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485th Bomb Group

The activation of the 485th Bomb Group took place at the Fairmont, Nebraska Army Air Field in September 1943, from the original cadre which was actually assembled from the 29th Bomb Group, stationed at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho. The group consisted of four squadrons (828th, 829th, 830th and 831st). After the group was formed, it began receiving ground personnel and air crews from various sources, including advanced training fields across the country. The original group commander was Colonel Walter Arnold and his squadron commanders were Captain Edward Nett (828th Squadron), Captain Maurice Boney (829th Squadron), Captain Richard Griffin (830th Squadron) and Captain Daniel Sjodin (831st Squadron). Shortly after the group was formed, the air echelon was sent to Orlando, Florida for 30 days advanced training, in order to better prepare them for combat.

The crews received additional training at Fairmont and by early March 1944 their training was completed and they were deemed fit for combat. The 72 crews from the four squadrons began their individual overseas flights, initially flying to Brazil, with stops along the way, and then continuing the long overseas flight to Dakar, West Africa. From there they flew on to Marrakech and then to Oudna, Tunisia. Sadly, one of the planes (piloted by Robert Olney) stuck a mountain, resulting in the loss of the entire crew. The group began flying practice missions in Tunisia and by April 15, 1944 the crews began flying their planes to a field near Venosa, Italy, where a landing field had been constructed from PSP (pierced steel planking).

While the air echelon from the 485th was preparing to fly overseas, the ground echelon left Fairmont, Nebraska on March 11, 1944, enroute to Hampton Roads, Virginia. For the flight overseas most of the air crews replaced one crew member with other important personnel, such as a crew chief, staff officer, flight surgeon or other key person.

While about 56 of the Headquarters detachment left Hampton Roads in late March, most of the men boarded troop ships on April 2nd and began their overseas voyage. On the night of April 20, 1944 the convoy was attached by JU 88 torpedo bombers in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Algiers. Three ships were sunk, including the liberty ship SS Paul Hamilton. This ship carried 154 officers and men from the 485th Bomb Group, most of them from the 831st Squadron. The Hamilton exploded and sank within 30 seconds and all personnel aboard were lost. It would later become recognized as one of the greatest Liberty Ship disasters of WWII. The other 485th ground personnel, on various other ships in the convoy, made it safely to Italy and made their way to their new home at Venosa.

The 485th Bomb Group was one of four heavy bomb groups assigned to the 55th Bomb Wings, the others being the 460th, 464th, and 465th Bomb Groups. The 485th began its combat operations on May 10, 1944 with a mission to bomb the marshalling yard at Knin, Yugoslavia. Their final mission was flown to the Linz, Austria marshalling yard on April 25, 1945. The group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for the June 26, 1944 mission to the Florisdorf Oil Refinery in Vienna, Austria, led by Dan Sjodin, 831st Squadron commander.

According to official records, the 485th Bomb Group flew a total of 187 combat missions, dropped 10,550 tons of bombs on enemy installations and was credited with destroying 61 enemy aircraft, probably destroying 41 more and damaging 37 others. Fifteen additional enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground. The 485th officially lost 59 bombers in aerial combat and 62 others in accidents or salvaged as a result of combat.

Approximately 3500 men served in the 485th bomb group in Italy. This number includes air crew (2500+) and ground staff. The 485th lost at least 475 men who were killed in combat or who died from combat-related injuries. Approximately 250 airmen became POWs. Thirteen airmen were captured, but managed to escape and return safely to Italy. At least 140 men from the group were shot down, but managed to evade capture and return safely.

The Perfect Pass

The crew was on a mission to bomb the Messerschmitt Plant at Regensburg, Germany. As they began the bomb run through heavy flak the number one engine took a direct hit, blowing the prop into the sky and causing the plane to buck like a wild bronco. It was immediately thrown into a severe left bank as the pilot, Lt. Hess, struggled to regain control. Unnerved, and now flying with only three engines, they courageously pressed on toward the target. The bomb bay doors were opened, and within seconds the number two engine was hit, blowing off the turbo charger. Fortunately it did not explode, but the impact caused the plane to bank hard to the right out of control. To make matters worse it threw them into the propwash of another bomber, causing the plane to flip upside down. The order was given to bail out, but the centrifugal force caused by the fierce spinning kept the men pinned to the airplane floor and walls frantically trying to pull themselves out of the hatches and waist windows. Caught in a death trap and unable to budge, the crew began their final prayers when the plane (aided no doubt by a little Divine intervention) miraculously righted itself enabling the pilot to pullout of the spin and regain control.

Now at 10,000 feet and with a limited amount of fuel the crew was forced to make some quick decisions. They had two choices: fly to Switzerland, which was doable, or take their chances and try to make it to the allied border in northern Italy. If they landed in Switzerland, a neutral country, they knew they would be interned there for the rest of the war. This did not sit well with the men, as there was no telling how long that might be, possibly years. They were also concerned that they might be classified as M.I.A. (missing in action), causing undo stress on their families. Unable to maintain an altitude higher than 10,000 feet with only two engines, the navigator, Lt. Haden, searched for a route to Italy that would cut through the 15,000 ft. Alpine Mountains. He found it in Brenner Pass, a valley which connects Innsbruck, Austria with Bolzano, Italy.

Brenner Pass is technically at the border between Italy and Austria. The crews always considered it to include the entire valley that snakes through the Alps Mountains with Verona at the South end and Innsbruck at the North end. In places the valley is just wide enough for a river, a road and a railroad. It was a main connection between the Axis. The valley is well over 100 miles long and every foot was heavily defended by 558 large antiaircraft gun installations. Under the best conditions in peacetime a journey through the Alps at that altitude would be considered treacherous. For a crippled bomber low on fuel and being shot at from all sides, it was darn near suicide. To further complicate matters much of northern Italy was still occupied by the Germans, which meant even if they made it through the Alpine Pass in one piece, they would still have a considerable flight over enemy territory.

Fuel was a major concern. Before take off the tanks were topped off at 2750 gallons and the planes were loaded to the hilt with bombs. On the way to the target the group tried to gain as much altitude as possible, consequently burning about 3/4 of the fuel by the time they reached their mark. This meant there might be as little as 600 gallons of fuel left after the run. However, if they made it over the Alps it would be downhill the rest of the way.

Haden calculated that if the Gods were with them (and if they didn't hit a mountain or get blown out of the sky) they would have just enough fuel to eke across the Allied border into Rimini, a coastal town on the Adriatic with an army base and runway. With no time to ponder the idea a vote was taken, and trusting their navigator, the captain and crew opted to take their chances and go for it.

Needless to say it was a harrowing flight through the snowcovered Alps, (pilot Glenn Hess likened it to guiding an elephant through the eye of a needle under fire) but somehow against all odds, their badly crippled plane managed to make it through the Pass, cross the allied border on fumes, and hobble to a stop at the tail end of the Rimini runway. Hess checked the fuel gauge - it was empty.

Stunned and badly shaken by their ordeal, the men crawled out to inspect the plane. Hess recalled: "The plane was so badly shot-up that you couldn't lay your hand anywhere on it without touching a flak hole. We hadn't been out of the plane more than two minutes when this General came flying down the runway raising all kinds of Hell about us landing on his airstrip. It was a fighter strip and the General was screaming at me to get my f------ plane off his runway!' I stood there and took his insults for awhile until finally exasperated I stopped him by saying `Sir, would you like to inspect my plane?' We looked at each other for a moment and then I just walked away. Once he got a good look at it we heard him yell,`Hell this thing ain't worth movin!' He then ordered a bulldozer to shove it over the nearest embankment, and that's where it stayed."

After the raid on Regensburg, February 16, 1945, another drama took place through the Brenner Pass. The above is an account as told to Jo Haden Galbraith, daughter of Lt. Robert (Bob) O. Haden, Navigator from the 831st squadron who passed away in 1995. He was on Glenn Hess's crew and they were on the raid to Regensburg. The target was the Obertraubling Messerschmitt assembly plant. It was the largest plant of its kind in Europe and turned out 200-300 ME-109 fighter aircraft each month.

B-24 Liberator Units 15th A.F.: Combat Aircraft Vol. 21 Robert Dorr. Often overshadowed by the bomb groups in the "Mighty Eighth," the 15th Air Force groups that flew the B-24 ceaselessly struck at targets from the bases in southern Italy from late 1943 through VE Day. This is their seldom-told story.

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