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398th Bomb Group Archives

The records that make up this collection have been brought together and deposited at Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies by the 398th Bomb Group Memorial Association in pursuit of the Association's mission to preserve the memory of the combat history of the 398th Bomb Group (Heavy).

The group was part of the United States Eighth Air Force during World War II. Activated on 1st March 1943, after a period as a Replacement Training Unit in the United States, the 398th Bomb Group moved to England and was stationed in Nuthampstead, Hertfordshire from April 1944 until May/June 1945. Trained to fly B-17 Bombers, the Group completed 195 operations flying from Nuthampstead, mainly attacking strategic targets in Germany such as oil refineries, factories and aircraft plants. After returning to America, the Group was inactivated on 1st September 1945.

The records are catalogued into the following groups:

398th BOMB GROUP (HEAVY)
1) Official Records
2) Individuals' Records
3) Memoirs
4) Photographs
5) Historical Research
6) Miscellaneous / Ephemera
7) Associated Military / Support Units

398th BOMB GROUP MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION
1) Formation
2) Membership Rosters
3) Newsletters
4) Activities (Projects, Visits, Tours and Reunions)
5) Correspondence
6) Photographs
7) Miscellaneous

WARTIME PUBLICATIONS
1) Military Booklets
2) Photo Journals
3) Newspapers and Magazines
4) Miscellaneous

GENERAL MILITARY HISTORIES
1) Military Historical Society Newsletters
2) Bombers and Bombing Raids
3) Prisoner of War Camps

MISCELLANEOUS