The 331st Bombardment Group is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air 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 of the United States Army Signal ...

unit. It was last assigned to the 315th Bombardment Wing, being stationed at

Northwest Field Northwest Field (historically Northwest Guam Air Force Base) is a military airfield in Guam. Built in 1945 during World War II, the airfield was used as a bomber base during and after the war until it was closed in 1949. Units deployed to the ...

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

. It was inactivated on 15 April 1946. 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 opposin ...

, the unit was initially a

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

and

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

operational training unit (OTU). Redesignated as a replacement training unit (RTU) in December 1943. Inactivated on 1 April 1944 when

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

switched to

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

training. Late in the war the group was reactivated and trained as a Very Heavy (VH)

group The group served in the

Pacific Ocean theater of World War II The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

as part of

Twentieth Air Force The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (20th AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. 20 AF's primary mission is Interco ...

. The 331st Bomb Group's aircraft engaged in very heavy bombardment

operations against Japan.

History

Heavy bomber replacement training

The 331st Bombardment Group was first activated in July 1942 at

Salt Lake City Army Air Base Salt Lake City International Airport is a civil-military airport located about west of Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. The airport is the closest commercial airport for more than 2.5 million people and is within a 30-minu ...

, Utah with the 461st, 462d, 463d and

464th Bombardment Squadron The 464th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 382d Bombardment Group at Camp Anza, California, where it was inactivated on 4 January 1946. From 1942 the squadron served as a replaceme ...

s assigned. In September it moved to

Casper Army Air Field Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * David ...

, where it conducted

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

replacement training until 1943, when it converted to the

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

. Replacement training units were oversized units which trained

aircrew Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions ...

s prior to their deployment to combat theaters. However, the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, were not proving to be well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit, while the groups and squadrons acting as replacement training units were disbanded or inactivated. This resulted in the 331st, along with other units at Casper, being inactivated in the spring of 1944 and being replaced by the 211th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training Station, Heavy), which assumed the 331st Group's mission, personnel, and equipment.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 568Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 568–569Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 569–570Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 570–571

Very heavy bomber operations

Redesignated 331st Bombardment Group (Very Heavy). Activated on 12 July 1944 at Dalhart AAFld, Texas. Assigned to Second Air Force. Trained for combat with B-29B's initially at Dalhart, then to McCook AAFld, Nebraska. The 331st was assigned the B-29B model. This model was built at Bell-Atlanta. The B-29B was a limited production aircraft, built solely by Bell-Atlanta. It had all but the tail defensive armament removed, since experience had shown that by 1944 the only significant Japanese fighter attacks were coming from the rear. The tail gun was aimed and fired automatically by the new AN/APG-15B radar fire control system that detected the approaching enemy plane and made all the necessary calculations. The elimination of the turrets and the associated General Electric computerized gun system increased the top speed of the Superfortress to 364 mph at 25,000 feet and made the B-29B suitable for fast, unescorted hit-and-run bombing raids and photographic missions. Moved to Northwest Field, Guam, April–June 1945, and assigned to the 315th Bomb Wing,

. Bombed Japanese-held Truk late in June 1945. Flew first mission against the Japanese home islands on 9 July 1945 and afterward operated principally against the enemy's petroleum industry on Honshū. Despite the hazards of bad weather, fighter attacks, and heavy flak, the 331st bombed the coal liquefaction plant at Ube, the Mitsubishi-Hayama petroleum complex at Kawasaki, and the oil refinery and storage facilities at Shimotsu, in July and August 1945, and received a

Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...

for the missions. After the war the group dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners of war in Japan. Inactivated on Guam on 15 April 1946.

Hurricane Ike (2008)

The unit was reactivated at

Randolph AFB Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Uni ...

, Texas, in 2008 as the 331st Air Expeditionary Group, a special unit formed to support

Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...

relief efforts. Units and personnel assigned to the 331st came from both the active and reserve components of the Air Force and Navy.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 331st Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 1 July 1942 : Activated on 6 July 1942 : Inactivated on 1 April 1944 * Redesignated 331st Bombardment Group, Very Heavy and activated on 12 July 1944 : Inactivated on 15 April 1946 * Converted to provisional status and allocated to

Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...

to activate or inactivate any time after 10 September 2008 * Redesignated 331st Air Expeditionary Group and activated 10 September 2008 : Inactivated on 16 September 2008

Assignments

II Bomber Command The II Bomber Command is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. It was established in September 1941, shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor to command heavy bomber units assigned to Second Air Force. Following the entry of the United St ...

, 6 July 1942 *

, 6 October 1943 – 1 April 1944 : Attached to 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Very Heavy), 12 July 1944 – 6 April 1945 * 315th Bombardment Wing, 12 May 1945 – 15 April 1946 *

: Attached to 1 AF-Air Forces North (AFNORTH), 10–16 September 2008

Components

* 461st Bombardment Squadron, 6 July 1942 – 1 April 1944 * 462d Bombardment Squadron, 6 July 1942 – 1 April 1944 * 463d Bombardment Squadron, 6 July 1942 – 1 April 1944 * 464th Bombardment Squadron, 6 July 1942 – 1 April 1944 *

355th Bombardment Squadron 355th may refer to: Aviation * 355th Fighter Squadron, an inactive United States Air Force unit * 355th Fighter Wing, a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force * 355th Tactical Airlift Squadron, a U.S. Ai ...

1944–1946 (B-29B) * 356th Bombardment Squadron 1944–1946 (B-29B) * 357th Bombardment Squadron 1944–1946 (B-29B) *

461st Bombardment Squadron The 461st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 346th Bombardment Group at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, where it was inactivated on 30 June 1946. From 1942 the squadron served as a replace ...

1942–1944 (B-29B)

Stations

* Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah 6 July 1942 – 15 September 1942 * Casper Army Air Field, Wyoming, 15 September 1942 – 1 April 1944, 6 July 1942 – 1 April 1944 *

Dalhart Army Air Field Dalhart Army Air Base is a former World War II military airfield complex near the city of Dalhart, Texas. It operated three training sites for the United States Army Air Forces from 1943 until 1945. The majority of the namesake city of Dalhart, ...

, Texas, 12 July 1944 – 14 November 1944 *

McCook Army Air Field McCook Army Airfield was activated on 1 April 1943. It is located nine miles (14 km) northwest of McCook, a city in Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States and is southwest of North Platte, Nebraska. It was constructed in 1943 . The ...

, Nebraska, 14 November 1944 – 6 April 1945 *

Northwest Field (Guam) Northwest Field (historically Northwest Guam Air Force Base) is a military airfield in Guam. Built in 1945 during World War II, the airfield was used as a bomber base during and after the war until it was closed in 1949. Units deployed to the ...

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

, 12 May 1945 – 15 April 1946 *

Randolph Air Force Base Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Uni ...

, Texas, 10–16 September 2008

References

; Notes

Bibliography

* :: * *
331st Air Expeditionary Group AFHRA Factsheet

External links

331st Bombardment Group @ 315bw.org

Airmen stand ready to provide hurricane relief at Randolph

Expeditionary Group winds down Ike relief efforts
{{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II Air expeditionary groups of the United States Air Force