This Military Service Page was created/owned by
A3C Michael S. Bell (Unit Historian)
to remember
Carlton, Robert M., TSgt.
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The family of WWII Veteran Bob M. Carlton has requested our presence at the funeral of their beloved one.
Bob was a US Army Air Force WWII veteran. Lying about his age, he enlisted and served as a Tech Sergeant radio operator and gunner aboard B24's flying missions out of England. On his 30th mission he was shot down over Germany, captured and imprisoned in a POW camp. He later escaped and made his way to Paris.
AFSC/MOS AAF MOS 757-Radio Operator- Mechanic-Gunner
Base, Station or City
RAF Seething, Norfolk, England
State/Country
United Kingdom
Patch
448th Bombardment Group, Heavy Details
Assigned 8th AAF: November 1943
Heaven Can Wait
Wing/Command Assignment
VIII BC, 2 BD, 20 CBW 30 Nov 1943
2 BD, 20 CBW 8 Jan 1944
2 AD, 20 CBW 1 Jan 1945
Combat Aircraft:
B-24H
B-24J
B-24L
B-24M
Stations
SEETHING 30 November 1943 to 6 July 1945
Group COs
Col. James M. Thompson 1 May 1943 to 1 Apr 1944 (MIA)
Col. Gerry L. Mason 3 Apr 1944 to 13 Nov 1944
Col. Charles B. Westover 14 Nov 1944 to 27 May 1945
Lt. Col. Lester F. Miller 27 May 1945 to Jul 1945
First Mission: 22 Dec 1943
Last Mission: 25 Apr 1945
Missions: 262
Total Sorties: 6,774
Total Bomb Tonnage: 15,272 Tons
Aircraft MIA: 101
Major Awards:
None
Early History:
Activated 1 May 1943 at Gowen Field Idaho were initial training was conducted. Then the unit moved to Wendover Field, Utah on the fourth of July 1943 for the second phase of training, and finial training at Sioux City AAB, Iowa from 16 September to early November 1943. The ground unit went to Camp Shanks, NY, and sailed on the Queen Elizabeth on the 23rd of November 1943, and arrived at Clyde on the 29th November 1943. The aircraft left Sioux City on the third of November 1943 for Herrington field in Kansas. The aircraft flew for The United Kingdom via the Southern ferry route from Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Belem, Dakar, and Marrakesh. Three aircraft were lost in route.
Subsequent History:
Redeployed to the US June/July 1945. First of the aircraft departed the United Kingdom on mid-June 1945. The ground echelon sailed from Greenock on the Queen Mary on the sixth of July 1945, arriving in New York on the 11th of July 1945. Personnel had 30 days R and R. Group established at Sioux Falls AAFd, SD where the Group was trained as a B-29 unit. On the sixth of May 1946 the 715 Bomb Squadron was re-assigned to the 509th Bomb Group and was inactivated in 1965. The 448 Bomb Group was inactivated on the fourth of August 1946.
Activated 1 May 1943 at Gowen Field Idaho were initial training was conducted. Then the unit moved to Wendover Field, Utah on the Fourth of July 1943 for the second phase of training, and finial training at Sioux City AAB, Iowa from 16 September to early November 1943. The ground unit went to Camp Shanks, New York, and sailed on the Queen Elizabeth on 23 November 1943, and arrived at Clyde on 29 November 1943. The aircraft left Sioux City on the third of November 1943 for Herrington field in Kansas. The aircraft flew for The United Kingdom via the Southern ferry route from Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Belém, Dakar, and Marrakesh. Three aircraft were lost in route. Moved to RAF Seething England, November�??December 1943, and assigned to Eighth Air Force. Assigned to the 20th Combat Bombardment Wing. The group tail code was a "Circle-I".
The 448th flew B-24 Liberators as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign. The group enered combat on 22 December 1943, and until April 1945 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, marshalling yards at Cologne, and a Buzz-bomb assembly plant at Fallersleben. The group took part in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry during Big Week, 20�??25 February 1944.
In addition to strategic operations, flew interdictory and support missions. Bombed 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. Struck enemy positions to assist the Allied offensive at Caen and the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July. Dropped supplies to airborne troops near Nijmegen during the airborne attack on Holland in September. Bombed transportation and communications centers in the combat zone during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 �?? January 1945. Dropped supplies to troops at Wesel during the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.
The group flew its last combat mission on 25 April, attacking a marshalling yard at Salzburg.
Redeployed to the US June/July 1945. First of the aircraft departed the United Kingdom on mid-June 1945. The ground echelon sailed from Greenock on the Queen Mary on the sixth of July 1945, arriving in New York on 11 July 1945
Group established at Sioux Falls AAFd, South Dakota where the Group was trained as a B-29 unit under Second Air Force. On the sixth of May 1946 the 715 Bomb Squadron was re-assigned to the 509th Bomb Group. Inactivated in August 1946 at Fort Worth AAF, Texas.
Reactivated in April 1947 as a reserve Tactical Air Command Fighter-Bomber unit at Long Beach Airport, California. Mmost personnel called up to active duty during the Korean War and assigned to other units. Inactivated March 1951. Reactivated as a reserve F-86 fighter bomber group in 1955 at Dallas NAS (Hensley Field). Inactivated 1957
