Bomb Group: The Eighth Air Force's 381st and the Allied Air Offensive over Europe

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Obviously the internet has allowed access to archives across the world. While it doesn’t beat holding an original document in your hands, it has made researching a much easier task. The advent of social media has also helped. There are specialised Facebook ‘groups’ that are now proving invaluable in accessing information or individuals. I admire James Holland for his ability to convey military history so well. Unfortunately, I just don’t have his capacity to write the number of books he has. He’s a veritable writing machine. For books covering aviation, I highly recommend Sagittarius Rising by Cecil Lewis, First Lightby Geoffrey Wellum, and Combat Crew by John Comer. Three outstanding books by three very brave individuals.

As part of the trip, he walked the parts of the base that had been the athletic fields, the hangars, and looked for the area where his uncle’s billet had been. When I was there, Paul Bingley and I found where Andy lived, and when I walked by there, I got goosebumps and started to cry,” Madar said. “It hit me. It was his last residence, where he would last have a smile. The other significant thing for me was the morgue, as morbid as that sounds, as that was the last place they were before their bodies were shipped to Cambridge.”In the fall of 2020, I was researching a story about Texas Raiders, the B-17 owned by the Commemorative Air Force Gulf Coast Wing. The aircraft, which is still airworthy, is painted in the colors of the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) 381st Bomb Group. All I knew about the 381st is that it had been based at Ridgewell Airfield in England during World War II. One of the frequent contributors is Don Madar, an author and historian. Madar has written several books about military history, all of them with a family connection. His interest in the 381st is tied to his uncle Andy Piter Jr., a member of a ground crew at Ridgewell who did not make it home.

The death of Andy Piter, especially so close to the end of the war, had a profound impact on the family, Madar said. He befriended some of the 381st’s ground crews and built up a collection of wartime memorabilia, which he exhibited around Essex,” Bingley said. “Finally, he got permission to display his collection in a small section of the current museum building. Sadly, he passed away before seeing the fruit of his labors. The museum continued on, thanks to his friends, including Jim and Jenny Tennet, together with Alan and Monica Steel, and several others.” When the war in Europe ended in 1945, the 381st returned to the U.S. Ridgewell Airfield was closed and the land returned to private ownership as a farm. The only parts of the base that remain today are the roads and a Nissen hut that had been the hospital. Actor Edward G. Robinson (second from right) enjoys a cigar in the Ridgewell Officers’ Mess, 1944. [Courtesy: Ridgewell Airfield Commemorative Museum] In February 1942, a reconnaissance party of United States Army Air Forces officers arrived in England. Firmly wedded to the doctrine of daylight precision bombing, they believed they could help turn the tide of the war in Europe. In the months that followed, they formed the Eighth Air Force - an organization that grew at an astonishing rate. To accommodate it, almost seventy airfields were hastily built across the eastern counties of England.In 2017, we were named ‘runners-up’ in the 2017 Museums + Heritage Awards’ ‘Project on a Limited Budget’ category,” Bingley said. “This has led to more individuals donating and loaning items for display. We are particularly keen on personal items, as the ethos of the museum is to tell their stories. We can see just how deeply these stories resonate with visitors.” If you could give a piece of advice to your younger self, either as a student or when you first started out as a writer, what would it be? They really are walking in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers.” Sarah Allen, Ridgewell Airfield Commemorative Museum volunteer Facebook may be a resource. There are many groups dedicated to the preservation of information about military organizations. Often the persons involved have a familial interest in the organization and are open to sharing stories. Because there is very little left of the airfield today—as most of the buildings and infrastructure, including the hangars, control tower, runways, and hardstands, are gone—the former base has been all but forgotten.