391st Bombardment Group
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391st Bombardment Group
| 391st Bombardment Group | |
|---|---|
 391st Bombardment Group Insignia |
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| Active | 1943–1945 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Part of | Ninth Air Force |
| Garrison/HQ | European Theatre of World War II |
The 391st Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Army Service Forces stationed at Camp Shanks, New York. It was inactivated on 25 October 1945.
During World War II the unit was deployed to Western Europe and fought in combat with Ninth Air Force as a B-26 Marauder medium bomber group.
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Contents
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History
Constituted as 391st Bombardment Group (Medium) on 15 January 1943 and activated on 21 January Trained with B-26's for duty in Europe with Ninth Air Force. Assigned to RAF Matching, England on 26 January 1944. The group marking was a yellow triangle painted on the tail fin of their B-26s.
The first mission was flown on 15 February and 150 more were completed before the group moved into France in late September 1944. During the ensuing weeks the 391st bombed targets such as airfields, marshalling yards, bridges, and V-weapon sites in France and the Low Countries to help prepare for the invasion of Normandy. The group attacked enemy defenses along the invasion beaches on 6 and 7 June 1944. From June through September, the group continued cross-Channel operations, which included attacks on fuel dumps and troop concentrations in support of Allied forces during the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July 1944, and strikes on transportation and communications to block the enemy's retreat to the east.
A total of 20 B-26s were missing in action during the 391st's operations from Matching before the group moved onto the continent, transferring to Roye/Amy, France (ALG A-73) on 19 September 1944. The group then switched to Douglas A-26 Invaders and flew its last mission on 3 May 1945 from Asche, Belgium (ALG Y-29).
The 391st Bomb Group returned to the United States in October and was inactivated at Camp Shanks, New York on 25 October 1945.
Lineage
- Constituted as 391st Bombardment Group (Medium) on 15 January 1943
- Activated on 21 January 1943
- Inactivated on 25 October 1945
Assignments
- Third Air Force, 21 January 1943
- 99th Bombardment Wing, 25 January 1944 – 27 July 1945
- Army Service Forces (for inactivation), 24–25 October 1945
Components
- 572d Bombardment Squadron (P2), 21 January 1943 – 25 October 1945
- 573d Bombardment Squadron (T6), 21 January 1943 – 25 October 1945
- 574th Bombardment Squadron (4L), 21 January 1943 – 25 October 1945
- 575th Bombardment Squadron (O8), 21 January 1943 – 25 October 1945
Stations
- MacDill Field, Florida, 21 January 1943
- Myrtle Beach General Bombing and Gunnery Range, South Carolina, 24 May 1943
- Godman Field, Kentucky, 4 September-31 December 1943
- RAF Matching (AAF-166), England 25 January 1944
- Roye-Amy Airfield (A-73), France 19 September 1944
- Asch Airfield (Y-29), Belgium 16 April 1945
- Vitry-En-Artois Airfield, France 27 May – 27 July 1945
- Camp Shanks, New York, 24–25 October 1945
Aircraft
- Martin B-26 Marauder, 1943–1945
- Douglas A-26 Invader, 1945
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
- Freeman, Roger A. UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle, 1994. ISBN 0-900913-80-0.
- Freeman, Roger A. The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent-World War Two. After the Battle, 1996. ISBN 1-85409-272-3.
- Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. 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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