487th Bomb Group (H)
Station 137 - Lavenham, Suffolk, UK
22-Sep-43 to 7-Nov-45


Photographic History of the 487th Bomb Group



The content of the Photographic History of the 487th Bomb Group (H) is now (April 2010) being finalized. If you or your family have photos that you believe should be added to this book, PLEASE, contact Lee or Paul (contact information below) immediately. Those photos are important to make this as complete an historical document as possible. We need to hear from you now. Thank you!



Ivo de Jong, Paul Webber and Lee Hauenstein have decided to work together to compile a "Photographic History of the 487th Bomb Group."

Many of you already have a copy of "The History of the 487th Bomb Group" by Ivo de Jong. This is a detailed account of the history of the 487th, with an emphasis on the combat missions and aircrew losses. It is illustrated with over 500 photos; but due to space limitations, many interesting photos had to be left out. Also, many new photos have surfaced since the Group History was published in October 2004.

It would be a pity not to publish these photos. The aim of this project is to publish a book, which emphasizes the photographs. To do this, we need your help! We are looking for YOUR photos on ALL subjects related to the 487th Bomb Group and its life at Lavenham: Aircraft, nose art, crew photos, ground crews, life in and around the barracks, and photos of other subunits at Lavenham Airfield, such as the Quartermaster and Ordnance Companies, Military Police and RAF detachments. Any photo taken during training in 1943-1944, at Lavenham in 1944-1945 or during one of the missions is of interest and will be evaluated for the publication.

We know that there are still many photos around, carefully kept in albums or in yellowed envelopes. These are the treasures that we would like to see. American residents Paul and Lee are the focal point for the collection of the photos. They will carefully copy your photos and return them to you immediately.

Many of you who attended the reunion in Kalamazoo in July 2008 brought your photos, and Paul or Lee scanned them. We are sincerely thankful for that and are still looking for more photos. We plan to do this again at the Phoenix reunion in October 2009.

You are also welcome to send your photos to Lee or Paul by mail. They know how to properly handle these treasures, and will return them to you after scanning them. You may send your photos to:

     Lee Hauenstein OR         Paul M. Webber
     4 Masefield Road 3725 Hickory Hill Drive
     Nashua, NH 03062 Colorado Springs, CO 80906
     Email: LCH_NH@COMCAST.NET        Email: PWEBBER@PCISYS.NET

We understand that many people are reluctant to send their treasured photographs by mail. It may also be inconvenient to do this if the photos are in albums. If you do not want to send your photos by mail, please contact Lee or Paul about sending a copy or a scan by email, or to find another way to submit them. One option is to send photographic copies by mail. Another option is to send photo scans by email. We need high-quality copies or scans in order to consider them for publication.

This will be an excellent opportunity for crew members and family to gather their collective memories, expressed through photographic images of that extraordinary time in your history and the history of the world. These photographs are treasures that will disappear if they are not preserved. Your help is indispensable in preserving the photographic history of the 487th Bomb Group. This will be an excellent companion volume to "The History of the 487th Bomb Group."




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