The 411th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with III Bomber Command at Florence Army Air Field, South Carolina, where it served as a Replacement Training Unit until it was disbanded on 1 May 1944.
Military Installations in Florida
"Because Florida had a warm climate and a lot of vacant land available, it was ideal for the building of military bases and training soldiers. In the 1930s, there was a tremendous growth of military estab-lishments throughout Florida. Florida soon had 172 military installations, ranging from both extremely large to relatively small camps. Two of the larger complexes were Camp Blanding, established near Starke, and the Jacksonville Naval Air Station.
Camp Blanding became Florida's fourth largest city during World War II. It grew to 180,000 acres and housed 55,000 soldiers at a time. Additional naval stations were reactivated at Key West, Drew and MacDill Air Fields in Tampa, Elgin Field at Valparaiso, and the Pensacola Naval Air Base. Two of the smaller camps were Sopchoppy Bombing Range and Immokalee Army Air Field. By the mid 1940s, there were forty airfields actively training military personnel throughout the state. Florida's weather conditions and flat land made it the perfect place for training, especially pilots.
By 1942, America's training facilities in Florida were heavily overcrowded. This led to the military taking over many hotel facilities. Among the hotels used were the Don Cesar in St. Petersburg, the Hollywood Beach Hotel, The Breakers in Fort Lauderdale, the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, and several hundred other hotels and motels throughout Florida. Some of the places were used for barracks and others were taken over as makeshift hospitals for injured military personnel sent home from overseas."
Citation: Florida Center for Instructional Technology. (2002). A Short History of Florida. Florida during World War II. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/ww_ii/ww_ii1.htm
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
Notes – Handwritten letter dated June 21, 1943, single page. Includes envelope, postmarked June 21, 1943, 5:30PM, from Dale Mabry Field, Fla.
Nose Art
"True nose art appeared during World War II, which is considered by many observers[6] to be the golden age of the genre, with both Axis and Allied pilots taking part. At the height of the war, nose artists were in very high demand in the USAAF and were paid quite well for their services, while AAF commanders tolerated nose art in an effort to boost aircrew morale. The U.S. Navy, by contrast, prohibited nose art, the most extravagant being limited to a few simply-lettered names, while nose art was uncommon in the Royal Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force. The work was done by professional civilian artists as well as talented amateur servicemen. In 1941, for instance, the 39th Pursuit Squadron commissioned a Bell Aircraft artist to design and paint the "Cobra in the Clouds" logo on their aircraft.[7] [...]
Tony Starcer was the resident artist for the 91st Bomb Group (Heavy), one of the initial six groups fielded by the Eighth Air Force. Starcer painted over a hundred pieces of renowned B-17 nose art, including "Memphis Belle".[13][14] A commercial artist named Brinkman, from Chicago was responsible for the zodiac-themed nose art of the B-24 Liberator-equipped 834th Bomb Squadron, based at RAF Sudbury, England.[15]
Contemporary research demonstrates that bomber crews, who suffered high casualty rates during World War II, often developed strong bonds with the planes they were flying, and affectionately decorated them with nose art.[16][17] It was also believed by the flight crews that the nose art was bringing luck to the planes.[18]
The artistic work of Alberto Vargas and George Petty's pin-up girls from Esquire Magazine were often duplicated, or adapted, by air force crews and painted on the nose of American and allied aircraft during World War II. Some nose art was commemorative or intended to honor certain people, such as the Boeing B-29 Superfortress "The Ernie Pyle"."
The nose art in the photo below is painted on a B-25J Mitchell Bomber. The B-25 Mitchell was one of the planes that was at Greenville Army Air Base at the time John was stationed there.
Citation: Nose Art. Wikipedia. Retrieved April 18, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nose_art
Citation: Nose art on the B-25J Take-off Time. Taken by surfsup, June 6, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2023 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nose_art_on_the_B-25J_Take-off_Time.JPG
Victory Marking
In addition to nose art, both bombers and fighter planes were often adorned with "victory marking", also known as a victory mark, kill marking, or kill mark. These marks tallied the number of aerial combat victories achieved by the crews of the planes. "The use of victory markings originated during World War I, burgeoned during World War II and frequently took the form of the roundel or national flag of the nationality of the aircraft defeated."
The images below depict various types of victory markings on a B-17 bomber and a P-51 Mustang:
"B–17 "Memphis Belle" with victory markings signifying 25 bombing missions and 8 fighter kills."
"Photograph of Lt Col James H. Howard's P-51 Mustang showing 12 kill marks for aerial victories over German and Japanese pilots"
Citation: Victory Marking. Wikipedia. Retrieved April 18, 2023 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_marking
