Unknown Invader Base

In 2021 the Facebook page for "Special Kay" (64-17679) posted this image of "Invader Heaven" and claimed that it was K-8 in Korea.

The more I looked at the photo, the more certain that I was that this is not K-8, aka Kunsan AB. Kunsan was the home of the 3rd Bomb Group and the base that my grandfather was stationed at. I've looked at many photos of that base and this feels wrong for K-8. I asked them about it and they said that they just assumed that it was K-8 and couldn't remember where they got it from and there was not history or notes attached to the image.

Fortunately, I still it is possible to identify the base. There are some specific landmarks nearby that may be helpful. The curve of the river, the hill, the bridges, even the arrangement of the buildings on the base. The first thing I noted was that the planes were silver, or at least appear to be silver, which isn't much help. Most units flew silver planes at some point or another. I also looked at the number of planes in the shot - 8 - there are 7 complete planes in the shot and the wingtip of an 8th on the far-left edge. That seems to suggest that this is not a unit like a Fighter Squadron where they also happened to have an Invader or two assigned for target tow duty, but rather a dedicated Invader unit. Unfortunately, that's all we can tell so far. None of the planes are clear enough to make out specific paint or markings.

The next thing that struck me was the arrangement of the Invaders. There appear to be some earthen berm revetments erected between a couple of the planes. While revetments were common in Korea, they were typically made out of sandbags and oil drums. Also, it looks like that might be a dirt runway behind them. K-8 and K-9 and several of the other bases the Invaders operated out of had runways that were made out of PSP - Pierced Steel Plate. These were long, overlapping planks of metal that could be hastily laid out to provide more secure landing surface than dirt. While not as good as pavement, at least the runway wouldn't turn into mud during rainstorms. The fact that this base does not have a PSP runway suggests that this base may be a much smaller operation.

Just based on my hunches, this could a French Base in Indochina, it could be a CIA-backed base, like one of the ones used in Millpond or Farm Gate, or it could belong to a foreign power altogether. However, I like to be thorough, so I'm going to go through all of the units' bases one by and compare the features to the photo. At the most recent, this photo was from the 1960s, which would make it 60 years old now. At the oldest it's from the 1940s and that would make it 80 years ago. A lot can change in that time. Rivers can shift course, shorelines move, bridges can be destroyed or changed, airbases can be built over by other buildings, etc. With all of that stuff in mind, I'm going to attempt to use those features to ID the base as best I can.

American Bases in the ETO, WWII

In the European Theater there were 4 main units that flew Invaders. This base seems too small to be any of these, but we will check them, nonetheless.

386th Bomb Group Bases

While using the Invader, the 386th used the following bases:

• Great Dunmow, England: 3 Sep 1943
• Beaumont-sur-Oise, France: 2 Oct 1944
• St- Trond, Belgium: 9 Apr-Jul 1945
• Seymour Johnson Field, NC: 7 Aug 1945
• Westover Field, Mass: 30 Sept-7 Nov 1945

Great Dunmow, England

This base is definitely not RAF Great Dunmow. Great Dunmow sits well within central England, in a low-lying field and is completely land locked. There are no rivers, bridges, or hills nearby. Even by 1943, Great Dunmow was a huge base featuring 3 runways in a triangle pattern.

Beaumont-sur-Oise, France

This base can also be ruled out. Like RAF Great Dunmow, Beaumont-sur-Oise was in a low-lying field with no hills or rivers in sight. During WWII the base was quite large, but since then it has been reduced to 1 runway and the rest of the base overgrown with grass.

St- Trond, Belgium

This one can also be easily ruled out. Like the other bases, it is in a low-lying field. It was a large base featuring 3 runways and still exists today and Limburg Regional Airport. There are no hills or rivers nearby.

Seymour Johnson Field, NC

Seymour Johnson can be ruled out. It features two runways in parallel in a low-lying field with no hills or rivers.

Westover Field, MA

Westover airfield can be ruled out. There is a large river to the west of the base, but the distance of the river and the orientation of the runway compared to the river is not right. There's also no hill. The base featured two concrete runways and still exists today as Westover Airport.

386th Conclusion

We can now eliminate all of the assigned bases that the 386th operated in during WWII and can say with a high degree of certainty that this photo is not of 386th planes, which is what I expected.

391st Bomb Group Bases

While using the Invader the 391st used the following bases:

• Roye/Amy, France: 19 Sep 1944:
• Assche, Belgium: 16 Apr 1945
• Vitry-en-Artois, France: 27 May-27 Jul 1945
• Camp Shanks, NY: Oct-25 Oct 1945

Roye, France

This base no longer exists, but it can be ruled out. The base was set in a low-lying field with no rivera or hills nearby.

Assche, Belgium

This base can be ruled out. It sits on the northwest edge of Brussels, and there are no matching geographical features. This base no longer exists.

Vitry-en-Artois, France

The remnants of this base can be see from the air, but the base itself is gone. This base can be eliminated as no matching features exist.

Camp Shanks, NY

While there is a river to the east of this base, it can be eliminated. There is no hill, no bridges, and the wayer shape is wrong.

391st Conclusion

We can safely eliminate all of the 391st bases as potential matches. This is an expected result.

409th Bomb Group Bases

While using the Invader the 409th used the following bases:

• Bretigny Airfield (A-48), France: September 1944
• Laon-Couvron Airfield (A-70), France: February 1945
• Seymour Johnson Field, NC: August 1945
• Westover Field, MA: October 1945

Bretigny Airfield (A-48), France

This base can be ruled out. It was built in low-lying flatland. There are no rivers or hills nearby.

Laon-Couvron Airfield (A-70), France

This base can be ruled out. It was built in low-lying flatland. There are no rivers or hill nearby.

Seymour-Johnson Field, NC

Seymour-Johnson was previously ruled out. See entry under the 386th Bomb Group.

Westover Field, MA

Westover Field was previously ruled out. See entry under the 386th Bomb Group.

409th Conclusions

In conclusion, we can rule out all of the 409th Bomb Group bases as possibilities. This is an expected result.

American Bases in the Mediterranean, WWII

There was only one major active unit in the Med.

American Bases in Central & South America, WWII

There were no major Bomb Groups in Central and South America, but there were a number of ferry units who flew planes over to Europe regularly.