446th Bombardment Group at Bungay
History
The 446th Bombardment Group were stationed at Bungay in Suffolk, England and became known as the "Bungay Buckaroos".
The 446th was organised as part of the Second Air Division, to fly B-24 Liberators from eastern England against occupied France, the Lowlands and Germany.
The group was activated on 1 April 1943 at Davis-Monthan Field in Arizona.
The air and ground crews were briefly moved to Almagordo in New Mexico, then to Lowry AAB in Colorado to complete their training.
In October 1943 they left Colorado for England.
The air crews took the southern route to England, flying from Florida to Puerto Rico, then on to Brazil before crossing to the African continent and flying north to Marrakesh.
The group arrived at its Bungay base in November 1943 and its first mission was to Bremen, Germany on 16 December 1943.
From that day, through the spring of 1945, it flew 273 missions.
It was also the group that led the Second Air Division on the first heavy bomber missions on D-Day, 6 June 1944.
Two of the bombardment squadrons, the 706 BS and the 708 BS, flew more than 60 consecutive missions without loss.
In June and July 1945, the 446th were redeployed to the United States in preparation for a move to the Pacific Theatre.
The surrender of Japan made this move unnecessary and the group was inactivated on 28 August 1945.
If you're interested in the history of the 446th, you can view photographs and other records in our digital archive.