Tuesday 12 September 2017

Martin B-26B Marauder, American users, part six

Now it's the turn for the last post about the Martin B-26B Marauder, but it's not, however, the last post about the B-26.
The B-26B was used by the 597th Bombardment Squadron that was formed at MacDill Field, Florida in April 1943 equipped initially with the Martin B-26B and after completing their training with the Third Air Force, they were dispatched to the European Theatre of Operations via Hunter Field, Georgia, on 14th March 1944. They were based at RAF Gosfield, in England, from April 1944 where they flew their first combat missions together with their parent group, the 363rd Fighter Group. They took part on the famous Operation Overlord by attacking V-1 flying bomb launch pads, bridges and other tactical targets throughout all Normandy campaign. They took part on the Operation Cobra in July 1944 after having moved from England to Gorges Airfield, in France, where they attacked naval targets at the ports of St. Malo and Brest. By September 1944 they were already attacking targets in Germany from Peronne Airfield in North-Eastern France. During the Battle of the Bulge, they attacked enemy communications lines and it was then, on 23rd December 1944, when attacking a bridge in Ediger-Eller, Germany, the unit received the Distinguished Unit Citation due to the heavy flak and fighter opposition they encountered. They remained offering ground support until 20th April 1945 when they flew their 239th combat mission. When the war in Europe ended, they returned to Peronne Airfield, from Venlo Airfield in the Netherlands, where they remained until December 1945. They returned to Camp Shanks, in New York in January 1946 when they were disbanded.
The case of the 598th Squadron, was almost identical, as they were also formed at MacDill Field, in Florida, were sent to the European Theatre of Operations on 14th March 1944 and were stationed at RAF Gosfield and later they took part on Operation Overlord, Operation Cobra, the Allied advance into France, Low Countries and Germany and they took part in the Battle of the Bulge where they also received the Distinguished Unit Citation. After the war in Europe they returned to Peronne Airfield in France, before returning to the USA in December 1945 and being deactivated in January 1946.










Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_B-26_Marauder
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/597th_Bombardment_Squadron
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/598th_Range_Squadron
4. Signal Squadron - Aircraft in Action - Martin B-26 Marauder in Action

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