| 96th Air Division, Bombardment | |
|---|---|
| Active | January 11, 1944–October 17, 1945; June 12, 1947–June 27, 1949. |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | Air Force |
| Part of | see "Assignments" section below |
| Garrison/HQ | see "Stations" section below |
| Equipment | see "Aerospace vehicles" section below |
| Decorations | see "Lineage and honors" section below |
The 96th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Tenth Air Force, based at Scott Field, Illinois. It was inactivated on 27 June 1949.
As the 96th Bombardment Wing, the unit was one of the primary B-24 Liberator heavy strategic bombardment wings of the Eighth Air Force 2d Bombardment Division in World War II.
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The 96th Bombardment Wing's units entered combat in early 1944, bombing oil refineries, marshaling yards, steel plants, and tank factories plus numerous other assorted targets in the European theater. In September 1944, some of the units ceased bombardment missions and instead flew gasoline for Army units to airfields in France. Others air-dropped supplies to Allied troops during the airborne attack on Holland that same month. During the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 through January 1945, subordinate units of the 97th aided Allied ground forces by bombing German transportation lines. Besides strategic bombardment, they also dropped supplies to Allied troops during the airborne assault across the Rhine River in March 1945.
Returned to the United States in summer, 1945. Programmed to become a B-29 Superfortress command wing, however inactivated at the end of the Pacific War.
Active in the Reserves from June 1947 to June 1949, the organization was redesignated as a division in April 1948.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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