The WWII Bomber Group Destroyed By a Volcano
A firsthand account of a wartime eruption
When Mount Vesuvius began waking up in the early days of 1944 few people were worried. Italy had been subjected to fierce fighting since the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) in 1943 and the fighting had continued to plague the Italian peninsula. German defenses remained dug in in the rocky northern regions of the country and the Allies’ chief concern was dislodging the last remaining pockets of German resistance so they could push over the Alps and into Germany proper. No one was concerned about the mutterings of an ancient volcano.
That quickly changed.
As the activity ramped up, nearby soldiers remarked that the mountain sounded like distant artillery but was much less dangerous. The volcano began to shake and smoke and by March it was clear that Vesuvius was heading towards a full scale eruption. Still, many foreign soldiers stationed on the ground had no experience with active volcanoes. The officers dismissed the threat out of hand while common folk looked up warily towards the imposing slopes.
One of the units deployed closest to the volcano was the U.S. Army Air Force’s 340th Bombardment Group. This air group was stationed at Pompeii Airfield located just a couple of miles from the base of Mount Vesuvius…
