472d Bombardment Group

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 468th Bombardment Group


caption=
dates= 1943 - 1944
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Army Air Forces
type=
role= Bombardment
size=
command_structure= Second Air Force
current_commander=
garrison= American Theater of World War II
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=


* World War II: American Campaign
(1943-1944)
anniversaries=

The 468th Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. It was inactivated on 31 Mar 1946.

History

The unit served as the initial Operational Training Unit (OTU) for prototype B-29 Superfortress aircraft as part of the 58th Bombardment Wing. After the wing deployed to India, it was involved in training B-29 crews in New Mexico and took part in early testing of the B-29 to carry the Atomic Bomb.

Operational Units

* 808th Bombardment Squadron 1943-1944
* 809th Bombardment Squadron 1943-1944
* 810th Bombardment Squadron 1943-1944
* 811th Bombardment Squadron 1943-1944

Aircraft Flown

* Boeing YB-29/B-29 Superfortress

Stations Assigned

* Smoky Hill AAF, KS 1 Sep - 7 Dec 1943
* Clovis AAF, New Mexico, 7 Dec 1943 - 1 Apr 1944

Operational History

On 1 June 1943, the first Superfortress unit--the 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) had been activated at Marietta, Georgia, near Bell's Superfortress plant. On 15 September 1943, the headquarters of the 58th BW was moved to Smokey Hill AAF Kansas, with some of its groups near the Wichita factory. The 472nd Bombardment Group was constituted on 19 May 1943 at Smokey Hill AAF to be the initial group to receive the prototype YB-29 and first production B-29 Superfortresses. There were five groups in the 58th Bomb Wing, but the 472d was destined to remain at Smoky Hill Field as an operational training unit, and the others were to be deployed to India.

President Roosevelt wanted the B-29 bombing raids against Japan to start by January 1944. However, delays in the B-29 program forced General Arnold to admit to the President that the bombing campaign against Japan could not begin until May 1944 at the earliest. The crews of the B-29 needed a degree of specialist training that was not required for crews of other, less complex aircraft. It usually took 27 weeks to train a pilot, 15 to train a navigator, and 12 to train a gunner. The complexity of the B-29 was such that a lengthy process of crew integration had to take place before combat deployment could begin. By the end of December 1943, only 73 pilots had qualified for the B-29 and very few crews had been brought together as a complete team.

After the initial groups of the 58th Bomb Wing completed conversion training on the B-29, the 472d was moved to Clovis AAF, New Mexico in December 1943 to begin training follow-on B-29 crews. However the group also was involved in secret testing of the B-29 for suitability in carrying Atomic Bombs, which were being developed at Los Alamos, New Mexico.

In September 1943, the B-29 was selected as the carrier for the Atomic Bomb. At first, the team responsible for the adaptation of the B-29 to the atomic bomb would only be provided with rough dimensions of the bomb, since even the scientists were not yet sure what it would look like. The technicians fitted a new H-frame hoist, carrier assembly and release unit to the B-29. The first drop tests using dummy bombs were carried out at Muroc AAF, California on February 28, 1944. These lead to the fitting of an entirely new suspension mechanism to the B-29.

With these initial tests completed, and the B-29 crew training program well underway, the group was inactivated on 1 April 1944.

See also

* Second Air Force
* 58th Air Division

References

* Dorr, Robert (2003), B-29 Superfortress Units of the Korean War, Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1841766542
* Dorr, Robert (2002), B-29 Units of World War II, Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1841762857
* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
* Rhodes, Richard (1986), The Making of the Atomic Bomb. Simon and Schuster ISBN 0684813785

External links