History of the 390th Bomb Group

Posted by Robyn Frey on Feb 02, 2017

The presentation will focus on the history of the 390^th Bomb Group and how the museum keeps their courage and dedication alive for future generations. The 390^th Bomb Group was one of 40 B-17 Bomb Groups and who flew 301 missions against the Axis powers from England during World War 2. Stationed in Framlingham near the east shore, the group took part in many of the most famous and deadly missions flown by allied forces. The 390^th lost a total of 176 aircraft, 721 men killed, and over 700 captured. They also had one of the best bombing accuracies of all the groups, and were credited with shooting down over 377 enemy aircraft. The 390^th took part in one of the first missions to bomb Berlin, led the 3^rd wave of bombing German positions during D-Day, flew the first missions to bomb in Germany and then land in Russia, and finally they flew Humanitarian missions to Holland dropping food at the end of the war. The presentation will highlight several interesting areas of the 390^th and provide an overview of the museum.

Biography - Walter (Wally) Scales

Wally was raised in Fort Smith Arkansas, and a graduate of the University of Arkansas. Commissioned in 1982, he then attended pilot training at Vance AFB where he earned his wings. He was selected to fly the A-10 at England AFB, LA where he was a member of the A-10 Air Demonstration Team, followed by selection to come back to DM to be an A-10 instructor pilot. In 1987, he was selected to transition to the F-16 and assigned to Kunsan AB, ROK. Following that assignment, he transferred to MacDill AFB and became an instructor pilot in the F-16. During Operation Desert Storm and Shield he deployed to Riyadh Saudi Arabia and worked as Chief of Flight Safety for General Horner. Following his tour at MacDill AFB he was assigned to Osan Air Base attended Air Command and Staff College, and then was assigned to U.S. Pacific Command. Following his staff tour, he returned to the F-16 as an instructor pilot at Luke AFB. He then transferred to the Pentagon where he served as an F-16 programmer followed by his selection as the executive officer to the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff. In 2003, he was assigned to HQ United States Air Forces in Europe as the executive officer to the commander. Upon promotion to Colonel he was selected as the Director of Safety and returned to flying the A-10. He flew with the A-10 squadron at Spangdalem AB for one year and then was transferred to DM where he became the Deputy Operations Group Commander. In 2005, he deployed to Bagram AB, AFG and served as the Group Commander flying over 150 combat hours in the A-10. In 2007, he was selected to serve as the Defense Attaché' to the Czech Republic, and following that assignment he retired from active duty in 2012. His awards include two Bronze Stars, two Air Medals and the Legion of Merit, and he retired with over 1600 hours in the A-10 and 1900 hours in the F-16. In 2014, he began his current job as Director of the 390^th Memorial Museum. He and his wife Lorraine are the proud parents of two sons, one daughter and three grandchildren.