445th Bombardment Group (Heavy)

445th Bombardment Group (Heavy). . , Flying bombing missions out of their base at Tibenham,England, during World War II, the 445th Bombardment Group (H), 2nd Air Division, flew B-24 Liberators deep into Nazi-held Europe. The 700th, 701st, 702nd and 703rd Bombardment Squadrons(H) were assigned to the group and all were supported by superior ground personnel. , The 445th Bomb Group flew 280 missions and 6,323 sorties from 13 December 1943 to 25 April 1945. They lost a total of 138 aircraft but were never stood down. On 24 February 1944, the 445th together with other bomb groups of the 2nd Air Division participated in an attack on the Gothaer Waggonfabrik, A.G. located at Gotha, Germany, a manufacturing site for ME 110s. The 445th Bomb Group received the Presidential Unit Citation for action on this mission. They successfully located the target and bombing with extreme accuracy and devastating results, they dealt the Luftwaffe a most telling blow. , On 27 September 1944, the 445th suffered the greatest loss by one group on a single mission of the Eighth Air Force. With Kassel, Germany as their assigned target, 37 B-24S took off from Tibenham. They never reached Kassel, dropping their bombs near Gottingen, approximately thirty miles northeast of Kassel. Having left the main bomber stream, the planes of the 445th were isolated. They were attacked by more than 100 German fighters, losing 25 aircrews and airplanes. The next day, on 28 September 1944, ten B-24S from the bomb group successfully dropped their bombs on the Kessel target and returned to Tibenham. , Four decades later, the Kassel Mission Memorial Association was formed. Today the Kassel Mission Historical Society in collaboration with their former German foes continues to honor airmen of both countries who were killed in action on that fateful Kassel mission day.