449th Bombardment Wing

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 449th Bombardment Group
"The Flying Horsemen"


caption= Emblem of the 449th Bombardment Group
dates= 1943 - 1946
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Army Air Forces
type=
role= Bomber
size=
command_structure= Fifteenth Air Force
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=
notable_commanders= Robert T. Herres
Robert E. Huyser
anniversaries=The 449th Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. It served primarily in the Mediterranean theatre of World War II.

History

Operational Units

* 716th Bombardment 1943-1946
* 717th Bombardment 1943-1946
* 718th Bombardment 1943-1946
* 719th Bombardment 1943-1946

Aircraft Flown

* B-25 Mitchell
* B-17 Flying Fortress
* B-24 Liberator
* B-29 Superfortress

Stations Assigned

* Davis-Monthan Field, AZ 1 May 1943
* Alamogordo AAFld, NM 5 Jul 1943
* Bruning AAFld, NE 12 Sep-3 Dec 1943
* Grottaglie, Italy c. 4 Jan 1944-16 May 1945
* Sioux Falls AAFld, SD 29 May 1945
* Dalhart AAFld, TX 24 Jul 1945
* Grand Island AAFld, NE 8 Sep 1945-4 Aug 1946

Operational History

Constituted as 449th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 6 Apr 1943. Activated on 1 May 1943. Prepared for combat with B-24's. Moved to Italy, Dec 1943-Jan 1944, and assigned to Fifteenth Air Force.

Operated primarily as a strategic bombardment organization, attacking such targets as oil refineries, communications centers, aircraft factories, and industrial areas in Italy, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece.

Received a DUC for a mission on 4 Apr 1944 when the group, flying without escort, raided marshalling yards in Bucharest; although heavily outnumbered by German fighters, the group succeeded not only in bombing the target but also in destroying many of the enemy interceptors. Received another DUC for action on 9 Jul 1944 when the group flew through heavy smoke and intense enemy fire to attack an oil refinery at Ploesti. Other operations of the group included bombing gun emplacements in southern France in preparation for the invasion in Aug 1944, and attacking troop concentrations, bridges, and viaducts in Apr 1945 to assist Allied forces in northern Italy.

Returned to the US in May 1945. Redesignated 449th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy). Trained with B-17, B-25, and B-29 aircraft. Assigned to Strategic Air Command on 21 Mar 1946. Inactivated on 4 Aug 1946.

See also

* Fifteenth Air Force

References

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

External links