USAAF bombardment group

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A United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bombardment group was a military combat unit during the Second World War. The Air Force equivalent of an infantry regiment, the bombardment or bomb group was the basic tactical control and administrative organization in all theaters of operation, and was commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel.

U.S. bomb groups were numbered and classified into five types: Very Heavy (VH), Heavy (H), Medium (M), Light (L), and Composite, which combined bombers of differing categories. Bomber aircraft were assigned to groups by category:

(The USAAF also operated two fighter-bombers during the period, The A-24 and the A-36. Groups for those types were first classified Light Bomb, then Dive Bomb, before being re-classified as Fighter.)

All bombardment groups were organized similarly, according to tables of organization and equipment (TO&E). In 1942 existing bomb groups were expanded from three to four numbered bombardment squadrons, and most bomb groups created during the war retained the four-squadron structure. In addition to the flying squadrons, each group contained a group headquarters, a service squadron, and detachments for support of aircraft, equipment, and personnel from Quartermaster, Aviation Ordnance, Military Police, Chemical, Signal, and Maintenance Companies, and from a Weather Squadron. These support personnel were then pooled and re-distributed among an unofficial service group and detailed for various duties as needed.

The service group provided support and technical sections for the group requirements as a whole: Flying control, Ordnance, airfield security, firefighting, Post Exchange (PX), Special Services, Mail, Transportation ("Motor Pool"), Communications, Radar, Gunnery instruction, Personal Equipment, and Weather (Meteorology). The service group also had its own mess section. The service group had approximately 30 officers and 300 to 400 enlisted men.

The group headquarters contained sections organized in the traditional U.S. Army structure: Personnel (S-1), Intelligence (S-2), Operations (S-3), and Supply (S-4). Including inspectors, headquarters organizations in practice totalled approximately 20 officers, some of whom were also pilots, and 60 to 80 enlisted men.

Each bomb squadron, in addition to its assigned flight crews, had a squadron headquarters structured similarly to the group's, and six technical support and maintenance sections supporting its aircraft, equipment, and personnel: Mess, Armament, Ordnance, Communications, Medical, and Engineering (aircraft maintenance). The ground support members of a bomb squadron numbered 15-20 officers and 250 to 300 enlisted men.

Functionally, bomb groups were divided into an air echelon (the collective aircrews), and a ground echelon (all supporting ground personnel within the group, including those in attached Sub Depots). Groups commonly had two deputy commanders, termed the air executive officer and the ground executive officer, to coordinate these echelons.

In 1943 a heavy bomb group had a total complement of 294 officers and 1,487 enlisted men to fly and support 48 heavy bombers; and a medium bomb group had 294 officers and 1,297 enlisted men for 63 medium bombers.

By 1945 the size of the 125 standardized bomb group establishments had grown to:

  • 25 Very Heavy bomb groups: 2,078 personnel and 45 aircraft each
  • 72 Heavy bomb groups: 2,261 personnel and 72 aircraft each
  • 20 Medium bomb groups: 1,759 personnel and 96 aircraft each
  • 8 Light bomb groups: 1,304 personnel and 96 aircraft each

The Army Air Forces also employed two composite groups with their own TO&E's: the 28th Bomb Group (B-24 and B-25), and the 509th Composite Group (B-29 and C-54). 19 heavy groups were to be converted to very heavy groups for duty against Japan but the war ended before the plan was carried out.

[edit] References

  • Bowman, Martin W., USAAF Handbook 1939-1945, Stackpole Books (1997), ISBN 0-8117-1822-0
  • Freeman, Roger A., The Mighty Eighth War Manual, MacDonald (1991) pp. 154-155. ISBN 0-87938-513-8
  • Maurer, Maurer, Air Force Combat Units of World War II, Office of Air Force history (1961). ISBN 0-405-12194-6
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