505th Bombardment Group
| 505th Bombardment Group | |
|---|---|
 505th Bombardment Group B-29s North Field Tinian July 1945 | |
| Active | 1944-1946 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Engagements | 
|
The 505th Bombardment Group is an inactive
Clark Field, Philippines
. It was inactivated on 30 June 1946.
The unit served primarily in the
B-29 Superfortress bombardment operations against Japan
. Its aircraft were identified by a "K" (January to March 1945) or "W" (April to September 1945) inside a Circle painted on the tail.
History
The unit was established in early 1944 at
B-29 Superfortress Very Heavy bombardment Group. Thu unit was formed with four bomb squadrons, being a mixture of both new and reassigned units. The 482d, 484th and 485th having World War I
origins and the 483d being a newly constituted unit.
Due to a shortage of B-29s, the group was equipped with former
501st Bombardment Group
).
The 505th was deployed to the
Japanese Home Islands
at very long ranges, attacking military, industrial and transportation targets. Switched to night incendiary raids attacking major Japanese cities in the spring of 1945, causing massive destruction of urbanized areas.
The 505th Bomb Group received a
Shimonoseki Strait
and harbors of the Inland sea, June–July 1945. The group continued strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until the Japanese Capitulation in August 1945.
After
Oakland, California
, where troop trains scattered them for points of discharge close to their homes.
The unit was largely a paper organization when it was reassigned to
Thirteenth Air Force
. At Clark its remaining aircraft and personnel were consolidated into other units, and it was inactivated in June.
Lineage
- Constituted as 505th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) on 28 February 1944.
- Activated on 11 March 1944
- Inactivated on 30 June 1946
Assignments
- Second Air Force, 28 February – 6 November 1944
- Attached to 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Very Heavy), 1 April-6 November 1944
- 313th Bombardment Wing, 19 December 1944
- Thirteenth Air Force, 6 December 1945 – 30 June 1946
Components
- 482d Bombardment Squadron: 1944–1946
- 483d Bombardment Squadron: 1944–1946
- 484th Bombardment Squadron: 1944–1946
- 485th Bombardment Squadron: 1944
Stations
- Dalhart AAF, Texas, 11 March 1944
- Harvard AAF, Nebraska, 1 April – 6 November 1944
- Tinian, Mariana Islands, 19 December 1944 – 5 March 1946
- Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, 14 March – 30 June 1946
Aircraft
- B-17 Flying Fortress, 1944 (Training only)
- B-29 Superfortress, 1944–1946
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.
External links
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