The 404th Air Expeditionary Group (404 AEG) is a provisional

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

unit assigned to the

United States Air Forces in Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

. It is attached to Seventeenth Air Force ir Forces Africa stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The 404 AEG may be activated or inactivated at any time. Last activated on 1 October 2008, it currently provides intertheater airlift in support of US Africa Command (USAFRICOM) taskings since 1 October 2008. The 404 AEG added, in provisional status, the 459th Expeditionary Air Medical Squadron. During contingency operations, the group forward-deploys to facilitate air and support operations for varied missions, ranging from humanitarian airlift to presidential support. The 404th AEG deployed to Rwanda in January 2009 to provide airlift for peacekeeping equipment in support of the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur. In July 2009, the 404th AEG deployed to

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

to provide aerial port and aircraft maintenance teams, along with forward communications, early warning, and air domain safety and security elements for U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

's visit.

History

World War II

Established as the 100th Fighter Wing and organized in England in late 1943. Assigned to the European Theater of Operations (ETO),

IX Fighter Command The IX Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Erlangen, Germany, wheret was inactivated on 16 November 1945. IX Fighter Command was the primary tactical fighter ...

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

. Began operational missions in April 1944, mission of the Wing was to receive operational orders from Headquarters, IX Fighter Command and direct subordinate groups in attacking enemy targets in

Occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

and the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

in preparation for the Normandy Invasion in June 1944. Targets included bridges, roads, railroads and enemy interceptor aircraft both on the ground as well as in air-to-air combat. After the D-Day invasion, was reassigned to

IX Tactical Air Command The IX Tactical Air Command was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. It fought in the European theater of World War II. Its last assignment was at Camp Shanks, New York, where it was inactivated on 25 October 1945. History Formed ...

(IX TAC) and directed to provide ground support for advancing

United States First Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korea ...

forces in France, attacking enemy targets initially in the

Cotentin Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...

, then supported Operation Cobra, the breakout of Normandy and attacked enemy forces in the Falaise-Argentan Gap. Wing headquarters and subordinate units operated primarily from liberated airfields and newly built temporary Advanced Landing Grounds in France, moved into north-central France, its groups attacking enemy targets near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

then north-west into

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the southern

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In December 1944/January 1945, engaged enemy targets on the north side of the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

, then moved eastward into the Northern

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

as part of the

Western Allied invasion of Germany The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II. In preparation for the Allied invasion of Germany east of the Rhine, a series of offensi ...

. Supported First Army as it crossed the

Rhine River ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

Remagen Remagen ( ) is a town in Germany in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the left (western) bank of the ...

then moved north to attack ground targets in the Ruhr, providing air support as Allied ground forces encircled enemy forces in the Ruhr Pocket, essentially ending organized enemy resistance in Western Germany. First Army halted its advance at the

Elbe River The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of ...

in late April 1945, the wing engaging targets of opportunity in enemy-controlled areas until combat was ended on 5 May 1945. It remained in Europe for four months after

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

, as part of

. It performed occupation duty and the destruction or shipment to the United States of captured enemy combat equipment -

Operation Lusty Operation LUSTY (LUftwaffe Secret TechnologY) was the United States Army Air Forces' effort to capture and evaluate German aeronautical technology during and after World War II. Overview During World War II, the U.S. Army Air Forces Intelligence ...

. It was inactivated in Germany in August 1945.

From 1957

The 704th Strategic Missile Wing activated on 1 July 1957 at

Vandenberg AFB Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from th ...

, California, but was not operational until mid-November 1957. While it had two operational squadrons, its task was training on the

SM-65 Atlas The SM-65 Atlas was the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the United States and the first member of the Atlas rocket family. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Convair Division of General Dy ...

PGM-19 Jupiter The PGM-19 Jupiter was the first nuclear armed, medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). It was a liquid-propellant rocket using RP-1 fuel and LOX oxidizer, with a single Rocketdyne LR79-NA (model S-3D) r ...

, and the

PGM-17 Thor The PGM-17A Thor was the first operational ballistic missile of the United States Air Force (USAF). Named after the Norse god of thunder, it was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate-range ballistic ...

from November 1957 – April 1959. Not operational 6 April – 1 July 1959. The wing then was redesignated as the 404th Tactical Missile Wing on 31 July 1985. This was a "paper" administrative redesignation, and it was never activated while under this name. As an Air Expeditionary unit, it has been activated and inactivated on several occasions by USAFE from 2003–2008. In June–July 2003 it was activated at

RAF Mildenhall Royal Air Force Mildenhall or RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a Royal Air Force station, it primarily supports United States Air Force (USAF) operations, ...

, UK. It was part of the 323rd AEW from 14 March – 30 April 2008 at Balotesti,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, when the 323 AEW served briefly as the USAF headquarters for a

NATO Summit A NATO summit is a summit meeting that is regarded as a periodic opportunity for heads of state and heads of government of NATO member countries to evaluate and provide strategic direction for Alliance activities. NATO summits are not regular ...

United States European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russi ...

, http://www.eucom.mil/English/FullStory.asp?art=1662 , accessed March 2009

Operations and Decorations

* Combat Operations: Combat in European Theater of Operations (ETO), 15 April 1944-May 1945. * Campaigns: Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe

Lineage

* Established as 100th Fighter Wing on 8 November 1943 : Activated on 24 November 1943 : Inactivated on 7 November 1945 : Disestablished on 15 June 1983 * Reestablished, and consolidated (31 July 1985) with the 704th Strategic Missile Wing : Established on 20 May 1957 : Activated on 1 July 1957 : Redesignated 704th Strategic Missile Wing (ICBM) on 1 April 1958 : Inactivated on 1 July 1959 * Redesignated: 404th Tactical Missile Wing on 31 July 1985 (Remained inactive) * Redesignated: 404th Air Expeditionary Group and converted to provisional status on 24 March 2003 : Activated on 16 June 2003; Inactivated on 8 July 2003 : Activated on 27 August 2003; Inactivated on 19 September 2003 : Activated on 27 May 2005; Inactivated on 22 June 2005 : Activated on 28 June 2007; Inactivated on 30 July 2007 : Activated on 14 March 2008; Inactivated on 30 April 2008 : Activated on 21 August 2008; Inactivated on 15 September 2008 : Activated on 1 October 2008.

Assignments

, 24 November 1943 *

, 27 November 1943 * IX Air Support Command, 12 December 1943 *

, 4 January 1944 * IX Air Support Command, 1 February 1944 *

, 1 March 1944 * XIX Air Support (later, XIX Tactical Air) Command, 15 April 1944 – 28 June 1945 : Under operational control of

, 15 April – 31 July 1944 * First Air Force, 6 September – 7 November 1945 * Air Research and Development Command, 1 July 1957 : Attached to Air Force Ballistic Missile Division, 1–31 July 1957 * 1st Missile Division, 1 August 1957 – 1 July 1959 *

, for activation or inactivation any time after 24 March 2003 : Attached to

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in ...

, 16 June – 8 July 2003 : Attached to

Sixteenth Air Force The Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) (16 AF) is a United States Air Force (USAF) organization responsible for information warfare, which encompasses intelligence gathering and analysis, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber warfare and ele ...

, 27 August – 19 September 2003 : Attached to

, 27 May – 22 June 2005 : Attached to Third Air Force ir Forces Europe 28 June – 30 July 2007 *

323d Air Expeditionary Wing The 323rd Air Expeditionary Wing (323 AEW) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. As a provisional unit, it may be activated or inactivated at any time. It was last known to be active ...

: Attached to Third Air Force ir Forces Europe 14 March – 30 April 2008 *

: Attached to

48th Fighter Wing The 48th Fighter Wing (48 FW) is part of the United States Air Force's Third Air Force, assigned to Headquarters Air Command Europe and United States Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE). It is based at RAF Lakenheath, England. The 48 FW is the only F ...

, 21 August – 15 September 2008 : Attached to Seventeenth Air Force ir Forces Africa 1 October 2008–present

Units

World War II Groups

354th Fighter Group The 354th Fighter Group was an element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Ninth Air Force during World War II. The unit was known as the Pioneer Mustang Group and was the first to fly the P-51B Mustang in combat. The group served as bombe ...

: (P-51 Mustang), 27 November – 2 December 1943; 15 April 1944 – 4 July 1945 : Under operational control of

70th Fighter Wing The 70th Fighter Wing (70th FW) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, based at Neubiberg Air Base, Germany. It was inactivated on 25 September 1947. History Established ...

, 22 June – 19 August 1944 * 362d Fighter Group: (P-47 Thunderbolt), 1 August 1944 – August 1945 : Attached to

XIX Tactical Air Command The XIX Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The unit's last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force based at Biggs Field, Texas, where it was inactivated on 31 March 1946. During World War II, the mission of th ...

entire period *

363d Fighter Group 363rd or 363d may refer to: * 363d Expeditionary Operations Group, inactive United States Air Force unit * 363d Bombardment Squadron or 19th Antisubmarine Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 363d Fighter Squadron or 164th Airlift Squa ...

: (P-38/F-5 Lightning), August–October 1944 : Re-designated as 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group 4 September 1944 *

371st Fighter Group 371st may refer to: * 371st Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 371st Engineer Construction Battalion or 371st Engineer Battalion, activated as a Special Service Regiment in the United States Army in 1944 *371st Fighter Gr ...

: (P-47 Thunderbolt), 1 August – 29 September 1944 : Attached to

entire period *

405th Fighter Group 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

: (P-47 Thunderbolt), 1 October 1944 – 8 February 1945 : Attached to

entire period *

406th Fighter Group 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

: (P-47 Thunderbolt), 1 October 1944 – 8 February 1945 : Attached to

entire period

Squadrons

* 576th Strategic Missile Squadron: 1 April 1958 – 1 July 1959 (detached 6 April – 1 July 1959) * 644th Strategic Missile Squadron: 15 January – 1 July 1959 (detached 6 April – 1 July 1959) * 672d Strategic Missile (later, 672d Technical Training) Squadron: 1 January – 20 May 1958 * 864th Strategic Missile (later, 864th Technical Training) Squadron: 23 February 1958 – 1 July 1959 (detached 1 November 1958 – 1 July 1959) * 865th Strategic Missile (later, 865th Technical Training) Squadron: 1 July 1958 – 1 July 1959 (detached 1 November 1958 – 1 July 1959) * 866th Strategic Missile Squadron: 1 September 1958 – 1 July 1959 (detached 1 November 1958 – 1 July 1959) * 37th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron: 28 June – 30 July 2007 * 42d Expeditionary Airlift Squadron: 1 October 2008–present * 336th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron: 21 August – 15 September 2008 * 351st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron: 21 August – 15 September 2008 * 492d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron: 14 March – 7 April 2008 * 493d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron: 14 March – 7 April 2008

Stations

RAF Boxted Royal Air Force Boxted or more simply RAF Boxted is a former Royal Air Force station located north-northeast of Colchester, Essex England. Opened in 1943, it was used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). RAF Boxted has the distinction ...

(AAF-150), England, 24 November 1943 *

RAF Greenham Common Royal Air Force Greenham Common or RAF Greenham Common is a former Royal Air Force station in the civil parishes of Greenham and Thatcham in the English county of Berkshire. The airfield was southeast of Newbury, about west of London. Opened ...

(AAF-486), England, 6 December 1943 * RAF Ibsley (AAF-347), England, 13 January 1944 *

RAF Lashenden The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's Air force, air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal ...

(AAF-410), England, c. 15 April – June 1944 *

Cricqueville Airfield Cricqueville en Bessin Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield, which is located near the commune of Cricqueville-en-Bessin in the Normandy region of northern France. Located just outside Cricqueville-en-Bessin, the United State ...

(A-2), France, 1 July 1944 * Saint-Pierre-Église, France, 10 July 1944 *

Rennes Airfield Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departme ...

(A-27), France, 8 August 1944 *

Le Mans Airfield Le Mans Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield, which is located near the City of Le Mans in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region of northern France. History Le Mans was an industrial target for the Allies due to the Re ...

(A-35), France, 30 August 1944 * St-Dizier Airfield (A-64), France, 19 September 1944 * Metz Airdrome (Y-34), France, 29 December 1944 * Königstein, Germany, 14 April–August 1945 * Seymour Johnson AAF,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, 6 September – 7 November 1945 * Cooke (later, Vandenberg) AFB, California, 1 July 1957 – 1 July 1959 *

, England, 16 June – 8 July 2003 *

Graf Ignatievo Air Base Graf Ignatievo Air Base is located in the village of Graf Ignatievo, about north of Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city. It is the sole remaining fighter base of that state and houses two squadrons of jet aircraft. Early years Graf Igna ...

, Bulgaria, 27 August – 19 September 2003 *

31st Tactical Air Base The 31st Tactical Air Base (Polish: 31 Baza Lotnictwa Taktycznego – 31.BLoT) is the biggest military unit of Polish Air Force. The unit was created in 2008 as a result of fusion of three previous units: 31st Air Base, 3rd Tactical Squadron ...

, Krzesiny,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, 27 May – 22 June 2005 *

Ramstein AB Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...

, Germany, 28 June – 30 July 2007 *

Câmpia Turzii Câmpia Turzii (; german: Jerischmarkt; hu, Aranyosgyéres) is a municipality in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania, which was formed in 1925 by the union of two villages, Ghiriș (''Aranyosgyéres'') and Sâncrai (''Szentkirály''). It was de ...

, Romania, 14 March – 30 April 2008 * Keflavik AS, Iceland, 21 August – 15 September 2008 *

, Germany, 1 October 2008–present

Known aircraft and missiles

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...

, 1944–1945 *

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bom ...

, 1944–1945 * P-51 Mustang, 1944–1945 *

, 1958–1959 *

, 1958 *

, 1958–1959 *

HGM-25A Titan I The Martin Marietta SM-68A/HGM-25A Titan I was the United States' first multistage intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), in use from 1959 until 1962. Though the SM-68A was operational for only three years, it spawned numerous follow-on mo ...

, 1959 * C-130 Hercules, 2008–present

References

* * *
404th Air Expeditionary Group Factsheet

404th AEG gets new commander

External links

United States Air Forces in Europe

United States African Command
{{USAAF 9th Air Force UK 404