The 310th Air Division is an inactive

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 ...

organization. Its last assignment was with

Continental Air Command Continental Air Command (ConAC) (1948–1968) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. During the Korean War, ConAC provided the necessary augm ...

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to ...

Tinker Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, surrounded by Del City, Oklahoma City, and Midwest City. The base, origina ...

, Oklahoma, where it was inactivated on 27 June 1949. The

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

was first activated as the 310th Bombardment Wing in New Guinea during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It served as a task force headquarters, commanding advanced elements of

Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organizat ...

during the New Guinea campaign and the liberation of the Philippines. After

VJ Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...

, it moved to Japan, serving in the

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

forces until inactivating in March 1946. The

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

was again activated in the reserves in 1947, becoming a division the following year.

History

World War II

During

, the 310 Bombardment Wing, Medium was a command echelon of

in the Southwest Pacific theater, controlling numerous fighter and bomber groups and squadrons until the Japanese surrender in 1945. Its attached units "flew missions against Japanese shipping, coastal installations, gun positions, airdromes, and troop concentrations. Fighting in New Guinea and later in the Philippine Islands, attached fighter units flew escort for bombing, supply, and reconnaissance missions." In October 1945, the wing moved to Japan and served in the occupation force. It was inactivated in Japan during early 1946.

Air Force Reserve

The 310th Bombardment Wing was activated as a reserve unit under Air Defense Command (ADC) at

Tinker Field Tinker Field was an outdoor baseball stadium in Orlando, Florida, United States. Named after Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Tinker, it was located in the West Lakes neighborhoods of Downtown Orlando, adjacent to the Camping World Stadium and one mil ...

, Oklahoma on 26 July 1947, but had no units assigned until September when the

323d Bombardment Group 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many soci ...

was activated at Tinker and assigned to the wing. The 177th AAF Base Unit (later the 2592d Air Force Reserve Training Center) supervised the training of reserve units at Tinker. Later that fall, at the end of October, the

340th Bombardment Group 34 may refer to: * 34 (number), the natural number following 33 and preceding 35 * one of the years 34 BC, AD 34, 1934, 2034 * ''34'' (album), a 2015 album by Dre Murray * "#34" (song), a 1994 song by Dave Matthews Band * "34", a 2006 song by Sa ...

was activated at

Tulsa Municipal Airport Tulsa International Airport is a civil-military airport five miles (8 km) northeast of downtown Tulsa, in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named Tulsa Municipal Airport when the city acquired it in 1929;North American AT-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

and

Beechcraft AT-11 The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to November ...

aircraft only. In 1948, when the regular Air Force implemented the wing base organization system, the wing, along with other multi-base reserve wings was redesignated as an air division. The same year,

assumed responsibility for managing reserve and Air National Guard units from ADC. The 310th was inactivated when Continental Air Command reorganized its reserve units under the wing base organization system in June 1949. The division's personnel and equipment were transferred to the 323d Bombardment Wing, which was activated at Tinker the same day and assumed command of the 323d Bombardment Group. President Truman’s reduced 1949 defense budget also required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force, and the 340th Group was inactivated in August and not replaced as reserve flying operations at Tulsa ceased.

Lineage

* Established as the 310th Bombardment Wing, Medium on 20 January 1944 : Activated on 1 February 1944 : Inactivated on 25 March 1946 * Redesignated 310th Bombardment Wing, Light on 27 May 1947 : Activated in the Reserve on 26 July 1947 : Redesignated 310th Air Division, Bombardment on 16 April 1948 : Inactivated on 27 June 1949

Assignments

, 1 February 1944 – 25 March 1946 *

Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswel ...

, 26 July 1947 * Fourteenth Air Force, 1 July 1948 *

, 12 January – 27 June 1949

Stations

* Gusap Airfield, New Guinea, 1 February 1944 * Hollandia, New Guinea, 6 May 1944 * Wama Drome, Morotai, Netherlands East Indies, 18 September 1944 * Bayug Airfield,

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

, Philippines, 14 November 1944 * McGuire Field,

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

, Philippines, 15 December 1944 * Clark Field,

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, Philippines, 23 August 1945 * Itami Airfield, Japan, 21 October 1945 – 25 March 1946 * Tinker Field (later Tinker Air Force Base), Oklahoma, 26 July 1947 – 27 June 1949

Components

World War II

; Groups *

3d Bombardment Group 3-D, 3D, or 3d may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality * Three-dimensional space ** 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data ** 3D film, a ...

: attached 1 May 1944 – September 1944; 15 January 1945 – 31 May 1946 *

8th Fighter Group 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh *"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6 * '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film * '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...

: attached c. 31 May 1944 – c. 25 March 1946 *

18th Fighter Group 018 may refer to *Air Canada Flight 018, an airline flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada, illegally boarded by a Chinese man wearing a disguise in 2010 *Area code 018, a telephone area code in Uppsala, Sweden *BMW 018, an experimental turboje ...

: attached 24 March – 26 April 1945 *

35th Fighter Group Military units * 35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force * 35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I * 35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 Jul ...

: attached 1 February – 1 August 1944, 2 October 1944 – 25 March 1946 *

38th Bombardment Group The 38th Bombardment Group is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. It was most recently assigned as the operational (flying) component of the 38th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Laon-Couvron Air Base, France, where it was inactivated ...

: 19 October 1944 – c. 25 March 1946 *

42d Bombardment 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 ...

: attached 3–14 September 1944, assigned 31 January – 25 March 1946 *

49th Fighter Group The 49th Fighter Group was a fighter aircraft unit of the Fifth Air Force that was located in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II. Activation and training The group was constituted as 49th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 20 November 1 ...

: attached 1 February – 1 May 1944, 9 January – 29 May 1945, 25 September – 10 November 1945 * 58th Fighter Group: attached 9 January – 7 April 1945 * 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Group: attached 9 January – 10 November 1945 * 90th Bombardment Group: attached 31 May – 3 September 1944; 15 January – 23 November 1945 * 312th Bombardment Group: 31 May – 3 September 1944; 1 July – 13 October 1945 *

348th Fighter Group The 108th Operations Group is a unit of the 108th Wing (108 WG) of the New Jersey Air National Guard, one of the many units stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. If activated to federal service with the U.S. Air Force, the ...

: 1 May – 25 August 1944; 25 September 1945 – 25 March 1946 * 375th Troop Carrier Group: 24 March – 9 August 1945 *

380th Bombardment Group 38 may refer to: *38 (number), the natural number following 37 and preceding 39 *one of the years 38 BC, AD 38, 1938 Events January * January 1 ** The new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending ...

: c. 24 March 1945 – unknown *

417th Bombardment Group The 417th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with V Bomber Command at Itami Airfield, Japan, where it was inactivated on 5 November 1945. During World War II, the group operated in the So ...

: 9 January – 1 November 1945 *

475th Fighter Group 475th may refer to: *475th Air Base Wing, inactive United States Air Force unit *475th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 475th Fighter Group, World War II predecessor of 53d Weapons Evaluation Group *475th Test Squadron, ...

: 14 May – 16 June 1944 ; Squadrons * 3d Emergency Rescue Squadron: 9 January 1945 – unknown *

17th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as ...

: 29 May – 3 September 1944; c. 24 March – 3 April 1945 * 25th Liaison Squadron: c. 15 January 1945 – unknown * 25th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron: c. 9 January 1945 – unknown *

26th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

: c. 1 July – 3 September 1944 * 41st Troop Carrier Squadron: c. 17 May – 3 September 1944 * 65th Troop Carrier Squadron: c. 15 January 1945 – unknown *

66th Troop Carrier Squadron The 66th Training Squadron is an active unit of the United States Air Force. Its current assignment is with the 336th Training Group at Fairchild Air Force Base where is performs the training for the SERE instructor course for the USAF. Histo ...

: c. 15 January 1945 – unknown * 82d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron: 9 January 1945 – unknown *

110th Reconnaissance Squadron Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *'' ...

(later 110th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron): c. 1 February – 10 April 1944; c. 9 January 1945 – unknown * 318th Troop Carrier Squadron: c. 15 January 1945 – unknown * 418th Night Fighter Squadron: 15 May – 9 November 1944; 26 December 1944 – 30 January 1945; 22 October – 10 November 1945 *

421st Night Fighter Squadron 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 ...

: c. 31 May – 3 September 1944 * 547th Night Fighter Squadron: 9 January 1945 – unknown; 22 October – 10 November 1945

Air Force Reserve

* 323d Bombardment Group: 9 September 1947 – 27 June 1949 * 340th Bombardment Group; 31 October 1947 – 19 August 1949

Aircraft

Douglas A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was o ...

, 1944-c. 1945 * Douglas A-26 Invader, 1944-c. 1945 * Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1944-c. 1945 *

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

, 1944-c. 1945 *

Beechcraft C-43 Traveler The Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing is an American biplane with an atypical negative wing stagger (the lower wing is farther forward than the upper wing). It first flew in 1932. Development At the height of the Great Depression, aircraft ...

, 1944-c. 1945 *

Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to November ...

, 1944-c. 1945 *

Lockheed F-5 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 twi ...

, 1944-c. 1945 * Stinson L-5 Sentinel, 1944-c. 1946 * Lockheed P-38 Lightning, 1944-c. 1945 *

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by t ...

, 1944-c. 1945 *

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...

, 1944-c. 1945 * Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1944-c. 1945 *

Northrop P-61 Black Widow The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed as a night fighter, and the first aircraft designed specifically as a night figh ...

, 1944-c. 1945 * Douglas P-70 Havoc, 1944-c. 1945 * Curtiss C-46 Commando, c. 1945-c. 1946 *

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained ...

, c. 1945-c. 1946 *

Consolidated OA-10 Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served wit ...

, c. 1945-c. 1946 *

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

, c. 1945-c. 1946.

Commanders

* Brig Gen Donald R. Hutchison, 1 February 1944 * Col John T. Murtha, 16 Oct 19448 * Col Jack A. Wilson, 15 December 1944 * Col William M. Morgan, 22 March 1945 * Col Jack A. Wilson, 17 July 1945 * Col William M. Morgan, 29 August 1945 * Col Othel R. Deering 16 December 1945 – unknownCommanders for the period the unit was assigned to the reserve are not known. Factsheet, 310 Air Division, Bombardment

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{USAAF 5th Air Force World War II Air divisions of the United States Air Force

History

World War II

Air Force Reserve

Lineage

Assignments

Stations

Components

World War II

Air Force Reserve

Aircraft

Commanders

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography