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"LIFE" - on and around Great Ashfield ________________________________ Here you will find seven photos on this page showing a varity of situations Airmen of the 385th were very familar with while flying combat missions out of Great Ashfield. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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 "200TH MISSION PARTY" About the 1st of October 1944 the base gave a party to celebrate the 200TH Combat Mission flown by the 385th Bomb Group. The occasion was further celebrated by inviting all British Civilians in the area of Great Ashfield to share in the festivities. With the base gates open to the public - the children enjoyed rides and games brought to the base by a traveling carnaval. Civilians were allowed to enter and view a B-17 parked near the "Big Hanger." This affair was given in honor of Col. Van as he was turning command of the base over to Col. Jumper. |
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 "Mail Call" One of the few pleasures on Great Ashfield was receiving mail from home ! Here the men of the 549th gather round the Postmaster hoping for a letter from home - or - anyone else as far as that mattered. All to often mail was delayed resulting in disappointed Airmen. "Pop Maxwell - stands looking at the camera with a letter in hand. Others wait to find if their name is called. When none was received it was back to the sack and more thinking ! Maybe Tomorrow ? -- If that ever comes ! Many times boxes from home arrived with molded cakes and crushed cookies - That made no difference - Such items were real prizes and shared with all Airmen in a Hut. Photos of girl friends and relatives were shown around with pride. |
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 Jim "Duke" Skophammer Dressed in High Altitude Flight Clothing Duke was a waist gunner on the War Horse. At 25,000 feet - with both waist windows open - an outside air temperature of 55 degrees below zero - and the bomber traveling at a ground speed of 160 miles per hour - the wind into the fuselage was cold as Blue Blazes ! All crewmembers dressed as you see Duke here. All he is missing are his fur lined gloves. The leather fur-lined flight suit helped maintain body heat close to normal as long as there were no rips or snags from shrapnel. The fur-lined helmet and goggles kept the eyes and head from freezing. The oxygen mask covered most of the face - however warm breath escaping around edges of mask often caused the mask to freeze to the face. Frost-Bite plagued Airmen whenever the bomber flew above 15,000 feet where the air temperature dropped rapidly. You will note the suit is oversized to allow body to expand as there was no pressurazation. The lower front zipper opening allowed for a quick use of the Relief Tube - otherwise, there were no toilet facilities on board military bombers ! A nine hour combat mission could become uncomfortable for more than a single reason. To remove enough clothing at high altitude to accomplish a toilet visit caused male body parts to be subject to painful frostbite. A real No-No ! |
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 British "Land Army" Workers _____________________________ With most of the British men serving in the military - women were called to cultivate the fields of England. The women volunteered for what was known as the Land Army - working the fields to feed the British people. The groups of girls moved from farm to farm as crops were sown and harvested. The women lived in tents and cooked in the open same as any military field group of soldiers. The girls wore uniforms of white shirts and bright orange overalls. ____________________________________ |
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 "50 Cal Ammo Decision" ______________________ Skeet Wolverton and Duke Skophammer are making decisions as to where to load all the ammunition for the machine guns on a B-17 at Great Ashfield. ___________________________________________ |
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 Ann Hayward ______________________ This lovely young British girl lived near Great Ashfield Airdrome and became popular with many crews of the 385th Bomb Group. She was an artist in her own right and obliged bomber crews by painting much of the Nose Art on the base bombers and Airmen's A2 leather flight jackets. One of the B-17 crews even names a B-17 after her = "Haybag Anne" Sadly to say Annie ( Hayward ) Gordon passed away in 1999 _______________________________ |
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 "HAVE A NICE DAY" ______________________ Some days you just wonder why you got out of the sack ! Flak this accurate has got to cause damage and all the Ball Turret Gunner can do is sit and watch - holding a tight one ! Actually - the gunner sees the dirty red flash as the shell explodes - hears a sound like "whump" - then the rattle of hot shrapnel cutting through the metal body of the bomber as he spins the ball to help deflect a direct hit on the turret. ___________________________- |
