WW2 bomber group museum appeals for repair funds

Gunners of the 306th Bomb Group sit atop ammunition for a B-17 Flying Fortress during World War Two

Urgent repairs are needed to conserve and repair a military museum that was created to commemorate the US servicemen who were based there during World War Two.

The 306th Bombardment Group Museum, a former ammunition storage building, in Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, was opened in 2002.

Sam Stants, a volunteer, said it houses artefacts and belongings of the group "to keep the memories of those that served" from 1942 to 1945.

He said the building needed new front doors, new fascias and guttering repairs - and the heating system required an overhaul.

The museum was opened on 27 July 2002

Mr Stants said the building was constructed in the "early 1940s, in the middle of World War Two".

"It's on an old airfield, which is open to the elements, and over the past few years with all the wet weather we've had, we've stated to notice things that need upgrading and repairing," he said.

He aded that it was hoping to raise £2,500, and had already reached £1,100, which was "phenomenal".

It is based at Bedford Autodrome, the former home of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) Bedford.

Mr Stants said families of the veterans regularly came over to visit from the United States.

"We want to give them a place that they know, that they can retrace their families footsteps and were we are there to support that," he said.

He added that the repairs would "keep it going and keep the memories of those that served there".

The museum is currently closed and is set to reopen in May

The 306th Bombardment group arrived from the Wendover Airfield in Utah, USA, in September 1942 and went on to lead the first USAAF daylight bomb raid over Germany on 27 January.

It completed 341 combat missions, the second highest flown in the Eighth Air Force and the first bomb group in the Eighth Army to complete 300 missions.

At its height, the airbase was home to about 3,000 personnel.

Mr Stants said their presence would have created a "large long-lasting impact on Thurleigh and this area of [north] Bedfordshire, it's really important that we can spread the message of what happened there".

Nine members of the 306th Bombardment Group were killed on 26 April 1944 after they left the base

On 26 April, 1944, nine members of the 306th Bombardment Group were killed shortly after they took off from the airfield.

After experiencing an engine fire, the plane came down in nearby Bletsoe.

Only the tail gunner, George Littlefield, survived.