My Grandfather, Col. Merlin Ingles Carter ,was the last Commanding Officer of Polebrook AFB during the last months of the war. One of the 4 memorial plaques at the site is dedicated to his service. Thank you for posting!.

Thank you so much for this. I lived near Polebrook in 1980's and explored the grounds (where Clark Gable was based) and found the officers mess as well as enlisted mens canteen deep in the bushes and brambles and found a mural of a swing band o the wall. Amazing..wonder if it is still there?

My dad was a bombardier on a B-17. He was in the 351st. He was shot down in Aug 44 on the first raid over Berlin after 22 missions. He spent the remainder of the war as a POW in Stalag 3. Where the great escape occurred. He would never talk about what he saw but he said he would never forget his Pilot and friend that died on that run.

My Father, Jack Rowan, flew 31 missions with the 351st. He was shot down over the Scheldt estuary in August 1944. He spent almost 9 months as a POW in Stalag Luft III then Stalag Luft VIIA

I live nearby, there is a memorial to all those brave hero's, never to be forgotten here in England.

Great video to come across today. My grandfather was in the 351st Bomb Group in Polebrook from 1942 through 1944, his name was A.P "Bud" Miller and he was a waste gunner. He would talk about Clark Gable being there and remembers the last mission the Memphis Belle flew.

My Dad, Lt William F Washburn did 33 missions with 351st 510th out of Polebrook. Our entire family (to include William F the 3rd , I’m Jr.) got to visit in 1996. He passed 4 years ago @97. RIP.

Thanks for posting! My flight instructor was a WWII Ace, he flew with The Blacksheep sqaudron. Special times, never let them be forgotten!

Thank you very much for this fine video. My uncle flew with the 351st out of Polebrook from September of 1944 until January of 1945, in a B-17 named Mollie Mule with Call Sign TU-F. It was interesting to see several other B-17s with very similar call signs - TU-C, TU-N, TU-T - in the scenes you included. I'm looking for more images and information about the Mollie Mule, and your video was very helpful, showing me how similar planes looked.

Thank you so much for sharing these precious films!

This reminds me of the intro of 12 (o) clock high where stovall is walking around the base the difference is yours are the real thing thank you for posting them good day Bruce

God bless your dad hes one of the last of the greatest generation, the military has changed a lot over the years but yet still stayed the same just call the same shenanigan's a different name. Great footage thanks for sharing.

My father was also stationed there. He was in the 511th Squadron. Thank you so much for sharing!

Best I've seen on KZfaq so far!

Amazing footage. What months and year was your dad there? What was his name? My dad was there May through October '44. Also with the 510th. Can't wait to see more footage...keep it coming!

Upon further review... Our dad's flew 14 common missions together, (although in different B-17's). Three of those were Berlin raids. Misions: 121, 122, &155 from Polebrook. I have several original photographs of a Berlin raid my dad was on which I need copy you on. It is an absolute certainty that Wendell was "present" when these were taken, although 5 miles up and a likely few planes over. The Tiergarten and Reichstag, are cleary visible alongside bombs raining down and assorted flak bursts below. (p.s. several fellow aviators were common crewmates of our dads.) It is also a certainty our dads knew each other. More later...I need your email address.

I lived 5 miles from Polebrook in Cotterstock, Northamptionshire