HKRC Championship Rd2
13 February 2022
Kimbolton Airfield was the home of the 379th Bomb Group during WW2. The 379th Bomb Group flew B-17s and the group was signified by the letter K within a triangle on its tail. During all of its 330 bombing missions, it dropped 26,640 tons of bombs, shot down 315 enemy aircraft and lost 141 of its B-17s to enemy action.
The 379th Bomb Group was the only unit ever awarded the 8th Air Force Grand Slam, a very unique honour in recognition of its achievements. They also received two Presidential Unit Citations. The Group flew its last combat mission on April 25, 1945 and was finally deactivated on July 25, 1945.
The airfield at Kimbolton was originally a fighter base for the RAF. When it became evident Germany was not going to invade England, the RAF decided it didn’t need many inland fighter bases and was happy to lease most of them to the United States as airfields for heavy bombers.