58th Air Division
58th Air Division (Defense) | |
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air defense forces | |
Engagements | |
Insignia | |
58th Air Division emblem[note 2][1] |
The 58th Air Division (58th AD) is an inactive
History
World War II
B-29 development
The 58th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Heavy) was constituted on 22 April and activated on 1 May 1943 at
In August 1943, it was decided that 58th Bombardment Wing would be stationed in the
On 15 September 1943, the headquarters of the 58th BW was moved to Smoky Hill AAF, with some of its groups near the Wichita factory. The 58th Bomb Wing however, initially had 5 groups (the
President Roosevelt wanted the B-29 bombing raids against Japan to start by January 1944. However, delays in the B-29 program forced General Arnold to admit to the President that the bombing campaign against Japan could not begin until May 1944 at the earliest.
The crew training program was one of the more difficult aspects of the entire B-29 program. Because of the complexity of the B-29 aircraft, a lengthy process of crew integration was required before combat operations could begin. There was no time to start from scratch, so volunteers were called for from B-24 crews returning from operations in Europe and North Africa. The crews of the B-29 needed a degree of specialist training that was not required for crews of other, less complex Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress or Consolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft. It usually took 27 weeks to train a pilot, 15 to train a navigator, and 12 to train a gunner. The complexity of the B-29 was such that a lengthy process of crew integration had to take place before combat deployment could begin.
Although a total of 97 B-29s had been produced by the beginning of 1944, only 16 of the aircraft were really airworthy. Most of the others were in AAF modification centers, located near the Bell-Marietta and Martin-Omaha plants and at air bases in Kansas, undergoing a series of modifications and changes necessitated by the lessons of air combat over Europe. At that time, much of the equipment and components of the Superfortress had still not been perfected, and rather than delay production by stopping the assembly lines to incorporate modifications and add new equipment, it was decided to let the first production airplanes leave the lines at Wichita deficient in combat readiness and deliver them to these USAAF modification centers to bring them up to combat standards.
Crews began to arrive at Kansas bases in November 1943, but few bombers were ready to receive them. At that time, there was only one Superfortress for every twelve crews, and most crews had to train on Martin Martin B-26 Marauders or Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. By the end of December, only 67 pilots had managed to fly a B-29 and few crews had been brought together as a complete team. Many gunners did not even see their first B-29 until early 1944.
It was not until December 1943 that the decision not to use the B-29 against Germany was finally made, and to concentrate the B-29 exclusively against Japan. However, in early 1944, the B-29s were still not ready to begin Roosevelt's promised offensive against Japan Most of the B-29s were still held up at the modification centers, awaiting conversion to full combat readiness. By March 1944, the B-29 modification program had fallen into complete chaos, with absolutely no bombers being considered as combat ready. The program was seriously hampered by the need to work in the open air in inclement weather, by delays in acquiring the necessary tools and support equipment, and by the USAAF's general lack of experience with the B-29.
Operations in India and Tinian
After much effort, the headquarters of the
On 4 April 1944, a special strategic formation, the Twentieth Air Force, was established, which would carry out the aerial assault against Japan. This was done at the insistence of General Arnold himself, mainly to avoid having the B-29s being diverted to tactical missions under pressure from CBI theatre commanders. Twentieth Air Force would be commanded by General Arnold himself at Joint Chiefs of Staff level. It would be completely autonomous and their B-29s would be completely independent of other command structures and would be dedicated exclusively against strategic targets in Japan. The operational vehicle was to be the 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) of XX Bomber Command.
The primary flaw in flying from bases in China was the fact that all the supplies of fuel, bombs, and spares needed to support the forward bases in China had to be flown in from India over the Hump, since Japanese control of the seas around the Chinese coast made seaborne supply of China impossible.
The
On 13 July 1944, General Saunders combined the personnel of the 58th Wing into headquarters, XX Bomber Command, attaching the wing's personnel to the appropriate division of the command's staff. Although the wing continued to exist as a paper unit, it had no further operational functions in India.[3]
By late 1944, it was becoming apparent that B-29 operations against Japan staged out of bases in Chengtu were far too expensive in men and materials and would have to be stopped. In December 1944, the Joint Chiefs of Staff made the decision that the 58th Bombardment Wing's B-29s would be moved to newly captured bases in the
The wing moved to Tinian in early 1945 and was reassigned to the XXI Bomber Command on 29 March. The wing continued bombardment operations against Japan. Its units made daylight attacks from high altitudes on strategic targets, participated in incendiary raids on urban areas, and dropped mines in Japanese shipping lanes. After the Japanese surrender, groups of the 58th Bomb Wing dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners of war in Japan, Korea, and Formosa, and took part in show of force missions.
Strategic Air Command
The 58th Bomb Wing returned to the United States late in 1945, being assigned to
SAC's bomb wings were drastically undermanned and under equipped. Not all had aircraft. At the close of 1946, demobilization was in full swing and few were fully equipped and manned. The entire Strategic Air Command had a total of 148 bombers, all B-29s. Virtually all were equipped to drop conventional bombs, as the United States then had only nine
Air Defense Command
"Inactive for seven years, the 58th was reactivated as the 58th Air Division (Defense) in September 1955 and assumed responsibility for the defense of parts of Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, and supported operations, when necessary, of other commands. It supervised training programs for its subordinate units and supported exercises such as 'Hour Hand, Blue Light, Red Cap, Iron Ba', and Surefire."[1]
Lineage
- Established as the 58th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Heavy) on 22 April 1943
- Activated on 1 May 1943
- Redesignated 58th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) on 12 July 1943
- Redesignated 58th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy on 19 November 1943
- Redesignated 58th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy, Special on 13 January 1944
- Disbanded on 12 October 1944.
- Reestablished as 58th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy' on 1 February 1945
- Activated on 8 February 1945
- Redesignated 58th Air Division, Bombardment on 16 April 1948
- Inactivated on 16 October 1948
- Redesignated 58th Air Division (Defense) on 3 May 1955
- Activated on 8 September 1955
- Inactivated on 1 February 1959[1]
Assignments
- Second Air Force, 1 May 1943
- II Bomber Command, 15 May 1943
- United States Army Air Forces, 8 June 1943
- Second Air Force, 15 October 1943
- XX Bomber Command, 20 November 1943
- Twentieth Air Force, 29 June – 12 October 1944
- XX Bomber Command, 8 February 1945
- XXI Bomber Command, 29 March 1945
- Twentieth Air Force, 16 July 1945
- Army Service Forces, Port of Embarkation, c. 15 November 1945
- Fourth Air Force, 7 December 1945
- Second Air Force, 29 March 1946
- Fifteenth Air Force, 31 March 1946
- Eighth Air Force, 1 November 1946
- Strategic Air Command, 1 March – 16 October 1948
- Eastern Air Defense Force, 8 September 1955 – 1 February 1959[1]
Components
Groups
Squadrons
Stations
Aircraft
See also
ReferencesNotes
BibliographyThis article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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