Description

445th Bomb Group Lucky Gordon Consolidated B-24 Liberator Model

Fly with the 445th Bomb Group Lucky Gordon in this handcrafted Consolidated B-24D Model. Each model is carved from wood and hand painted to provide a unique piece that will always be treasured. This is an assembly ship, meaning a still flyable but retired bomber would be used to form the formation.

• Length – 11.5 inches
• Wingspan – 17.5 inches
• Made from Mahogany
• US Veteran-Owned Business
• Officially Licensed by Lockheed Martin
• The product is not intended to be used by children 12 years and younger.

LOCKHEED MARTIN®, B-24 Liberator®, associated emblems and logos, and body designs of vehicles are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Lockheed Martin Corporation in the USA and/or other jurisdictions, used under license by Squadron Nostalgia LLC.

The group was first activated during World War II as the 445th Bombardment Group, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator unit stationed in England with VIII Bomber Command. The 445th was stationed at RAF Tibenham in late 1943. The group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation on 24 February 1944 for attacking an aircraft assembly plant at Gotha, in Central Germany, losing thirteen aircraft. The 445th also earned the French Croix de Guerre with Palm for its operations supporting the liberation of France. The 445th was actor Jimmy Stewart’s original bombardment group.

The 445th Bombardment Group was activated 1 April 1943 at Gowen Field in Idaho, where initial organization took place while key personnel traveled to Orlando AAB, Florida for training with the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics.[2] Its original components were the 700th,[3] 701st,[4] 702d,[5] and 703d Bombardment Squadrons.[6][7] Both elements met at Wendover Army Air Field, Utah on 8 June 1943, where initial training with the Consolidated B-24 Liberator took place. While the group was at Wendover, it was joined by actor Jimmy Stewart as the operations officer, then the commander of the 703d Bombardment Squadron. The group moved to Sioux City Army Air Base, Iowa in July 1943 to complete training. In late August and early September, the group lost three B-24s to training accidents. In September the group began to receive B-24H aircraft, the model of the Liberator they would fly in combat.[2]

On 20 October 1943 the ground echelon moved to Camp Shanks, New York and embarked on the RMS Queen Mary on 26 October 1943, sailing next day. The unit arrived in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland on 2 November 1943 and disembarked at Gourock. The air echelon departed Sioux City late in October 1943 and flew to the United Kingdom via the southern route: Florida, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and West Africa, although one plane was lost en route.[8] Upon arrival in England, the group was assigned to the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing and stationed at RAF Tibenham in East Anglia.[9] The group was initially given a tail code of “Circle-F”.[10]

The 445th entered combat on 13 December 1943 by attacking U-boat installations at Kiel. Only fifteen crews were considered fit for this mission which was heavily defended area. It suffered its first combat loss on 20 December in an attack against Bremen.[11] The unit operated primarily as a strategic bombardment organization until the war ended, striking such targets as industries in Osnabrück, synthetic oil plants in Lutzendorf, chemical works in Ludwigshafen, marshalling yards at Hamm, an airfield at Munich, an ammunition plant at Duneberg, underground oil storage facilities at Ehmen, and factories at Münster.[7]

B-24 of 701st Bombardment Squadron Showing Group Circle F tail marking
The group participated in the Allied campaign against the German aircraft industry during Big Week, from 20 to 25 February 1944, being awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for attacking a Bf 110 aircraft assembly plant at Gotha on 24 February.[7] Thirteen of the group’s twenty-five attacking aircraft were lost along with 122 aircrew.[12] This was the longest running, continuous air battle of World War II – some two and a half hours of fighter attacks and flak en route and leaving the target area.[13] Bomb damage assessment photographs showed that the plant was knocked out of production indefinitely.[12]

The group occasionally flew air interdiction and air support missions. It helped to prepare for the invasion of Normandy by bombing airfields, V-1 and V-2 launch sites, and other targets. The unit attacked shore installations on D-Day, 6 June 1944 with 81 sorties[14] and supported ground forces at Saint-Lô by striking enemy defenses in July 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge, between December 1944 and January 1945 it bombed German communications. Early on 24 March 1945 the 445th dropped food, medical supplies, and ammunition to troops that landed near Wesel during the airborne assault across the Rhine and that afternoon flew a bombing mission to the same area, hitting a landing ground at Stormede.[7]

On occasion the unit dropped propaganda leaflets and hauled fuel to France. It was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palm by the French government for operations in the theater from December 1943 to February 1945[7] supplying the resistance.

By far, the 445th’s most tragic mission is the attack on Kassel[15] of 27 September 1944. In cloud, the navigator of the lead bomber miscalculated and the 35 planes left the bomber stream of the 2d Air Division and proceeded to Göttingen some 35 miles (56 km) from the primary target. After the bomb run, the group was alone in the skies and was attacked from the rear by an estimated 150 Luftwaffe planes, resulting in the most concentrated air battle in history. The Luftwaffe unit was a Sturmgruppe, a special unit intended to attack bombers by flying in tight formations of up to ten fighters in line abreast. This was intended to break the bomber formation at a single pass. The 361st Fighter Group intervened, preventing complete destruction of the Group. Twenty-nine German and 25 American planes went down in a 15-mile (24 km) radius. Only four 445th planes made it back to the base – two crashing in France, one in Belgium, another at RAF Old Buckenham.[15] Two landed at RAF Manston. Only one of the 35 attacking aircraft was fit to fly next day, but 445th sent 10 planes to the same target, Kassel.[16]

After the end of the air war in Europe, the 445th flew low level “Trolley” missions over Germany carrying ground personnel so they could see the result of their efforts during the war.[17] The group’s air echelon departed Tibenham on 17 May 1945, and departed the United Kingdom on 20 May 1945. The 703rd BS ground echelon sailed on USAT Argentina from Southampton and the other squadrons on the USAT Cristobal from Bristol.[17] Both ships arrived at New York on 8 June 1945. Personnel were given 30 days R&R. The group reestablished at Fort Dix, New Jersey, with the exception of the air echelon, which had flown to Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota. Most personnel were discharged or transferred to other units, and only a handful were left[17] when the group was inactivated on 12 September 1945.[7]

During World War II, the group flew 280 missions, losing 138 B-24s.[18]