The 96th Air Division 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. Its last assignment was with the

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 Carswell AF ...

Scott Air Force Base Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. Scott Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the U ...

, Illinois. It was inactivated on 27 June 1949. As the 96th Bombardment Wing, the unit was one of the primary

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 ...

heavy strategic bombardment wings of the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

2d Bombardment Division D, or d, is the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''dee'' (pronounced ), plural ''dees''. History The ...

in World War II.

History

"The 96th Bombardment Wing's units entered combat in early 1944, bombing oil refineries, marshaling yards, steel plants, and tank factories plus numerous other assorted targets in the European theater. In September 1944, some of the units ceased bombardment missions and instead flew gasoline for Army units to airfields in France. Others air-dropped supplies to Allied troops during the airborne attack on the Netherlands that same month. During the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 through January 1945, subordinate units of the 97th aided Allied ground forces by bombing German transportation lines. Besides strategic bombardment, they also dropped supplies to Allied troops during the airborne assault across the Rhine River in March 1945." Returned to the United States in summer 1945. Programmed to become a

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 ...

command wing, however inactivated at the end of the Pacific War. "Active in the Reserves from June 1947 to June 1949, the organization was redesignated as a division in April 1948."

Lineage

* Established as the 96th Combat Bombardment Wing (Heavy) on 8 November 1943 : Activated on 11 January 1944 : Redesignated 96th Combat Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 7 August 1944 : Redesignated 96th Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 9 June 1945 : Redesignated 96th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy on 17 August 1945 : Inactivated on 17 October 1945 * Activated in the Reserve on 12 June 1947 : Redesignated 96th Air Division, Bombardment on 16 April 1948 : Inactivated on 27 June 1949

Assignments

, 11 January 1944 *

(later 2d Air Division), 22 February 1944 *

VIII Fighter Command The VIII Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit of command above the wings and below the numbered air force. Its primary mission was command of fighter operations within the Eighth Air Force. In the World War II European Thea ...

, 16 July - 6 August 1945 *

Army Service Forces The Army Service Forces was one of the three autonomous components of the United States Army during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces, created on 9 March 1942. By dividing the Army into three large comman ...

, Port of Embarkation, 6 August - c. 14 August 1945 *

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 ...

, c. 14 August-17 October 1945 * Second Air Force, 2 June 1947 *

, 1 July 1948 – 27 June 1949

Components

* 44th Bombardment Group, 26 June-24 July 1945 * 93d Bombardment Group, c. 6 June-24 July 1945 * 351st Bombardment Group, 4 June 1948 – 27 June 1949 * 381st Bombardment Group, 17 October 1947 – 4 June 1948 * 392d Bombardment Group, c. 6 July 1944-c. 7 June 1945 * 446th Bombardment Group, 1 June-c. 30 July 1945 * 448th Bombardment Group, 6 July 1944 – 23 July 1945 * 458th Bombardment Group, c. 8 February 1944 – 25 July 1945 *

466th Bombardment Group The 466th Air Expeditionary Group of the United States Air Force provides support for airmen at stations across Afghanistan. This includes "joint expeditionary tasking" airmen, airmen whose units are assigned to a headquarters other than the one ...

, c. 14 March 1944-c. 2 October 1945 * 467th Bombardment Group, c. 18 March 1944-c. 17 October 1945 * 491st Bombardment Group, c. 5 May 1944-c. 16 June 1945

Stations

RAF Horsham St Faith RAF Horsham St Faith is a former Royal Air Force station near Norwich, Norfolk, England which was operational from 1939 to 1963. It was then developed as Norwich International Airport. RAF Bomber Command use The airfield was first developed ...

, England, 11 January 1944 * Ketteringham Hall, England, c. 1 June-c. 5 August 1945 *

Sioux Falls Army Air Field Sioux Falls Regional Airport , also known as Joe Foss Field, is a public and military use airport three miles northwest of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. It is named in honor of aviator and Sioux Falls native Joe Foss, who later served a ...

, South Dakota, c. 14 August 1945 *

Peterson Field Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a U.S. Space Force Base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and is home to the Nor ...

, Colorado, 16 August-17 October 1945 * Scott Field (later

, Illinois, 12 June 1947 – 27 June 1949

Aircraft

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 ...

, 1944–1945 *

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 ...

, 1948–1949 *

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 ...

History

Lineage

Assignments

Components

Stations

Aircraft

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography