Welcome! This site documents the experiences of my grandfather, 1LT George Wood Mears, "Woodie", who was a pilot in the 511th Squadron, 351st Bombardment Group during World War II. The 351st was part of the 94th Bombardment Wing, 1st Air Division of the 8th Army Air Force. The group was based at Polebrook Airfield in Northamptonshire, England between between Apr. 15, 1943 and Jun. 10, 1945, with a total of 279 B-17 Flying Fortresses on charge. These flew 9,075 sorties with 7,945 of them dropping 20,778 tons of bombs. The gunners in the Group fired off 2,776,028 rounds of ammunition and were credited with destroying 303 enemy aircraft. The Group flew 311 credited missions and lost 175 B-17's and 405 men in combat. My grandfather piloted 22 combat missions between Nov. 26, 1943 and Mar. 18, 1944, when he was shot down near Switzerland and became a POW. Please use the menu below to navigate the site.



From left to right, the unit patches above represent the 8th Army Air Force, the 351st Bombardment Group, and the 511th squadron of the 351st BG.


351st Bombardment Group Links:



Mr. Ken Harbour's 351st BG historical page

2LT Milton J. Kaplan, a 351st BG, 511th Sq. navigator imprisoned in Germany

SGT F. E. "Earl" Anderson, a 351st BG, 510th Sq. flight engineer and evadee in occupied France

1LT Robert "Peck" Wilcox , a 351st BG, 510th Sq. bombardier and evadee in occupied France

1LT Harold O. Freeman, a 351st BG, 510th Sq. navigator and evadee in occupied France

351st BG Association Point of Contact

Polebrook.com


Other Links: