2641st Special Group
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2012) ) |
2641st Special Group (Provisional) | |
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Active | 1944-1945 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
Role | Special Operations |
The 2641st Special Group (Provisional) was a United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with Fifteenth Air Force, based at Rosignano Airfield, Italy. It was inactivated on 20 May 1945.
Overview
Thus the primary mission of the Special Group was insertion and supply of
History
Engaged in
The squadrons of the Special Group operated specially modified B-17
Several
The 885th was also awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palm for operations in support of the French Resistance and a
The 2641st Special Group (Prov) received a Unit Citation for operations in Italy's Po Valley on the night of 17/18 February 1945 in which both the 885th and 859th squadrons participated. Again, the Special Group was designated the 15th Special Group (Prov) at the time of this operation but by the time the Unit Citation was issued it had been designated the 2641st Special Group (Prov) and, according to Col. MacCloskey, the Unit Citation carried that designation.
At the peak of its operations in February 1945, the Special Group delivered thirty-four agents and over two million pounds of weapons and supplies while operating twenty-six out of twenty-eight days and flying approximately one-half million miles. Three hundred and fifty-four successful sorties (nearly 14 per day on average) were flown out of four hundred and eighty-six attempts. The vast majority of unsuccessful sorties were the result of "no reception" at the target drop zones. This feat was accomplished by forty-eight aircrews, thirty-four aircraft, and their ground support personnel.
These efforts were not without cost. During its brief five-month period of operation (January - May), the Special Group lost to flak, fighters and the hazards of special operations a total of seven aircraft with thirty-five crewman killed in action. These losses were on top of previous losses suffered by the two component squadrons in their prior assignments. In addition, as a result of these losses, several crewmen of the Special Group spent time in German prisoner of war camps during the last days of the war in Europe.
Lineage
- Established by General Orders (GO) Number 284 issued by Headquarters Fifteenth Air Force (HQ 15th AAF) on 18 January 1945, which authorized organization of the 15th Special Group (Provisional) as of 0001 hours, 20 January 1945.
- Group had actually formed on 17 December 1944
- Redesignated as: 2641st Special Group (Provisional) on 6 March 1945.
- Inactivated on: 20 May 1945
Assignments
- Fifteenth Air Force, 18 January-20 May 1945
Stations
- Brindisi Airfield, Italy, 17 December 1944
- Rosignano Airfield, Italy, 24 March-20 May 1945
Aircraft
- B-17 Flying Fortress, 1944–1945
- B-24 Liberator, 1944–1945
- Other aircraft types were used as needed
Components
- 885th Bombardment Squadron(Attached), 17 December 1944 – 20 May 1945
- 859th Bombardment Squadron(Attached), 17 December 1944 – 20 May 1945
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4
- Army Air Force Historical Office, Special Operations: AAF Aid to European Resistance Movements 1943-1945, AAFRH-21
- Parnell, Ben, Carpetbaggers, America's Secret War in Europe, Eakin Press, 1993.
- 2641st Special Group (Provisional)[1]