Historical Note: 452nd Bomb Group

The 452nd Bombardment Group was established in the summer of 1943 at Geiger Field, Washington. Based at Deopham Green, Norfolk, England, the Group was part of the Eighth Air Force and began operations in the European Theatre of World War II in February 1944. The Group's tail code was a "Square-L." Between February 1944 and May 1945, the Group flew an estimated 250 combat missions, with targets including manufacturing plants throughout northern Germany and coastal defenses prior to and after the D-Day Normandy invasion. Some of the individual aircraft of the Group can be identified from Donald Hayes's photographs, such as the B-17 42-31332 "Frivolous Sal." Hayes served as the ball turret gunner on B-17 42-31319 "Tangerine," which arrived in England in January 1944. On April 26, 1944, "Tangerine" took off from Deopham Green. Pilot Lt. Hugh Wilson was unable to gain altitude and crash landed a mile away from the runway. After World War II, the Group was reactivated for missions in the Korean War, then put in reserve until 1992. The 452nd Bombardment Group exists today as the 452nd Operations Group and primarily serves the United States Air Force as air refueling support. Historical note derived from collection materials and the following sources:

• American Air Museum in Britain. “452nd Bomb Group.” https://www.americanairmuseum.com/unit/422. Accessed January 9, 2020.
• American Air Museum in Britain. “Accident Report for 42-31319.” https://www.americanairmuseum.com/media/24998. Accessed January 9, 2020.
• B-17 Bomber Flying Fortress – Queen of the Skies. “History of the B-17 #42-31319 / Tangerine.” https://b17flyingfortress.de/en/b17/42-31319-tangerine/. Accessed January 9, 2020.
• B-17 Bomber Flying Fortress – Queen of the Skies. “History of the B-17 #42-31332 / Frivolous Sal.” https://b17flyingfortress.de/en/b17/42-31332-frivolous-sal/. Accessed January 9, 2020.
• Wikipedia. “452nd Operations Group.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/452nd_Operations_Group. Accessed January 9, 2020.

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