The 100th Bomb Group, or better known as they would become, the “Bloody Hundredth,” is a common story of World War II air history. They were famous for being one of the war’s biggest mistakes and for making bold daylight bombing raids over German-held Europe, and it is a tale of commitment, dedication, and unwavering loyalty.
Their heritage wasn’t quantified in statistics—it was built on the direction, integrity, and initiative of flyers who took to the air from Thorpe Abbotts, England, into some of the war’s most dangerous flying conditions. The history of the unit started early in 1942 at Walla Walla Army Air Base in Washington state. Initially, training was chaotic with no discipline and fragmented confidence.
One of the practice missions was famously routing bombers flying lame through the western United States, crashing miles from their intended course in towns like Las Vegas, and even one crew making a clandestine side trip to Tennessee to escort a pilot’s wife out for a Saturday night on the town.
The original commander, Colonel Darr H. Alkire, wasn’t far off when he predicted that they’d be hazardous and anything but glamorous. He was succeeded by Colonel Howard M. Turner, who trained the unit and put it on stand-by to relocate to England in mid-1943. Constituted in England, the 100th was given the Eighth Air Force’s deep daylight precision bombing of German industry. Flying, it was moody. Lacking long-range fighter escort for months,
B-17 Flying Fortresses were under constant anti-aircraft fire and incessant aerial attack by the Luftwaffe. Losses were borne, and sailors quickly learned the deadly cost of accurate bombing. The 100th’s first serious test since having flown over Bremen was when three bombers and thirty men were lost. Personnel such as Operations Officer John “Bucky” Egan and Captain Gale “Buck” Cleven became the most crucial at keeping morale afloat in the midst of adversity, and the rumor that the unit was “jinxed” assisted in placing it near legend among other flyers.
Their worst mission was on 17th August, 1943, when they were engaged in the Regensburg Raid. The 100th had the worst positions in the formation, one later referred to as the “Purple Heart Corner.” Nine of the twenty-two planes in position that day failed to return, most on the raid by any other squadron. Those who survived remembered the horrific view of friends crashing down, held together by gallows humor and sheer determination in the face of horror.
October 1943 was “Black Week,” and it culminated in the October 10th raid on Münster. Out of thirteen B-17s deployed, only one came home: Royal Flush, flown by Robert “Rosie” Rosenthal. Pre-war lawyer and only Jewish pilot on his crew, Rosenthal witnessed sights beyond imagination, having been shot down twice and having completed fifty-two missions to become one of the 100th’s lesser-known heroes.
Psychological stress was enormous. Rotations and off-duty in “flak houses” were introduced by Air Force commanders to maintain crews’ rebuilding endurance. Commanders such as Colonel Neil “Chick” Harding understood that mind toughness and morale were as important as training, and promoted crews to accept temporary relief from within combat.
Though daily routine reports took up 100th losses, they were not necessarily the biggest. But strikes such as Regensburg, Münster, and “Black Thursday” over Schweinfurt cemented them in place. Legend also endured in flamboyant forms, from the gung-ho “Bucks” to navigator Harry Crosby, who once famously, on principle, le prohibited his crew from bombing Beethoven’s birthplace.
In spite of the experience, the 100th played a large part in the Allied cause in World War II: bombing Berlin, an escort support mission for the Normandy invasion, and the Bulge action. They had completed 306 missions and lost 757 men missing or dead at the conclusion of the war.
Their memory endures in books, in movies, at veterans’ reunion gatherings, and in the recollections of guys like Capt. John “Lucky” Luckadoo and Lt. Jim Rasmussen, guys who made Bloody Hundred ghosts scare those trailing after them. The courage, the selfless dedication, and the tenacity of the 100th Bomb Group are living proof—a shining light of courage and commitment to all those who are to be led along the way.
