| 449th Air Expeditionary Group | |
|---|---|
Emblem of the 449th Bomb Wing (SAC) |
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| Active | 1943–Current |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Part of | United States Africa Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti |
| Engagements |
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The 449th Air Expeditionary Group (449 AEG) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the 17th Air Force (Air Forces Africa) supporting United States Africa Command. It was last known to be stationed at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti.
Its assignment was to support the Africa Command and Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa mission supporting varied U.S. objectives in the area. Sibling organizations are the 294th Infantry Battalion; 1st Battalion, 3d Infantry Regiment and various Explosive Ordinance Disposal Teams.
The groups origins begin as the World War II 449th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 6 April 1943. Activated on 1 May 1943. Prepared for combat with B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. Moved to Italy, December 1943 – January 1944, and assigned to the 47th Bombardment Wing of the Fifteenth Air Force. The group 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, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece. After returning to the United States at the end of May 1945, the unit was assigned to Second Air Force and transitioned to B-29 Superfortresses and was redesignated a Very Heavy bomb group.
In the postwar era, the 449th Bombardment Group was one of the original ten USAAF bombardment groups assigned to Strategic Air Command on 21 March 1946. The unit was inactivated on 4 August 1946 at Grand Island AAF, Nebraska, its B-29 aircraft and personnel being reassigned to the senior 28th Bombardment Group which was reactivated due to the Air Force's policy of retaining only low-numbered groups on active duty after the war.
The 449th Bombardment Wing, Heavy was reactivated in 1962, replacing the 4239th Strategic Wing and assumed a mission of training for strategic bombardment flying B-52 Stratofortresses as part of Strategic Air Command. The unit inactivated on 30 November 1977 with the closure of Kincheloe AFB, Michigan.
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Constituted as 449th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 6 April 1943. Activated on 1 May 1943 at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona. Assigned to II Bomber Command for training. Prepared for combat with B-24 Liberators. The first morning report was issued on 27 May 1943. The strength of the Group on that date was listed as 52 officers and 33 enlisted men. Over the next 7 months the Group steadily increased to full strength as the training program progressed. On 1 July 1943 the Group was moved to Alamogordo Army Airfield, New Mexico where second phase training was performed. On 6 September 1943 the Group was again relocated, this time to Bruning Army Airfield, Nebraska. The move to Bruning was completed on 18 September 1943. At that time the 449th consisted of a total complement of 184 officers and 1,203 enlisted men. At Bruning the group received its new operational B-24 Liberators from Consolidated.
By December 1943, training was complete and the 449th was ordered overseas to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). Each crew flew its aircraft overseas by the South Atlantic Transport Route which took them to Morrison Field, Florida, then to Puerto Rico and thence to Brazil. The Atlantic crossing was made from Brazil to Dakar, French West Africa. From Dakar the planes flew north to Tunis by way of Marrakech. From Tunis they flew to their forward operating base at Grottaglie Airfield near Taranto, Italy. It was assigned to the 47th Bombardment Wing of the 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 April 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 July 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 August 1944, and attacking troop concentrations, bridges, and viaducts in April 1945 to assist Allied forces in northern Italy.
The group was ordered back to the United States during May after the German Capitulation. The 449th was redesignated a Very Heavy bombardment group and was programmed for very long range strategic bombardment operations against the Japanese Home Islands using B-29 Superfortresses. Many personnel were demobilized upon arrival at the port of debarkation; a small caadre of key personnel was formed and the group was then established at Sioux Falls Army Air Field South Dakota in late May where the group was reformed with new personnel.
After a period of organization, the group moved to Dalhart Army Airfield, Texas, where initial training was conducted with former II Bomber Command B-17 Flying Fortress; B-25 Mitchells and some B-29s. As the group was so far along in training, the group was moved to Grand Island Army Airfield, Nebraska in September after the Japanese Capitulation where it became a regular unit of Continental Air Forces, receiving some of the last new B-29 aircraft manufactured by Boeing.
On 21 March 1946, the 449th Bombardment Group became one of the initial ten B-29 groups assigned to the newly-established Strategic Air Command. Inactivated on 4 August 1946 due to budget restraints, its personnel and equipment being reassigned to the senior 28th Bombardment Group.[1]
On 2 February 1959, Strategic Air Command established the 4239th Strategic Wing at Kincheloe AFB, Michigan as part of SAC's plan to disburse its B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike. The wing consisted of the 93d Bombardment Squadron, consisting of 15 B-52Hs, and the KC-135-equipped 908th Air Refueling Squadron. Half of the aircraft were maintained on fifteen minute alert, fully fueled, armed, and ready for combat. SAC Strategic Wings were considered a provisional unit by HQ, USAF and could not carry a permanent history or lineage.
In 1962, in order to retain the lineage of its MAJCOM 4-digit combat units and to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its MAJCOM strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate AFCON units, most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history.
The 4239th Strategic Wing was Inactivated & Discontinued as the 449th Bombardment Wing (449th BW) was Activated on 15 Nov 1962 and Organized (the Assignment of Personnel & Equipment) on 1 February 1963 was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 40th Air Division. The 93d BS was also Inactivated & Discontinued as the 716th Bombardment Squadron, one of the unit's World War II historical bomb squadrons, Activated on 15 Nov 1962 and Organized on the same dates as the 449th Bombardment Wing. The 908th Air Refueling Squadron (Heavy), and the 70th Munitions Maintenance Squadron designations was unchanged, and component support units (the 4239th / 449th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron; 4239th / 449th Armament & Electronics Maintenance Squadron; 4239th / 449th Field Maintenance Squadron; and the 4239th / 449th Organizational Maintenance Squadron) underwent the same actions as the newly-established wing. On 1 Oct 1968, the 449th became the host unit assigned to Kinchloe AFB with the inactivations of the 507th Fighter Wing (Air Defense)and the activations & Organizations of the 449th Combat Support Group, the 449th Civil Engineering Squadron, 449th Security Police Squadron, 449th Services Squadron, 449th Supply Squadron, and the 449th Transportation Squadron. As under the Tri-Deputate organization, all flying components were directly assigned to the wing, no operational group element was activated. With the activation, the history, lineage and honors of the 449th Bombardment Group were bestowed upon the newly established wing upon activation.
The 449th continued the mission of strategic bombardment training and contributing to SAC's worldwide refueling capability. It supported SAC combat operations in Southeast Asia by furnishing KC-135 aircraft and crews, November 1965 – December 1975, and B-52 crews, May 1968 – June 1975.
In December 1965, the Department of Defense announced a decision to close Kincheloe AFB by October 1971. However, in May 1971, the decision to close the base was reversed and it was again a component of SAC. This was only a six-year reprieve, as the base was inactivated on 30 September 1977 as part of an ongoing Reduction in Force in the USAF following the end of the Vietnam War. The B-52s and KC-135s of the 449th were reassigned to other SAC units, and the wing was inactivated on 30 September 1977 concurrently with the closure of the base.
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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