448th Bombardment Group - RAF Seething

The 448th Bombardment Group (H) was a B-24 Liberator unit of the 8th Air Force, assigned to the 2nd Air Division during World War II. From December 1943 to April 1945, the group conducted strategic daylight bombing missions against German industry, transportation networks, and military facilities from bases in England.

The group arrived in England in November - December 1943 and flew its first combat mission on 22 December 1943 by attacking airfields in France. The 448th Bomb Group served primarily as a strategic bombardment organization, hitting such targets as aircraft factories in Gotha, ball-bearing plants in Berlin, an airfield at Hanau, U-boat facilities at Kiel, a chemical plant at Ludwigshafen, synthetic oil refineries at Politz, aircraft engine plants at Rostock, marshaling yards at Cologne, and a buzz-bomb assembly plant at Fallersleben.

The group participated in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry during Big Week, 20-25 February 1944. In addition to strategic operations, the group also flew interdictory and support missions such as bombing V-weapon sites, airfields, and transportation facilities prior to the Normandy invasion in June 1944, and on D-Day attacked coastal defenses and choke points. Later strikes were carried out on enemy positions to assist the Allied offensive at Caen and the breakthrough at St Lo in July 1944. Supplies were dropped to airborne troops near Nijmegen during the airborne attack on Holland in September 1944 and transportation and communications centers were bombed in the combat zone during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 - January 1945. Supplies were dropped to troops at Wesel during the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945. The group flew their last combat mission on 25 April 1945 by attacking a marshaling yard near Salzburg.

By the end of the war the group had flown a total of 266 combat missions and destroyed approximately 150 enemy aircraft. The group lost more than 100 aircraft in combat and non-combat operations.

Campaigns
The 448th Bombardment Group participated in the following campaigns: American Theater, Air Offensive - Europe, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe.

Group Web Site   https://www.storiesofthe448th.com