Can someone confirm if the 72 Squadron was in the 11 BG H during 1942-1943?

If they were in the 11 BG H were they stationed in the Pacific along with the 42 Squadron during 1942-1943? They are not listed under the link to this part of the forum. But a B-17 from the 72 Squadron did join three B-17s on February 1, 1943.

That plane crash landed and the three from the 42 Squadron were lost along with their crews.

I just don't see their link on the page of Heavy Bombers under the 11 BG H. 

Thank you,

Sincerely yours,
PA.Dutchman

Son of T/Sgt. Ray A. Heilman, JR.
11 TH Field Artillery 1937-1940
Schofield Barracks
7 TH AAC 11 BGH 42 Sq.1940-45
Hickam Survivor 12/7/1941
AAC Armorer (P) 911
P.U.Citation1942

PA -
Maurer's Book on Squadrons notes:
Attached 5th BG later RG 10/38 - 3/47 
the 72d Sq. operated from Guadalcanal
10/4/42 -  8/8/43.
No transfer to 11th BG noted.
Mike
 

Thank you very much. Someone thought they made a connection, but I could not find any or confirm theirs.

This clears it up nicely. The last three B-17s of the 42 Sq. of the 11 BG H went on a mission with a B-17 from the 72 Sq. All three B-17s from the 42 Sq. were lost with their crews, the one for the 72 Sq. crashed landed.

This happened on February 1, 1943 that maybe why they thought the 72 was part of the 11 BG H. The four had all gone out together.

Sincerely yours,
PA.Dutchman

Son of T/Sgt. Ray A. Heilman, JR.
11 TH Field Artillery 1937-1940
Schofield Barracks
7 TH AAC 11 BGH 42 Sq.1940-45
Hickam Survivor 12/7/1941
AAC Armorer (P) 911
P.U.Citation1942

I found this mention of the 72nd .......  
http://afhra.maxwell.af.mil/rso/wings_groups_pages/0005og.asp

"Took part in training exercises and maneuvers and staged aerial reviews in Hawaii, 1919-1941. In 1938, the group bombed Mauna Loa, a Hawaiian volcano, in order to divert a lava stream from the city of Hilo. Sowed seeds from the air for the Territorial Forestry Division in 1937-1938. On 7 Dec 1941, the group suffered the loss of B-17 and B-18 bombers when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, but it sent two B-17s to search vainly for the Japanese task force. Patrolled the Hawaiian Islands until November 1942, taking part in the Battle of Midway (3-6 Jun 1942). The group's 72 Squadron moved to Espiritu Santo in Sep to join the 11 Bombardment Group as part of a Mobile Force, Pacific. By Jan 1943, all of the 5th group's squadrons operated with the 11th group's squadrons from Espiritu Santo or Guadalcanal. Served in combat with the Thirteenth Air Force during the Allied drive from the Solomon Islands to the Philippines. Crews flew long patrol and photographic missions over the Solomon Islands and the Coral Sea, attacked ..........................


 

Dear Linda,

This is GREAT!

Thank you soooooooo very very much. This is putting the puzzle together. I know in the Pacific the units were often patched together to get one flight out to do a job. People and planes came from where ever they could be gotten.

Planes, parts and people were loaned and traded to get the job done.

Everything I have read and my father has written tells the same story, never enough men, planes, cold food, wet beds, rats as big as small dogs, illness and diseases. The Pacific Theater  was a hell of its own even behind our own lines.

Thank you again, I don't know how you found this but I am very grateful to you for your time and help. 

God bless you and this site once again.  

The two photos are of the 42 Sq. in 1942 on one of those "One Damned Island After Another". My father is "Bud" Tech. Sgt. Heilman in the front row with the helmet at his feet. The photo is found in "Grey Geese Calling" on page 9. My father had his own copy with the names written on the back.

Attached Image(s)

Sincerely yours,
PA.Dutchman

Son of T/Sgt. Ray A. Heilman, JR.
11 TH Field Artillery 1937-1940
Schofield Barracks
7 TH AAC 11 BGH 42 Sq.1940-45
Hickam Survivor 12/7/1941
AAC Armorer (P) 911
P.U.Citation1942