Bomb Group: The Eighth Air Force's 381st and the Allied Air Offensive over Europe

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Bomb Group follows the 381st's path from its formation in the Texan desert, to its 297th and final bombing mission deep into the heart of Hitler's Third Reich. It is the remarkable story of one group and the part it played in the strategic bombing campaign of "The Mighty Eighth." If you could give a piece of advice to your younger self, either as a student or when you first started out as a writer, what would it be? When the war in Europe ended in 1945, the 381st returned to the U.S. Ridgewell Airfield was closed and the land returned to private ownership as a farm. The only parts of the base that remain today are the roads and a Nissen hut that had been the hospital. Actor Edward G. Robinson (second from right) enjoys a cigar in the Ridgewell Officers’ Mess, 1944. [Courtesy: Ridgewell Airfield Commemorative Museum]

Paul has described writing Bomb Group as “penance” for not knowing he lived just nine miles from the former Eighth Air Force base at Ridgewell – the Essex home of the 381st Bomb Group. For a self-confessed aviation geek, it was an awkward discovery. I admire James Holland for his ability to convey military history so well. Unfortunately, I just don’t have his capacity to write the number of books he has. He’s a veritable writing machine. For books covering aviation, I highly recommend Sagittarius Rising by Cecil Lewis, First Lightby Geoffrey Wellum, and Combat Crew by John Comer. Three outstanding books by three very brave individuals. The men of RAF Bomber Command were only given their own memorial 10 years ago,” he said. “Winston Churchill didn’t help by failing to mention them in his victory speech, as he had done with ‘The Few.’ Museums like Ridgewell help to tell the story of those bomber boys who answered the call of duty—most of them volunteering, before serving thousands and thousands of miles away from their friends and families,” he said.

While flight crews were rotated home after a set number of missions—at first it was 25, then it was raised to 35 missions—there was no such rule for ground crews, Madar said, although as the war in Europe was starting to wind down, duty schedules relaxed a bit. B-17 Stage Door Canteen christening by Mary Churchill. [Courtesy: Ridgewell Airfield Commemorative Museum] As part of the trip, he walked the parts of the base that had been the athletic fields, the hangars, and looked for the area where his uncle’s billet had been. According to Bingley, while Americans view all airmen as heroes, the men in the RAF Bomber Command were not seen in the same light, as the attention was more focused on the pilots who flew fighters. When I was there, Paul Bingley and I found where Andy lived, and when I walked by there, I got goosebumps and started to cry,” Madar said. “It hit me. It was his last residence, where he would last have a smile. The other significant thing for me was the morgue, as morbid as that sounds, as that was the last place they were before their bodies were shipped to Cambridge.”

He befriended some of the 381st’s ground crews and built up a collection of wartime memorabilia, which he exhibited around Essex,” Bingley said. “Finally, he got permission to display his collection in a small section of the current museum building. Sadly, he passed away before seeing the fruit of his labors. The museum continued on, thanks to his friends, including Jim and Jenny Tennet, together with Alan and Monica Steel, and several others.” There would be so many – Eric “Winkle” Brown, Winston Churchill, Douglas Bader, to name but a few. If it had to be only one, I would have to say James Good Brown. Not a household name, but one I’ve come to respect and admire. As chaplain of the 381st Bomb Group (and author of The Mighty Men of the 381st: Heroes All) he has become something of a hero of mine. Bomb Group leans heavily on his book, which was largely written as a diary during the Second World War. Evocative, inspiring and touching in equal measure, the character of the man shines through in his words. In 2017, we were named ‘runners-up’ in the 2017 Museums + Heritage Awards’ ‘Project on a Limited Budget’ category,” Bingley said. “This has led to more individuals donating and loaning items for display. We are particularly keen on personal items, as the ethos of the museum is to tell their stories. We can see just how deeply these stories resonate with visitors.” It is Paul’s passion for the American Eighth Air Force that drove him to co-author his most recent book, Bomb Group: The Eighth Air Force’s 381st and the Allied Air Offensive over Europe. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the 381st Bombardment Group, Bomb Group has been widely praised as “vivid”, “extraordinary” and “sure to become a WW2 aviation classic.”Most certainly the First and Second World Wars. Almost every British family had some connection to those two events. Whether it be the social changes that took place, or the hardships that people suffered, some aspect of each war should be on every school curriculum. While there are other veterans associations and organizations that provide educational support to the children of those who served with the 381st, there aren’t many places to visit where their family members once served. My uncle was one of 31 men killed just 15 days before the end of the war in an airplane crash on the Isle of Man. They were heading to Northern Ireland for a week’s leave.” Deadliest Crash on the Isle of Man

Because of the limited space, museum volunteers have learned to be creative with the donations they receive, as they recognize how important they are to the story of the 381st. If I could witness any historical event it would have to be aviation-related. The Eighth Air Force’s 760th mission on Christmas Eve, 1944, would certainly have been a spectacle. Imagine clear skies extending all the way into Europe. Now visualise over 2,000 heavy bombers escorted by more than 800 fighters, all winging their way towards western Germany to strike at its airfields and communication centres. This “maximum effort” raid proved to be the largest air strike operation of the Second World War. Every American bomb group and all but two of its fighter groups took part. Despite the clear weather over Europe, it wasn’t the case in England. When the groups returned, bad weather over their home bases forced many bombers to divert. In the case of the 381st Bomb Group, its base at Ridgewell was open. The Essex airfield subsequently saw the arrival of more than 125 B-17 Flying Fortresses. With another 700 mouths to feed, Christmas turkey for the 381st’s men had to be supplemented by plates of Spam. After such a long and challenging day, I can just imagine there was many a glum face at Ridgewell.Madar said three of Andy’s sisters are still alive, and they and Madar have plans to return to Ridgewell to walk in the footsteps of Andy Piter Jr. and to remember him on the 80th anniversary of the crash. An intimate history of a B-17 Bomb Group at the heart of the US Eighth Air Force's daylight bombing offensive against Hitler's Germany.

Are there any historians who helped shaped your career? Similarly, can you recommend three history books which budding historians should read? At the heart of the Eighth Air Force were its bombardment groups, each equipped with scores of heavily armed, four-engine bombers. These Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators were soon punching through the enemy's defences to bomb targets vital to its war effort. They were crewed by thousands of young American airmen, most of whom were volunteers.The Essex Gliding Club continues to use Ridgewell during the summer months, and has even painted one of its gliders in the markings of the 381st. It has also given pleasure flights over the base to veterans and their relatives,” he said. It could accommodate around 3,000 people at any one time—we don’t know exactly how many were based at Ridgewell throughout its entire existence,” he said. “It is stated in Roger Freeman’s Airfields of the Eighth; Then and Now that public roads use more old taxiways at Ridgewell than on any other Eighth airfield.” Sometimes relationships are forged between visitors, such as the day when two American families came to visit. One of the frequent contributors is Don Madar, an author and historian. Madar has written several books about military history, all of them with a family connection. His interest in the 381st is tied to his uncle Andy Piter Jr., a member of a ground crew at Ridgewell who did not make it home. Bingley said he first learned about the 381st in 2003 when he read the book Combat Crew by John Comer, who had served as an engineer and top turret gunner with the 381st at Ridgewell. The museum on opening day, June 2022. [Courtesy: Ridgewell Airfield Commemorative Museum]