502d Bombardment Group

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 502d Bombardment Group


caption= 502d Bombardment Group Insignia
dates= 1944 - 1946
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Army Air Forces
type=
role= Bombardment
size=
command_structure= Twentieth Air Force
current_commander=
garrison= Pacific Ocean Theater of World War II
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=


* World War II: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign (1945)
anniversaries=The 502d Bombardment Group (502d BG) was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. The unit was inactivated on 15 April 1946.

History

The unit served primarily in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II as part of Twentieth Air Force. The 502d Bomb Group's aircraft engaged in very heavy bombardment B-29 Superfortress operations against Japan.

Operational units

* 402d Bombardment Squadron 1944-1946
* 411th Bombardment Squadron 1944-1946
* 430st Bombardment Squadron 1944-1946

Aircraft flown

* Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Stations assigned

* Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona 1 Jun 1944
* Dalhart AAF, Texas 5 Jun 1944
* Grand Island AAF, Nebraska 26 Sep 1944-7 Apr 1945
* Northwest Field, Guam 12 May 1945-15 Apr 1946

Operational history

The 502d Bombardment Group was constituted on 25 May 1944, and activated on 1 Jun 1944 at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona. The group was equipped with the B-29 Superfortress. From an original group of 11 officers and 82 enlisted men, the 502d grew to three flying squadrons, a photo lab and thousands of personnel.

In September 1944, the ground echelon was sent to its staging area at Grand Island AAF, Nebraska. The 315th Wing was in fact unique, for it was equipped entirely with the only true variant of the B-29 ever manufactured—the B-29B. These aircraft were actually stripped-down versions of the normal B-29, bereft of the General Electric gun system and a variety of other components, in order to save weight and increase bomb-carrying capacity. The resultant unladen weight of 69,000 pounds was a vast improvement, lessening the strain on engines and airframe and enabling the payload to be increased from 12,000 to 18,000 pound ordnance. In addition, the 502nd and all of the other 315th groups were equipped with the new AN/APQ-7 "Eagle" radar sets which gave a much clearer presentation of ground images through a wing-shaped radar vane slung beneath the fuselage. It also gave a biplane effect in appearance. The "Eagle" was the product of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Eagle radar development group. It had been designed especially for night missions.

During World War II this special antenna and equipment for precision night radar missions was so secret that no B-29s were ever shown with it, and there are no actual official photographs in existence. The only armament on these aircraft was in the tail, where two .50 caliber machine guns were installed. Missions had to be planned and prepared so that briefing material could be slanted from the radar point of view.

The 502d was deployed to Guam during Apr-Jun 1945, and assigned to the 315th Bomb Wing, Twentieth Air Force. Upon arrival the group's personnel were engaged in Quanset hut construction. By mid-July most personnel were able to move into the huts from the initial tents which they were assigned on arrival. On 9 July, the group flew a shakedown mission to Truk, carrying about half a normal payload of bombs. The group entered combat on 30 June 1945 when the group bombed enemy installations on Rota. Flew its first mission against the Japanese home islands on 15 July 1945, and afterward operated principally against the enemy's petroleum industry. The 502d was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for attacks on the coal liquefaction plant at Ube, the tank farm at Amagasaki and the Nippon oil refinery at Tsuchizaki in August 1945.

After the war, dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners in Japan and participated in several show-of-force missions over Japan. Inactivated on Guam on is Apr 1946.

See also

* Twentieth Air Force
* 315th Air Division

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.

External links

* [http://www.315bw.org/502bg_hb.html 502d Bombardment Group History]