Bomber Bomber Tue, 05 May 2026 09:11:49 +0000 Tue, 05 May 2026 09:11:49 +0000 Whitebeam Battlefield Research Forum http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/forums/bomber.55/ 323rd Bombardment Group, June 10, 1944 Clecy and Cerisy Forest Footage Fri, 10 Jan 2020 23:29:03 +0000 http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/323rd-bombardment-group-june-10-1944-clecy-and-cerisy-forest-footage.456/ http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/323rd-bombardment-group-june-10-1944-clecy-and-cerisy-forest-footage.456/ invalid@example.com (Jan Foster) Jan Foster
The link above should load footage that...

323rd Bombardment Group, June 10, 1944 Clecy and Cerisy Forest Footage]]> 108 555th Bomb Squadron MIA's 6/22/1944 Wed, 25 Dec 2019 05:11:16 +0000 http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/555th-bomb-squadron-mias-6-22-1944.609/ http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/555th-bomb-squadron-mias-6-22-1944.609/ invalid@example.com (Tmac1397) Tmac1397 I'm new to the forum and look forward to being a part of what you have going here.

My uncle, S/Sgt. Thomas J. McCaslin was tail gunner with the 386th BG, 555th bomb squadron flying B26 Marauders based out of RAF Great Dunmow. The best information we have is that he flew 62 missions before his plane was hot down over Normandy on 06/22/1944. His body has not yet been recovered and he is still MIA.

After researching this crash for the better part of 4 years this is what I know:

On...

555th Bomb Squadron MIA's 6/22/1944]]> 50 555th BS Marauder Over Unknown Target Thu, 01 Aug 2019 22:39:21 +0000 http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/555th-bs-marauder-over-unknown-target.462/ http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/555th-bs-marauder-over-unknown-target.462/ invalid@example.com (Pat Curran) Pat Curran
Originally when I came across these two photos on the web, I assumed, wrongly as it transpired, that the two Marauders were 'White Tails' of the 323rd BG. They are in fact 'Yellow Tails' of the 555th BS, 386th BG.:...

555th BS Marauder Over Unknown Target]]> 39 French Railway Communications System Map (1921) Sun, 23 Dec 2018 17:30:17 +0000 http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/french-railway-communications-system-map-1921.595/ http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/french-railway-communications-system-map-1921.595/ invalid@example.com (Jan Foster) Jan Foster https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/france_1921.jpg]]> 1 B-26 Marauder Footage Tue, 18 Jul 2017 03:01:15 +0000 http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/b-26-marauder-footage.24/ http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/b-26-marauder-footage.24/ invalid@example.com (Pat Curran) Pat Curran
I found another interesting piece of footage on the British Pathe site here. It shows a number of different clips, most likely unrelated, of B-26 Marauders on an airstrip in the UK and also in the air over France.

I have identified a number of areas on the Cotentin in the sequences shot from one of the aircraft. The first location found is between time marks 07:07 and 07:16 and shows Foucarville and...

B-26 Marauder Footage]]> 59 306th BG Cobra Footage Mon, 13 Mar 2017 21:32:05 +0000 http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/306th-bg-cobra-footage.490/ http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/306th-bg-cobra-footage.490/ invalid@example.com (Pat Curran) Pat Curran
I found this footage of B-17s titled 'Troop concentrations near St. Lo, 07/24/1944' on the HDARCHIVES YouTube channel:

[video=youtube]https://youtu.be/MB5oASJ0JJM?t=122[/video]​

After a bit of Googling, the aircraft I found to be from the 368th and 369th Bomb Squadrons, 306th BG. The 'Triangle H' of the 306th results in several aircraft being clearly...

306th BG Cobra Footage]]> 4 A-20 Havoc Strike Footage Location Fri, 29 Jul 2016 23:29:54 +0000 http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/a-20-havoc-strike-footage-location.481/ http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/a-20-havoc-strike-footage-location.481/ invalid@example.com (Pat Curran) Pat Curran
While looking at the B-26 scenes in the BP footage titled 'The Battered Docks Of Cherbourg' (BP Film #1362.10), I note the film editor has slipped in a sixteen second scene at time mark 01:58, showing a strike on a pair of road and rail river bridges. The narrator implies that the target is at the top end of the Cotentin Peninsula and is being attacked by Marauders.

However, the aircraft in view...

A-20 Havoc Strike Footage Location]]> 1 323rd BG Mission July 1943 - December 1943 Thu, 17 Mar 2016 15:07:35 +0000 http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/323rd-bg-mission-july-1943-december-1943.460/ http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/323rd-bg-mission-july-1943-december-1943.460/ invalid@example.com (Jan Foster) Jan Foster
This is great footage. It includes Gen. Anderson meeting with 9th AF BG commanders and the 323rd preparing for and flying a mission. The 323rd CO is Col. Herbert Thatcher. I'll see if I can identify the crew members.

Jan]]> 323rd Bomb Group - June 6, 1944 "Caen RJ" Tue, 15 Mar 2016 03:55:27 +0000 http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/323rd-bomb-group-june-6-1944-caen-rj.459/ http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/323rd-bomb-group-june-6-1944-caen-rj.459/ invalid@example.com (Jan Foster) Jan Foster
The above link should take you to the photograph taken of the briefing for the 323rd's mission to Caen on the afternoon of D-Day.

1st Lt. John D. Helton Pilot) is sitting second from the right in the first row facing the maps at the front of the room.

1st Lt. Walt Foster (Bombardier) is wearing a ball cap pushed back, sitting in the second row on the middle aisle. He has his navigator/bombardier kit on his left knee.

The image is...

323rd Bomb Group - June 6, 1944 "Caen RJ"]]> 323rd BG Over Folligny Railway Yard Tue, 26 Jan 2016 09:47:11 +0000 http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/323rd-bg-over-folligny-railway-yard.315/ http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/323rd-bg-over-folligny-railway-yard.315/ invalid@example.com (Pat Curran) Pat Curran
Looking through the British Pathe footage in Film ID No. 2855.04 ('Invasion 1940-1944'), I came across a two separate sequences showing a Marauder strike on a rail target. The aircraft appear to be the 'white tails' of the 323rd BG with invasion stripes on the top surfaces. The date therefore must be sometime between the 6th and 25th June.

The location took a while to track down but thanks to the distinctive...

323rd BG Over Folligny Railway Yard]]> 19 A-20 Havoc Crash, England, 30 June. Tue, 28 Jul 2015 20:55:14 +0000 http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/a-20-havoc-crash-england-30-june.400/ http://normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/forum/threads/a-20-havoc-crash-england-30-june.400/ invalid@example.com (adambez517) adambez517
Can anyone help me in tracking down the crew and/or circumstances of an A-20 Havoc crash in England on 30 June, 1944?

It relates to an entry in the Unit Diary for the 316th Troop Carrier Group, based at Cottesmore, that reads:

"The Group Defense-Platoon "Invaded" Barkston Heath today by Glider. These men have been specially training to repel Airborne invasion of this field, and were used to test the defenses of Barkston Heath. An A-20 which had dropped markers for the...

A-20 Havoc Crash, England, 30 June.]]> 6