472d Bombardment Group
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The 582d Air Resupply and Communications Wing is an inactive United States Air Force wing. Its last duty assignment was at
Great Falls Air Force Base Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place (CDP) in Cascade County, Montana, United States, adjacent to the city of Great Falls, Montana, Great Falls. It was named in honor of World War II POW Colonel Ei ...
, Montana. The first predecessor of 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 expres ...
was the 472d Bombardment Group, which trained
Boeing 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 ...
crews for combat deployment until being disbanded in 1944 at Clovis Army Air Field. The wing was activated in 1952 and trained for psychological operations. Although the wing was inactivated in 1953, its operational group, the 582d Air Resupply Group deployed to RAF Molesworth, England, where it conducted
special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...
until inactivating in October 1956. In 1985, the 582d Air Resupply and Communications Wing and the 472d Bombardment Group were consolidated as the 472d Special Operations Wing, but the consolidated unit has not been active.


History


Very heavy bomber training

The first predecessor of the wing, the 472d Bombardment Group, was activated on 1 September 1943 at
Smoky Hill Army Air Field Salina Regional Airport , formerly Salina Municipal Airport, is three miles southwest of Salina, Kansas, United States. The airport is owned by the Salina Airport Authority. It is used for general aviation, with service by one passenger airline, ...
, Kansas. The 808th, 809th, 810th and 811th Bombardment Squadrons were simultaneously activated and assigned to the group. Although the 472d's mission was to train
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 on the
Boeing 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 ...
, the squadrons also flew
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 ...
es.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p.345Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 762–763 The group was assigned to the 58th Bombardment Wing, which returned to Smoky Hill from
Marietta Army Air Field Dobbins Air Reserve Base or Dobbins ARB is a United States Air Force reserve air base located in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb about northwest of Atlanta. Originally known as Dobbins Air Force Base, it was named in honor of Captain Charles M. ...
in the middle of the month. The 472nd Bombardment Group was to be the initial group to receive the prototype YB-29 and first production B-29 Superfortresses. President Roosevelt wanted 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 crews of the B-29 needed a degree of specialist training that was not required for crews of other, less complex 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. By the end of December 1943, only 73 pilots had qualified for the B-29 and very few crews had been brought together as a complete team. After the initial groups of the 58th Wing completed conversion training on the B-29, the 472d and its squadrons moved to Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico about 7 December 1943 to begin training follow-on B-29 crews. However the group also was involved in secret testing of the B-29 for suitability in carrying
Atomic Bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
s, which were being developed at
Los Alamos, New Mexico Los Alamos is an census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, that is recognized as the development and creation place of the atomic bomb—the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Labora ...
. 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 ...
was findig that standard military units like the 472d, based on relatively inflexible
tables of organization A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of a unit as well as the un ...
were not well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit including both operational and support elements. The group was disbanded, and its elements were combined with support units at Clovis to form the 234th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training School, Bombardment, Very Heavy).


Special operations

The 582d Air Resupply and Communications Wing was activated at
Mountain Home Air Force Base Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in the western United States. Located in southwestern Idaho in Elmore County, the base is southwest of Mountain Home, which is southeast of Boise via Interstate ...
, Idaho on 24 September 1952, and moved to
Great Falls Air Force Base Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place (CDP) in Cascade County, Montana, United States, adjacent to the city of Great Falls, Montana, Great Falls. It was named in honor of World War II POW Colonel Ei ...
, Montana, along with
Air Resupply and Communications Service The Air Resupply And Communications Service (ARCS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was assigned to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Established during the Korean War, the mission of ARCS was providing the Air Force an un ...
in May 1953. As the previous two air resupply wings had done, the 582d spent its first year training and preparing its personnel for the
psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...
mission. In August 1953, the wing was inactivated, along with two of its four squadrons, and its remaining elements were consolidated into the wing's operational group, which was redesignated the 582d Air Resupply Group. In early 1954, it deployed to RAF Molesworth, United Kingdom and set up operations in Europe. The 582d Group was assigned 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 E ...
and provided the bulk of its air support to the Army
10th Special Forces Group The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (10th SFG (A), or 10th Group) is an active duty United States Army Special Forces (SF) Group. 10th Group is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare (UW), foreign in ...
, which had been transferred in total from
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, North Carolina, to
Bad Tölz Bad Tölz (; Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Däiz'') is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany and the administrative center of the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district. History Archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tö ...
, West Germany. For the next two and one-half years, the 582d worked closely with the 10th Group providing airdrop, resupply, and airland support with its B-29 and
Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechani ...
aircraft. The
Grumman SA-16 Albatross The Grumman HU-16 Albatross is a large, twin–radial engined amphibious seaplane that was used by the United States Air Force (USAF), the U.S. Navy (USN), and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), primarily as a search and rescue (SAR) aircraft. Origina ...
was utilized for amphibious missions, including night water-infiltration/exfiltration operations. Assigned SA-16s were also tasked to fly classified courier missions throughout the Mediterranean, Middle East and southern Europe. By the mid-1950s the Air Force redirected its priorities away from psychological operations, the 582d Group was the last remaining unit with this mission, and it was inactivated on 25 October 1956. The group's remaining special operations were transferred to the
42d Troop Carrier 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 ...
, which was activated at Molesworth the same day.


Lineage

; 472d Bombardment Group * Constituted as the 472nd Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 May 1943 : Activated on 1 September 1943 : Redesignated 472nd Bombardment Group, Very Heavy on 1 December 1943 : Disbanded on 1 April 1944 : Reconstituted and consolidated with the 582d Air Resupply and Communications Wing as the 472d Special Operations Wing on 31 July 1985Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 648q, 31 July 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Organizations ; 472d Special Operations Wing * Established as the 582d Air Resupply and Communications Wing on 3 September 1952 : Activated on 24 September 1952 : Inactivated on 14 August 1953 : Consolidated with the 472nd Bombardment Group as the 472d Special Operations Wing on 31 July 1985 ; 472d Combat Support Group * Established as the 582d Air Resupply and Communications Group on 3 September 1952 : Activated on 24 September 1952 : Redesignated 582d Air Resupply Group on 14 August 1953 : Inactivated 25 October 1956 : Redesignated 472d Combat Support Group on 31 July 1985


Assignments

; 472d Wing * 58th Bombardment Wing, 1 September 1943 – 1 April 1944 *
Air Resupply And Communications Service The Air Resupply And Communications Service (ARCS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was assigned to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Established during the Korean War, the mission of ARCS was providing the Air Force an un ...
, 24 September 1952 – 14 August 1953 ; 472d Group * 582d Air Resupply and Communications Wing, 24 September 1952 *
Military Air Transport Service The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) and the United States Air Force's ...
, 14 August 1953 * Third Air Force, 25 January 1954 – 25 October 1956


Components

; 472d Wing * 808th Bombardment Squadron, 1 September 1943 – 1 April 1944 * 809th Bombardment Squadron, 1 September 1943 – 1 April 1944 * 810th Bombardment Squadron, 1 September 1943 – 1 April 1944 * 811th Bombardment Squadron, 1 September 1943 – 1 April 1944 * 582d Air Resupply and Communications Group, 24 September 1952 – 25 October 1956 ; 472d Group * 582d Air Materials Assembly Squadron, 24 September 1952 – 24 October 1956 * 582d Air Resupply and Communications Squadron (later 582d Air Resupply Squadron), 24 September 1952 – 24 October 1956 * 582d Holding and Briefing Squadron, 24 September 1952 – 14 August 1953 * 582d Reproduction Squadron, 24 September 1952 – 14 August 1953


Stations

* Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas, 1 September 1943 * Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico, 7 December 1943 – 1 April 1944 * Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, 24 September 1952 * Great Falls Air Force Base, Montana, 1 May 1953Mueller, p. 361The wing and the group were stationed together until the wing inactivated. * Wiesbaden Air Base, Germany, 25 January 1954 * RAF Molesworth, England, 21 February 1954 – 25 October 1956


Aircraft

* Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress * Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1943–1944, 1951–1956 *
Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechani ...
1951–1956 * Grumman SA-16 Albatross 1953–1956


See also

*
Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command ...
For current organization of USAF special operations forces.


References


Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations


Bibliography

* * * * *


Further reading

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External links

* {{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II 0582