Memorial 398th Bombardment Group USAAF, Nuthampstead, Herts, UK - World War II Memorials / Monuments on Waymarking.com

The memorial is in the form of an black marble slab, bearing a picture of a bomber on the front and a map of the airfield on the reverse, atop an inscribed white marble base. The memorial shares a grass plot near to a memorial to the 55th Fighter Group, who also flew out of Station 131 at Nuthampstead.

Both memorials are sited adjacent to the Woodman Inn, a hostelry that would have been used by members of both the 398th and 55th Groups. The plot is a slightly raised mound. The mound is grassed with a gravel path between the monuments and a small bench. There is a hedge behind the monument plot and the entrance to the Woodman Inn to the front.

The inscriptions on the memorial are as follows.

Plinth Left Panel

THIS MEMORIAL HAS BEEN BUILT BY
398TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP (HEAVY) MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION
UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE NUTHAMPSTEAD AIRFIELD
RESEARCH SOCIETY. IT IS DEDICATED TO THEEVERLASTING
MEMORY OF THOSE AIR CREWS AND SUPPORT UNITS WHO
SERVED SO GALLANTLY AT ARMY AIR FORCE STATION 131
NUTHAMPSTEAD – HERTFORDSHIRE – ENGLAND.
THE 398TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP (HEAVY) FLEW 195 DAYLIGHT
COMBAT MISSIONS FROM THIS AIRFIELD LOSING 58 OF THEIR
B17 G. FLYING FORTRESSES ‘MISSING IN ACTION’ BETWEEN
MAY 6 1944 – APRIL 25 1945

‘THEIR WINGS OF SILVER TOUCHED THE PASSING CLOUDS
MADE SOFT WHITE TRAILS ACROSS THE AZURE BLUE,
BUT NOT FOR THEM THIS LIFE WE SHARE ON EARTH
THEY SACRIFICED THAT GIFT FOR ME AND YOU’

Plinth Left Panel

398th BOMBARDMENT GROUP (HEAVY) HEADQUARTERS
600TH- 601ST – 602ND – 603RD BOMBARDMENT SQUADRONS (H)
ASSIGNED 1ST COMBAT WING – 1ST AIR DIVISION – 8TH AIR FORCE
SUPPORT UNITS 206TH –FINANCE – 244TH MEDICAL – 325TH STATION
COMPLEMENT – 478TH SUB DEPOT -860TH CHEMICAL WARFARE
1142ND MILITARY POLICE – 1226TH Q. MASTER – 1449TH ORDNANCE
426TH AIR SERVICE GROUP – 18TH WEATHER SQUADRON
CAMPAIGNS (BATTLE STARS)
AIR OFFENSIVE EUROPE NORTHERN FRANCE NORMANDY
RHINELAND ARDENNES ALSACE CENTRAL EUROPE
DISTINGUISHED UNIT PRESIDENTIAL CITATION (1ST AIR DIVISION)
MISSIONS TO GERMANY – FRANCE – HOLLAND – BELGIUM
LUXEMBOURG – CZECHOSLOVAKIA – POLAND – AUSTRIA

“HELL FROM HEAVEN”

Station 131 at Nuthampstead was home to the 398th Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the USAAF from April 1944 until June 1945. Construction of the airfield began in 1942 and was built by 814th and 630th Engineer Batallions of the US Army.

The group was under the command of the 1st Combat Bombardment Wing of the 1st Air Division. They were equipped with Boeing B-17G Flying Fortresses.

The 398th BG entered combat in May 1944, and operated primarily against strategic objectives in Germany. They attacked coastal defences in support of the invasion of Normandy and struck gun positions in support of the air attack on Holland in 1944. The group were also in action in support of the Allied assault across the Rhine.

The 398th flew its last combat mission, attacking an airfield in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, on 25 April 1945. After VE Day the group transported liberated prisoners from Germany to France.

From Nuthampstead, the 398th Bomb Group flew 195 combat missions losing 58 B17C Flying Fortesses. In addition to the memorial at Nuthampstead, there is also a stained glass window at St George’s Church Anstey, which honours those that died from the 398th Bombardment Group.

Property Permission: Public Location of waymark: Woodman Inn Nuthampstead, Herts UK Commemoration: 398th Bombardment Group USAAF Date of Dedication: Not listed Access instructions: Not listed Access times: Not listed Website for Waymark: Not listed

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