The 346th Bombardment Group is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. - j . Activated on 1 Jun 1942. . Also, the radio room gun was gradually removed from aircraft later in the war. Our 99th Bomb Group Historical Society (BGHS) Board Member, Fred Lee Troy, a 99BG 346BS veteran flew his final mission on January 15, 2020. Leo Brousseau . The squadron was first activated as the 346th Bombardment Squadron in 1942. Trained with B-17s. Trained with B-17s. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 346th Bomb Squadron, 99th Bomb Group '2nd Patches' B-17G Model at the best online prices at eBay! After training in the United States, it moved to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it earned two . A B-17 Bomber Group, 12th Air Force and 15th Air Force. Follow Join Our Email List. Colonel Faye R. Upthegrove was designated as the Group Commander, and Lieutenant Colonel Leroy A. Rainey was designated as the Deputy Group Commander. 99th Bomb Group, 346th Bomb Squadron, B-17 "Patches" with Checkertail escort. The 99th was stationed at Navarin, located near Constantine. This was B-17F-75-BO serial number 42-29918. Preserving WWII History Honoring Service. Total Downloaded: 4.31 MB. The 99th came to be referred to as the Diamondbacks, due to a diamond insignia painted on the vertical stabilizer of their . ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 Based on what he is wearing, this is probably from stateside training. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A24851-122741AC. A B-17 Bomber Group, 12th Air Force and 15th Air Force. Headquarters; . Share. What people are saying - Write a. Due to congestion at Gowan Field, the 99th was relocated to Walla Walla AAF, in Washington . Also in the 5th Wing were the 97th and 301st Bomb Groups. Moved to North Africa, Feb-May 1943, and assigned to Twelfth Air Force. During October, the 99th received twelve flight leaders with crews, and four B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. Jim was a tail gunner with the 346th squadron, and was part of the Robert Jaenisch crew. 19: . Bomb bursts cover the marshalling yards at Bologna, Italy, on 2nd September 1943 during a bombing raid by planes of the 99th Bomb Group, 346th Bomb Squadron, 15th Air Force. The group was originally a heavy bomber training unit, but was inactivated in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces training units in 1944. Trained with B-17's. Moved to North Africa, Feb-May 1943, and assigned to Twelfth AF. 5858 2 Comments 3 Shares Activated on 1 Jun 1942. Share. Please select any of the units below to submit a research inquiry to WW2 Researcher Bill Beigel. It carried over 20 mission . History Posted on 2020-07-09 2020-07-09. . This image is copyrighted and is the property of Willie Jones Jr. and is available only to members of the Armed Forces and Military organizations. 346th Squadron 347th Squadron 348th Squadron 416th Squadron Contact Links Sitemap Disclaimer. The squadron tests military cyberspace operation systems. 346th Squadron 347th Squadron 348th Squadron 416th Squadron Contact Links Sitemap Disclaimer. Share. 346th Bombardment) Squadron 1 June 1942 - 8 November 1945; 29 May 1947 - 27 June 1949; 1 January 1953 - 31 March 1974; This bomb wing has three operational squadrons; the 11th Bomb Squadron (training squadron), the 20th Bomb Squadron, and the 96th Bomb Squadron Combat Wing Assignment: 45th CBW Base: Snetterton Heath, England Group tail code: C (square symbol) 96th BG squadrons identification codes: AW - 337th Bomb Squadron BX - 338th Bomb Squadron QJ - 339th Bomb Squadron MZ - 413th Bomb Squadron The . On 25 September 1942, the 99th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Gowan Field AAF near Boise, Idaho.The 99th consisted of the 346th, 347th, 348th, and 416th Bomb squadrons. It was originally equipped with B-17s and B-24s. During the first phase of training, the 99th received six more B-17s. Probably late 1944 or early 1945. The 2nd Bomb Group would arrive from the United States in April of 1943, to be assigned to the 5th Wing. Headquarters; . A B-17 Bomber Group, 12th Air Force and 15th Air Force. Follow Join Our Email List. 416th Bomb Squadron, 99th Bombardment Group WWII. The 99th Bomb Group contained the 346th, 347th, 348th, and the 416th squadrons. Share. From William Paccione, identified only as "Frank", a Radio Operator in the 346th Squadron. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 99th Bombardment Group | 346th, 347th, 348th, 416th Bomb Squadrons Constituted as 99th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. The 99th was attached to the 5th Bombardment Wing of 12th Air Force, stationed in North Africa. The 99th Bomb Group contained the 346th, 347th, 348th, and the 416th squadrons. The squadron was first activated as the 346th Bombardment Squadron in 1942. The 99th consisted of the 346th, 347th, 348th, and 416th Bomb . 99th Bombardment Group (99BG) (Boeing B-17s) (Y in a Diamond) 346th Bombardment Squadron (346BS) 347th Bombardment Squadron (347BS) 348th Bombardment Squadron (348BS) 416th Bombardment Squadron (416BS) . 99th Bomb Group Turner Publishing Company, 1998 - History - 112 pages 0 Reviews The 99th Bomb Group contained the 346th, 347th, 348th, and the 416th squadrons. The B-17 had one of the heaviest bomb loads of the USAAF bombers of World War II. [2] The squadron was again activated at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas in August 2000 as the 346th Test Squadronand assigned to the 318th Information Operations Group. Author: Air Force Association. Preserving WWII History Honoring Service. Constituted as 99th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. 2nd Patches had been it's share of rough times during it's combat career as aircraft had replacement wing panels, fin and crew access door. The 2nd Bomb Group would arrive from the United States in April of 1943, to be assigned to the 5th Wing. For the next two years, it performed operational test and evaluation for Air Combat Command systems. 61 62nd Military Airlift Wing . [2] The 346th Test Squadron is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 318th Cyberspace Operations Group at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.The squadron tests military cyberspace operation systems.. Share. 346th Bomb Squadron Squadron Show caption About this image 1-5 of 11 Structure Part of 99th Bomb Group Group Constituted as 99th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. It was inactivated on April 1, 1944, redesignated 346th . The unit was constituted as 346th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on September 3, 1942, activated on September 7, 1942, and assigned to Second Air Force. Follow Join Our Email List. Thomas, Robert Thompson, Donald Thornton, William Thurston, George Timpanero, Jack Todd, Henry Todd, Mick Tomlinson, Arneil Torpey, Donald Torres, Amarante Torres, Armante Toth, John Towner, George Trominski, Robert Tucci, Leon Tvedte, Norman Tvedte, Norman Showing 25 of 25 Menu Home Headquarters 346th Squadron 347th Squadron 348th Squadron The B-17G became "2nd Patches". It served first as an operational training unit and later as a replacement training unit. Moved to North Africa, Feb-May 1943, and assigned to Twelfth Air Force. It originally served with the 97th Bomb Group, 342nd Bomb Squadron and then with the 99th Bomb Group, 346th Bomb Squadron. The 99th consisted of the 346th, 347th, 348th, and 416th Bomb squadrons. Organization and Training: On September 25, 1942, the 99th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Gowan Field near Boise, Idaho. Lauer came to the 99th from 15th Air Force Headquarters. Activated on 1 Jun 1942. 346th Squadron 347th Squadron 348th Squadron 416th Squadron Contact Links Sitemap Disclaimer. The squadron and 99th Group were inactivated at Ellsworth in 1995 as ACC centralized its operational test and evaluation under the 53d Wingat Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Publisher: Turner Publishing Company . Entered combat in Mar 1943 and bombed such targets as air. 2nd Patches was a 15th Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress assigned to 346th Bomb Squadron, 99th Bomb Group during World War II. - t . Photo taken by B-17F 42-29856 'Patches'. The black diamond Y represents the 99th Bomb Group and the 'I' the 346th Bomber Squadron. 310th Bombardment Group (310BG) (North American B-25s) (Yellow Horizontal Stripe) 379th Bombardment Squadron (379BS) Activated on 1 Jun 1942. Strategic Wing 74 99th Aero Squadron 43 99th Bomb Wing 74 99th Bomb Squadron 42, 43 1 00th Fighter Wing 76 101st . This coin is 2 inches in diameter with epoxy on both sides The 96th Group had wing lead, and apparently the raid was a success Available to pre-order at Flying Tigers Snetterton Falcons : the 96th Bomb Group in World War II; The Diamondbacks : the history of the 99th Bomb Group (H) 376th bomb group mission history; 390th Bombardment Group . Share. Headquarters; . . Preserving WWII History Honoring Service. He was trained as a B-17 bomber pilot and in two and a half years flew 35 combat missions over Germany and Europe. Throughout 1944, the 99th bombed targets in German occupied Italy, Germany, Austria, Greece, Bulgaria, France, Rumania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. It was last assigned to the 316th Bombardment Wing at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, where it was inactivated on 30 June 1946. B-17G Flying Fortress "2nd Patches" Art by Willie Jones. 99th Bombardment Group | 346th, 347th, 348th, 416th Bomb Squadrons Constituted as 99th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. Unit Description. 348th Bomb Squadron, 99th Bombardment Group WWII. - R 26. He flew . North Africa Oil Refinery plane Ploesti Purple Heart radio received retired returned Salvaged overseas Sept ship shot Sicily Sqdn squadron Staff Sergeant tail gunner target took Transferred to 483rd Transferred . It was eventually lost in a mid-air collision with another B-17 on 11 January, 1944. Bill is an expert in locating records of downed flyers from fighter groups, fighter squadrons, bomb groups, bomb squadrons, reconnaissance units, combat cargo units, or other units which were part of the Air Force in World War II. The 346th's mission changed when it became the 346th Test and Evaluation Squadron in June 1993 and was activated under the 99th Test Group at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. Gordon Beese. The 99th flew its first combat mission on March 31, 1943. Free shipping for many products! Trained with B-17's. Moved to North Africa, Feb-May 1943, and assigned to Twelfth AF. The official info about the movements of the 346th: 1) Salt Lake City AAB, Utah, September 7, 1942 2) Smoky Hill AB, Kansas, October 3, 1942 3) Dyersburg AAFld, Tennessee, February 26, 1943 through April 1, 1944 4) Dalhart AAFld, Texas, August 18, 1944 5) Pratt AAFld, Kansas, January 18, through June 29, 1945 Activated on 1 Jun 1942. Jim who was 96 passed away on May 2, 2020. This is the story of the rescue of ten 99th Bomb Group 347th Bomb Squadron airmen from the B-17 # 42-5340 from behind enemy lines in the Zlatibor region of the former Yugoslavia in 1944. . The 346th Test Squadron is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 318th Cyberspace Operations Group at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Constituted as 99th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. Aircraft Assigned to the 99th Bomb Group . The group was activated in June 1942 and trained with the B-17 Flying Fortress. "2nd Patches" crashed on take off on the 24th August 1944 and was salvaged to keep other B-17s flying, whilst the original 'Patches' only survived until 31st March 1944. Military | Sergeant | B-17 Waist Gunner | 99th Bomb Group. The 99th was stationed at Navarin, located near Constantine. I found one B-17 named Webfoot. On 31st March 1944 B-17F "Patches" of the 346th BS/99th BG effectively and B-17G 42-38201 of the 815th BS/483rd BG switched places. . 347th Bomb Squadron, 99th Bombardment Group WWII. Trained with B-17's. Moved to North Africa, Feb-May 1943, and assigned to Twelfth AF. He flew with the 346th Bomb Squadron and the 99th Bomb Group (H), 15th AAF. The 99th consisted of the 346th, 347th, 348th, and 416th Bomb squadrons. Show caption About this image. Due to congestion at Gowan Field, the 99th was relocated to Walla Walla AAF, in Washington.. During October, the 99th received twelve flight leaders with crews, and four B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. In 1945, at age 22, Fred was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals. A pilot in the 346th Bomb squadron, 99th Bomb Group (H), whose unit already had a heraldic crest for an insignia, requested a personal insignia featuring Jiminy Cricket astride a B-17, which was . [Photo Gallery] and prayers. It moved to North Africa in February-May 1943 (having originally been allocated to the Eighth Air Force in Britain), and was based in Algeria. Two more B-17 groups, the 463rd and 483rd, would be added to the 5th Wing in March of 1944. After training in the United States, it moved to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it earned two . On 25 September 1942, the 99th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Gowan Field AAF near Boise, Idaho. The 99th Bombardment Group was a B-17 group that served in North Africa and as a strategic bomber unit from bases in Italy.