More than thirty members enjoyed an evening visit to the "306th
Bombardment
Group
Museum
" at Thurleigh Airfield, on Friday August 17th. It is mainly one man's collection. It is a memorial to the American Servicemen - the first of which arrived at Thurleigh in September 1942 - almost 65 years ago. B17 Flying Fortresses left the airfield on 341 daylight bombings missions over occupied
Europe
. Missions included an assault on
Normandy
during the D-Day battle. The final mission was to the industrial area of Falkenburg on April 19th 1945.
During the American occupation of the base, 8,300 personnel passed through its gates. 177 aircraft were lost and over 800 men were killed, with many others lost or taken prisoner. In 1944, Thurleigh became the first British base to host a concert with Glenn Miller and his Band. There was an audience of 3,500 G.Is. After a talk and a chance to look round the museum, the visitors sat outside with tea or coffee and watched the hares at play.
