome (42-29863). Bombing Bochum
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
, Germany, as a target of opportunity in bad weather, Gable experienced the Eighth's most dangerous mission to date, with 25 of its 330 B-17s shot down. Although none of the 351st's Fortresses went down, 11 suffered battle damage, one crash-landed on return, and the group's crews suffered one killed and seven wounded. During the mission, Gable wedged himself behind the top turret gunner for a better view as German fighters made five passes at the 351st's formation. A 20mm shell came up through Aint It Gruesomes flight deck, cut off the heel from Gable's boot, and exited one foot from his head, all without exploding. Afterward, the crew noticed the fifteen holes in the aircraft, and Gable noticed his boot. Brushing off concern with reporters, Gable claimed, "I didn't know it had happened. I didn't know anything about it until we had dropped eleven thousand feet, and could get off oxygen and look around. Only then did I see the hole in the turret."
Gable's final combat mission was an early morning strike to the port area of Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
, France, on September 23, 1943. He flew with Lt. Col. Burns and 510th Bomb Squadron commander Maj. John Blaylock, leading the 351st in The Dutchess (42-29925). Half of the six groups assigned failed to assemble in bad weather, and intercepting fighters inflicted extensive battle damage to the other half, but no bombers were lost. Gable left his film crew in the waist of the bomber and manned a gun in the nose.
Captain Clark Gable was awarded the Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
on October 4 for completing five combat missions, and later the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
. His final three missions were flown in the dangerous position of group lead, a hazard emphasized when the B-17 flown by Col. Hatcher and Major Blaylock was shot down near Cognac
Cognac
Cognac is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Cognac is situated on the river Charente between the towns of Angoulême and Saintes. The majority of the town has been built on the river's left bank, with the smaller right...
, France, on December 31, 1943, killing Blaylock and resulting in Hatcher's capture. Gable left the 351st on November 5, 1943, returning to the US with over 50,000 feet of 16mm color film. In 1944, the film Combat America
Combat America
Combat America is a 1943 Allied propaganda film of World War II:Initial footage depicts aircraft flying over American mountains, with Gable narrating that this is what they are fighting for...
, narrated by Gable, was shown in theaters.
Thor Missile use by RAF Bomber Command
Post-war the station came under No. 273 Maintenance Unit and the airfield was kept in usable state until October 1948 when it was closed. RAF Polebrook was kept in caretaker status until 1959.The Thor missile deployment was an emergency response by the US to what was perceived as a missile gap with the Soviet Union. Launch orders for Thor missiles were to be given jointly by UK-US officers from HQ Bomber Command, High Wycombe and USAF 7th Air Division, co-located at the same base. An RAF officer could order a missile to be launched, but a USAF officer had to authenticate arming the warhead. The W49
W49
The W49 was an American thermonuclear warhead, used on the Thor, Atlas, Jupiter, and Titan I ballistic missile systems. W49 warheads were manufactured starting in 1958 and were in service until 1963, with a few warheads being retained until 1975....
thermonuclear warhead fitted to a Thor missile had a destructive yield of 1.44-megatons, and weighed 1680-lbs. The missile itself had a CEP
Circular error probable
In the military science of ballistics, circular error probable is an intuitive measure of a weapon system's precision...
of approximiately 2 miles.
No. 130(SM) Squadron (North Luffenham Wing) was formed at what was retained for RAF use at Polebrook to operate three Thor missile emplacements which were constructed in the center of the former airfield area.
The Thor missiles were operational until August 1963, when the rockets were removed and the unit disbanded.
Civil use
Today, Polebrook airfield has few reminders of its wartime past and is almost unidentifiable from the air. All of the wartime concreted areas have been removed with the exception of the deteriorating Thor missile launch pads from the early 1960s. A memorial
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
was erected in the early 1990s and some old buildings remain scattered around in the area being used for agricultural purposes. The massive J-style Hangar still exists and the owners are very American friendly and very respectful of the hangar's place in history.