344th Bombardment Group
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344th Bombardment Group
| 344th Bombardment Group | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of the 344th Bombardment Group |
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| Active | 1942–1946 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Force |
The 344th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the XII Fighter Command stationed at Schleissheim Palace, Germany. It was inactivated on 15 February 1946.
The unit was deployed to Ninth Air Force in Western Europe during World War II as a B-26 Marauder medium bomber group. The 344th Bombardment Group was selected to lead the IX Bomber Command formations on D-Day, with the first aircraft taking off at 04:12 hours to attack coastal batteries in Cherbourg. It received a Distinguished Unit Citation for three-day action against the enemy, 24–26 July 1944, when the group struck troop concentrations, supply dumps, a bridge, and a railroad viaduct to assist advancing ground forces at Saint-Lô.
The 371st was redesignated as the 126th Bombardment Group, and allotted to the Illinois Air National Guard on 24 May 1946.
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Contents
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History
The 344th Bombardment Group was equipped with B-26 Marauders and served as a replacement training unit for III Bomber Command in the southeastern United States.
The group was moved to England, in January–February 1944, and Began operations with Ninth Air Force in March. The group was assigned to attacking airfields, V2 missile sites, marshalling yards, U-boat pens, coastal defenses, and other targets in France, Belgium, and Holland. Beginning in May, they helped prepare for the Normandy invasion by striking vital bridges in France. On D-Day 1944 the group attacked coastal batteries at Cherbourg. During the remainder of June, the group supported the drive that resulted in the seizure of the Cotentin Peninsula, and bombed defended positions to assist British forces in the area of Caen.
The 344th Bombardment Group received the Distinguished Unit Citation for the missions conducted on the 24th to 26th of July of 1944, when the group struck troop concentrations, supply dumps, a bridge, and a railroad viaduct in assisting the advancing of ground forces at St Lo. The group knocked out bridges to hinder the enemy's withdrawal through the Falaise gap, and bombed vessels and strong points at Brest, during August and September of 1944.
The group also attacked bridges, rail lines, fortified areas, supply dumps and ordnance depots in Germany, October and November 1944. They also supported Allied Ground forces during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 to January 1945, and continued to strike such targets as supply points, communications centers, bridges, marshalling yards, roads, and oil storage tanks until April 1945. The group began training on the new A-26 Invader but continued to use B-26 Marauders until the A-26 training was completed. The group made training flights and participated in air demonstrations after the war.
The 344th then moved to Germany in September 1945 and, as part of United States Air Forces in Europe, served with the army of occupation, and was then redesignated the 344th Bombardment Group (Light) in December 1945. On the 31 March 1946 the 344th Bombardment group was inactivated and then transferred, without personnel and equipment, to the US on 15 February 1946.
Lineage
- Constituted as 344th Bombardment Group (Medium) on 31 August 1942
- Activated on 8 September 1942
- Inactivated on 31 March 1946
Assignments
- III Air Support Command, 8 September 1942 – 26 January 1944
- 99th Bombardment Wing, 9 February 1944
- United States Air Forces in Europe
- Attached to: XII Fighter Command, 15 September 1945 – 15 February 1946
Stations
- MacDill Field, Florida, 8 September 1942
- Drane Field, Florida, 28 December 1942
- Hunter Field, Georgia, 19 December 1943 – 26 January 1944
- RAF Stansted Mountfitchet (AAF-169), England, 9 February 1944
- Cormeilles-en-Vexin Airfield (A-59), France, 30 September 1944
- Florennes/Juzaine Airfield (A-78), Belgium, 5 April 1945
- Schleissheim Palace, Germany, 15 September 1945 – 15 February 1946 (Ground Echelon)
Components
- 494th Bombardment Squadron (K9), 8 September 1942 – 31 March 1946
- 495th Bombardment Squadron (Y5), 8 September 1942 – 31 March 1946
- 496th Bombardment Squadron (N3), 8 September 1942 – 31 March 1946
- 497th Bombardment Squadron (7I), 8 September 1942 – 30 December 1945
Aircraft
- B-26 Marauder, 1942–1945
- A-26 Invader, 1945
See also
- List of units using the B-26 Marauder during World War II
- Pima Air and Space Facebook Page for historic photos of the 344th Bombardment Group.
https://www.facebook.com/carol.person?ref=pymk#!/PimaAirAndSpace
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
- Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4
- Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
External links
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