456th Bombardment Group
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456th Bombardment Group (Heavy) | |
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Distinguished Unit Citation |
Activated in June 1943 as a heavy bombardment group. Trained with
Received a
Received second DUC for a mission in Hungary on 2 July 1944 when the group braved severe fighter attacks and antiaircraft fire to bomb oil facilities at Budapest. In April 1945 bombed gun positions, bridges, roads, depots, and rail lines to support US Fifth and British Eighth Army in their advance through Italy. Transported supplies to airfields in northern Italy after V-E Day. Returned to the US in July 1945.
The 456th relocated to
- See 456th Bombardment Wing page for additional lineage and history
The 456th Bomb Group (Heavy) was an air combat unit of the
The 456th Bomb Group flew 249 bombing missions from Italy while assigned to the
Inactivated at the end of the war and allotted to the
Organization of the 456th Bomb Group (H)
The 456th Bomb Group (Heavy) was created ("constituted") on 14 May 1943, by Special Order of the Second Air Force as a bomber unit planned for future deployment to the Eighth Air Force in the United Kingdom.
Group Commanders of the 456th Bomb Group:
- Col. Thomas W. Steed (14 July 1943 – 19 May 1945),
- Lt. Col. Robert C Whipple, (19 May 1945 – 30 August 1945),
- Col. George E. Henry, (31 August 1945 – 3 September 1945),
- Col. John W White, (4 September 1945 – 17 October 1945).
Deputy Commander Lt.Col. Russell was in temporary command from July – October 1944, in the absence of Col. Steed.
Deputy Group Commanders (air echelon commanders): Lt.Col. Harmon Lampley, Jr. (3 September 1943 – 28 March 1944); Lt.Col. Joseph G. Russell (1 June 1944 – unk); Lt.Col. Chester R. Ladd (1945—unk).
Executive officers (ground echelon commanders): Lt.Col. Walter C. Phillips (14 July 1943 – November 1944); Lt.Col. Leonard A. Weissinger (November 1944 – June 1945)
Four heavy bomb squadrons were constituted at the same time and assigned to the group:
- 744th Bomb Squadron (H)
- Commanders: Capt. John R. Sinclair (14 July 1943 – 9 March 1944), Major Robert L. Reid (10 March 1944 – August 1944), Major Joseph N. Jacobucci (August 1944 – unk), Capt. William S. Rawls (dates unknown)
- 745th Bomb Squadron (H)
- Commanders: Capt. William H. McKee (14 July 1943 – ?), Major Louis M. Abernathy (dates unk), Lt.Col. David H. Cissna (October 1944-unknown), Major John S. Chandler (dates unknown)
- 746th Bomb Squadron (H)
- Commanders: Major Paul T. Golden (14 July 1943 – March 1944), Capt. Frederick W. Hyde (March 1944—unknown), Lt.Col. Samuel W. Parks (dates unknown)
- 747th Bomb Squadron (H)
- Commanders: Major Benjamin F. Kelly (14 July 1943 – unknown), Capt. Richard R. Clark (unknown—10 May 1944, killed in action), Major William B. Clark (11 May 1944 – 5 November 1944, killed in action), Major Lewis T. Phillips (6 November 1944 – June 1945), Harold Lewis
Training history and movement overseas
Formation
The group and its four squadrons were activated without personnel or equipment on 1 June 1943, at
On 30 July 1943, the group's ground echelon moved to Bruning Army Air Field, Nebraska, where it remained until 8 October. The air echelon joined the group at Bruning in mid-August and received four B-24D aircraft for familiarization flights.
The air echelon left Bruning on 5 September 1943, for
The 456th received only a minimal amount of unit training in navigation, high altitude bombing, and gunnery, but its most serious training deficiency was a lack of high altitude formation flying using heavily loaded aircraft (as it would in combat). In all the group received only three of the normal six months of unit POM ("Preparation for Overseas Movement") training.
Despite the group's lack of preparation, and the refusal by Colonel Steed to certify its combat readiness to POM inspectors, the 456th's air echelon was ordered to discontinue training. The ground campaign in Italy had captured
The air echelon was ordered to fly its training aircraft to
Movement to Italy
At Hamilton Field the air echelon received 61 new B-24H Liberator bombers over a period of several weeks. Traveling individually between December and February, the aircraft flew to Italy using the South Atlantic Ferry Route, established by
, Tunisia, where it waited while construction was completed on its airfield. On 30 January 1944, at Dakar, one of the 456th's aircraft exploded while taking off, killing nine of the ten crew members.The ground echelon arrived at
On 23 January, the ground echelon traveled by open truck in wet, freezing weather to the new base (code-named "Newbox") on the Tavoliere near the Adriatic Sea, eighteen miles (29 km) southeast of Foggia. The airbase was constructed on a nationalized estate called Incarnata Farm (41°16′N 15°44′E / 41.267°N 15.733°E), less than a mile north of the village of Stornarella and approximately two miles southwest of the larger town of Stornara; it received the name of the larger city as its location. Stornara airbase was centered in a cluster of airfields of its parent and newly activated 304th Bomb Wing and two other heavy bomber wings of the Fifteenth Air Force surrounding the city of Cerignola.
Staff officers immediately began requisitioning farmhouses for administrative buildings and setting up tent encampments in nearby
On 26 January, the 456th group headquarters reached Stornara and activated the base. The group's bombers began arriving from Tunisia on 1 February. On a training familiarization flight on 6 February another B-24 was lost, crashing into a mountain while flying in clouds, killing all aboard including three aircraft commanders.
Combat operations and tactics
The original
Within the 456th Group, individual aircraft were identified initially by numbers painted on their noses, with sets of two-digit numbers assigned to squadrons ("numbers in squadron"), but this system was later discontinued and a non-standard pattern of three-digit numbers employed (usually, but not always, the last three numbers of an airplane's USAAF serial number). Late in the war some squadrons adopted letter identification painted on the rear fuselage, but this was not systematized, and many aircraft had no individual identification at all.
In combat
The 456th Bomb Group flew its first combat mission on 10 February 1944, less than two weeks after reaching Italy. The
Continuing poor weather conditions prevented further missions for another week, during which time the group continued flight training in combat formations. The 456th employed the six-
On six of its first ten missions weather conditions were poor and no bombs were dropped. On 15 March the group was one of several which bombed Monte Cassino in support of Fifth Army operations. The second unit of the 456th dropped its bombs in error on Allied troops, for which the deputy group commander was removed.
The 456th struck its first
Raids on Ploieşti and oil production
The 456th made the first of ten attacks on Ploieşti oil facilities on 5 May 1944, losing three aircraft, including one when a crewman bailing out of a stricken bomber knocked part of the wing off another in the same formation.
The 456th earned the first of two
On 22 June 1944, the 456th Bomb Group began flying a four-box 40-aircraft diamond formation to concentrate its bombing pattern for greater accuracy. On 2 July, the group earned its second DUC on a mission to bomb the
Beginning 8 July, the first crews of the 456th completing the 50 missions required for a combat tour by the Fifteenth Air Force began returning to the United States. The last crew among the original 68 to be lost in combat went down on 20 July.
The last of 19 missions against Romanian oil production occurred 18 August. Missions of the
After August 1944 the 456th did not lose another aircraft to fighter defenses, but losses continued to accumulate from anti-aircraft fire. In the remaining nine months of operations 43 bombers were lost, most to flak. Three or more bombers were lost on five missions, including 11 November, when three planes crashed into the Adriatic after being recalled from a mission. In February 1945, the 456th began flying two missions per day, termed Red and Blue.
The last combat loss in the group occurred on 25 April 1945, at Linz, Austria. The following day, while General of the Army Henry H. Arnold, commanding general of the USAAF, was visiting the base, the 456th flew its last mission of the war against a transportation depot at Tarvisio, Italy, and scored a bombing accuracy of 100%, matched by only one other group in Europe (the 467th Bomb Group, also a B-24 unit, of the Eighth Air Force had accomplished it on 13 April 1945).
Statistical summary of operations
Bombing summary
At the close of the 456th's European operations, its group statistical officer issued a summary of its combat operations. During its 249 bombing missions, the 456th flew a cumulative total of 7,272 sorties and dropped 13,939 tons of bombs on Axis targets. 45% of this total was dropped on lines of communication targets, 18% on oil production and storage, 14% on airfields, 12% on industrial infrastructure, 6% on troop concentrations, and 5% on targets of opportunity or other types. The 456th had the highest average percentage of bombing accuracy within the 304th Bomb Wing and progressed from an average of 20.1% accuracy (bombs falling within 1,000 feet (300 m) of the aiming point) in its first full month of operations to 71.9% during its last full month of operations. This accuracy average was higher than all but one Eighth Air Force group.
Maintenance summary
The 456th averaged a maintenance rate of 83% for daily availability of aircraft for mission assignments, again the highest within the 304th Wing.
Losses and casualties
456th BG losses | |
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91 | B-24s lost in combat |
18 | B-24s lost in accidents |
331 | Air crew killed in action |
206 | Air crew missing in action |
271 | Air crew captured |
6 | Air crew interned |
The 456th had 117 bombers destroyed or written off as salvage during its overseas assignment. Of this number, 91 were lost in combat (20 shot down by fighters, 56 by flak, and 15 by unknown means), with 74 of those crashing in Axis-controlled territory, 10 in the Adriatic Sea, 2 in Switzerland, 3 in Soviet-controlled territory in Poland, one on the island of Vis, and one over Italy. 18 aircraft were destroyed in non-combat related accidents: 4 in flying crashes, 4 on take-offs, 6 on landings, 2 in a mid-air collision over the base, and 2 in accidents while on the ground. 8 battle-damaged aircraft were written off as beyond economical repair. 36 of the original 61 bombers were destroyed and all but one of the rest taken out of service as "war weary".
3,267 aircrew served in the 456th Bomb Group during the war. 1,079 or 33% were aboard aircraft destroyed. 331 airmen were killed in action, 206 remain missing in action, 271 were made prisoners-of-war, 6 were interned in Switzerland until the end of hostilities, 108 evaded capture and returned to duty, and 49 returned to base. Of the 108 evadees, 9 evaded capture in Italy, 10 in Hungary, and 89 in Yugoslavia. 26 of the original 68 combat crews and 17 of the first 27 replacement crews were shot down. The group, equivalent to an infantry regiment, equalled or exceeded the killed-in-action of 15 ground force divisions.
Its members were awarded one Distinguished Service Cross, 19 Silver Stars, 215 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and over 2,000 Air Medals.
All figures per Capps
Honors and campaigns
Honors
- Distinguished Unit Citation, World War II
- Wiener Neustadt, 10 May 1944
- Budapest, 2 July 1944
Campaigns
- Air Offensive, Europe
- Rome-Arno
- Normandy
- Northern France
- Southern France
- North Apennines
- Rhineland
- Central Europe
- Po Valley
Post-war history
The 456th relocated to
The 456th was activated again as an
The group returned to the regular Air force from 1 December 1952 to 1 March 1955, as the 456th Troop Carrier Group, Medium as the operations group for the
Commanders of the post-war 456th Group were: Col. Leonard J. Barrow, Jr. (c. December 1952), LtCol. Malcolm P. Hooker (c. February 1953), Col. Jay D. Bogue (1953 – 1 March 1955).[1]
The honors and lineage of the group were temporarily bestowed on the
Lineage
- Constituted as 456th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 14 May 1943
- Activated on 1 June 1943
- Redesignated 456th Bombardment Group, Heavy c. 6 March 1944
- Redesignated 456th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy on 5 August 1945
- Inactivated on 17 October 1945
- Activated on 12 July 1947 in the reserve
- Inactivated on 27 June 1949
- Redesignated 456th Troop Carrier Group, Medium on 15 October 1952
- Activated on 1 December 1952
- Inactivated on 1 March 1955[1]
Assignments
- IV Bomber Command, 1 June–December 1943
- 304th Bombardment Wing, January 1944 – July 1945
- 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wingafter 17 August 1945)
- Fourth Air Force, 17 August 1947 – 27 June 1949
- 456th Troop Carrier Wing, 1 December 1952 – 1 March 1955
Components
- 744th Bombardment Squadron (later 744th Troop Carrier Squadron) 1 June 1943 – 17 October 1945; 12 July 1947 – 27 June 1949; 1 December 1952 – 1 March 1955[2]
- 745th Bombardment Squadron (later 745th Troop Carrier Squadron): 1 June 1943 – 17 October 1945; 12 July 1947 – 27 June 1949; 1 December 1952 - 1 March 1955[3]
- 746th Bombardment Squadron (later 746th Troop Carrier Squadron): 1 June 1943 – 17 October 1945; 12 July 1947 – 27 June 1949; 1 December 1952 – 1 March 1955[4]
- 747th Bombardment Squadron (later 747th Troop Carrier Squadron): 1 June 1943 – 17 October 1945; 12 July 1947 – 27 June 1949[5]
Stations
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Aircraft
- Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1943–1945
- Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1945
- Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1 December 1952 – 1 March 1955
References
Notes
- Citations
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Doorley, Captain Paul A. 456th Bombardment Group (Heavy): Final Statistical Report, 1 February 1944 to 8 May 1945.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. LCCN 61060979.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. OCLC 72556.
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- Further reading
- Ambrose, Stephen E. (2001), The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys who Flew the B-24s Over Germany. New York, New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0339-9.
- Capps, Robert S. (1997), Flying Colt: Liberator Pilot in Italy. Alexandria, Virginia: Manor House. ISBN 0-9640665-1-3.
- Capps, Robert S. (1994), 456th Bomb Group (H): Steed's Flying Colts 1943–1945. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing. ISBN 1-56311-141-1.
- Dorr, Robert F. (2000), B-24 Liberator Units of the Fifteenth Air Force. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-081-1.
- Gansz, David M. (2022). Fifteenth Air Force War Diary, Bombing by the Numbers. First Mountain Belgians Publishing. ISBN 978-1-7343806-1-3.
External links
- "Welcome to the 456th Bomb Group Association". 456th Bomb Group Association. 25 May 2013. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2022.