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POLEBROOK

Home of the 351st Bomb Group WW II

The Northamptorshire village of Polebrook lies in the valley of the river Neve close to the market village of Oundle. With one public House The King’s Arms. (see picture)
The RAF on a part of the Rothschild Estate constructed the initial field at the top of Polebrook Hill in 1940. The original flyingfortress operated by the RAF in 1942 flew out of this field.
In July 1942 the 97th Bomb Group began arriving, and made their first mission August 17, 1942 led by Major Paul Tibbets. During April 1943 the advance elements of the 351dst bomb Group began arriving. The 351st flew the first of its 320 missions on May 14, 1943, and its final mission on April 29, 1945. During that period they dropped 20, 778 tons of bombs, shot down 303 enemy fighters, and fired 2, 776, 028 rounds of caliber 50 ammunition. In addition to other awards including two Presidential Unit Citations, two Congressional Medals of Honor were awarded.

One of the more famous celebrities stationed at Polebrook was former actor Clark Gable. While attached to the 351st Bomb Group he made the film “Combat America” flying 6 combat missions. This of course attracted a lot of dignitaries and news media to the field.
The final accolade to the 351st Bomb Group is the only remaining B 17
which flew combat missions in WW II, is still flying and based in France with its initial combat markings. It is the BMG-85VE-44-8846. The IGN in France register it as “FBGSP” (known as Pink Lady)

Wally Hoffman

mise à jour le 17/04/04