Throughout April, the 93rd flew deep penetration missions against targets in Germany, plus strikes at V-2 rocket bases in the Pas de Calais. In May, the group began operating in support of the upcoming invasion of occupied Europe, bombing targets in France and Belgium. On June 6, 1944, the Traveling Circus joined other Eighth Air Force bombers in pounding the beaches of Normandy in advance of the invasion.

After the invasion, some B-24 crews, including some from the 93rd, were put to work flying “trucking” missions–the aerial resupply of ground forces. Dropmasters from the Ninth Air Force Troop Carrier Command replaced waist gunners on missions in which bundles of supplies rigged for parachute drop replaced the bombs normally carried. Airdrop missions called for low-altitude flying in the face of intense ground fire, bringing back memories of Ploesti for some 93rd personnel. Some of the most important trucking missions were flown in support of General George Patton’s Third Army during its breakout from Avranches and the subsequent dash across France.

The 93rd Bombardment Group continued performing its primary mission of bombing enemy targets right up to the end of the war. On April 25, 1945, the Traveling Circus flew its last mission of the war, the 391st time that 93rd crews had faced the enemy. The 93rd’s 391 missions were the most flown by any Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber group, making the Traveling Circus the Eighth’s most productive bomber group. The 93rd is also recognized as the most traveled group in the Eighth. Boomerang was the first B-24 to complete 50 missions. During the group’s combat tour, the 93rd earned two Presidential Unit Citations. After the end of the war in Europe, the 93rd returned to the United States to be re-equipped with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. Before the Traveling Circus could be redeployed to the Pacific, World War II came to an end.*

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Author Sam McGowan writes from Houston, Texas. For further reading try: The Mighty Eighth, by Gerald Astor; and The Mighty Eighth: A History of the U.S. 8th Army Air Force, by Roger A. Freeman.[ TOP ] [ Cover ]

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