379th Bomb Group
| 379th Bombardment Group | |
|---|---|
| File:379thbg-b-17g-42-97462.jpg B-17G of the 379th Bombardment Group at RAF Kimbolton after a mission | |
| Active | 3 November 1942 – 25 July 1945 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Bombardment group |
| Role | Strategic bombing |
| Part of | |
| Station | RAF Kimbolton (AAF Station 117) |
| Equipment | Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation (2) |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Maurice A. Preston |
| Insignia | |
| Tail code | "Triangle K" tail marking |
The 379th Bombardment Group was a United States Army Air Forces heavy bombardment group of World War II. Assigned to the Eighth Air Force in England, the group flew Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft from RAF Kimbolton in Huntingdonshire from May 1943 until June 1945. It comprised the 524th, 525th, 526th and 527th Bombardment Squadrons.[1][2]
The group flew its first combat mission against U-boat pens at Saint-Nazaire, France, on 29 May 1943, and its last mission against Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, on 25 April 1945.[3] During combat operations it flew 330 missions and 10,492 sorties, dropped 26,459 tons of bombs and lost 141 B-17s to enemy action.[3][4][5] According to the American Air Museum in Britain, the 379th flew more sorties and dropped a greater bomb tonnage than any other Eighth Air Force group.[5]
The group received two Distinguished Unit Citations: one for operations over continental Europe between 29 May 1943 and 31 July 1944, and one for an unescorted attack on aircraft factories in central Germany on 11 January 1944.[1]
History
Establishment and training
The 379th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was constituted on 28 October 1942 and activated on 3 November 1942 at Gowen Field, Idaho.[1] Colonel Maurice A. Preston assumed command on 26 November 1942.[1] The group moved to Wendover Field, Utah, on 19 November 1942, and to Sioux City Army Air Base, Iowa, on 3 February 1943, where it completed first-phase training on the B-17.[1][3]
The air echelon left Sioux City on 9 April 1943 and ferried its B-17s overseas by the North Atlantic route, beginning on 15 April 1943. The ground echelon processed through Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, and Camp Shanks, New York, before sailing on the Aquitania on 10 May 1943 and arriving at the Firth of Clyde on 18 May 1943.[3]
Combat operations from Kimbolton
The group occupied RAF Kimbolton (AAF Station 117) on 21 May 1943.[1] It was initially assigned to the 103d Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing and later to the 41st Combat Bombardment Wing of the 1st Bombardment Division on 13 September 1943.[3] Aircraft of the 1st Bombardment Division carried a triangle marking on the vertical stabilizer; the 379th's aircraft bore the letter K, producing the "Triangle K" identification.[6]
The first mission, on 29 May 1943, struck the U-boat pens at Saint-Nazaire.[3] The group's principal targets between June 1943 and the spring of 1945 included the chemical complex at Ludwigshafen, the aircraft assembly plant at Brunswick, the ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt and Leipzig, synthetic-oil refineries at Merseburg and Gelsenkirchen, marshalling yards at Hamm and Reims, and airfields in occupied France and around Berlin.[1]
On 11 January 1944, the 379th attacked aircraft factories in central Germany without fighter escort and later received a Distinguished Unit Citation for the mission.[1] In May 1944 the Eighth Air Force announced that the group had achieved an "Operational Grand Slam" for April 1944, leading the Eighth in five performance categories: bombing accuracy, tonnage on target, aircraft attacking, lowest losses and lowest abortive rate.[3][4]
In the months before Operation Overlord, the group bombed V-weapon sites, airfields, radar installations and coastal defences; it struck German positions ahead of the Allied landings on 6 June 1944 and supported the St-Lô breakout on 24–25 July 1944.[1] During the Ardennes counter-offensive of December 1944 to January 1945, the 379th attacked German communications and fortifications. From February through March 1945, it bombed bridges and viaducts to support the Allied crossing of the Rhine.[1]
Colonel Preston commanded until 10 October 1944, when he took command of the 41st Combat Bombardment Wing at RAF Molesworth. Colonel Lewis E. Lyle then led the 379th until 5 May 1945. Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd C. Mason and Lieutenant Colonel Horace E. Frink commanded briefly during the wind-down of operations.[1][3]
The group flew its 330th and final combat mission against Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, on 25 April 1945.[3]
Inactivation
After V-E Day, the group flew personnel from Europe to North Africa, moving to Casablanca, French Morocco, by mid-June 1945.[1] The 379th Bombardment Group was inactivated at Casablanca on 25 July 1945.[1]
Relationship to later units
The postwar United States Air Force later operated the 379th Bombardment Wing, a Strategic Air Command bombardment wing that was activated in 1955 and later redesignated as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing.[7] That postwar and present-day unit shares lineage with the World War II bombardment group, but its operational history after 1955 is covered at 379th Air Expeditionary Wing.
Lineage and organization
Lineage
- Constituted as the 379th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 October 1942
- Activated on 3 November 1942
- Redesignated 379th Bombardment Group, Heavy, c. 20 August 1943
- Inactivated on 25 July 1945[1]
Squadrons
- 524th Bombardment Squadron – squadron code WA
- 525th Bombardment Squadron – squadron code FR
- 526th Bombardment Squadron – squadron code LF
- 527th Bombardment Squadron – squadron code FO[3][6]
Stations
- Gowen Field, Idaho – 3 November 1942
- Wendover Field, Utah – 19 November 1942
- Sioux City Army Air Base, Iowa – 3 February – April 1943
- RAF Bovingdon, England – air echelon, 24 April 1943
- RAF Kimbolton, England – 21 May 1943 – 12 June 1945
- Casablanca, French Morocco – 17 June – 25 July 1945[1][3]
Aircraft
Commanders
- Colonel Maurice A. Preston – 26 November 1942 – 10 October 1944
- Colonel Lewis E. Lyle – 11 October 1944 – 5 May 1945
- Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd C. Mason – from 6 May 1945
- Lieutenant Colonel Horace E. Frink – from 23 May 1945[1][3]
Honors
Campaign credits
Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe.[1]
Decorations
- Distinguished Unit Citation, Continental Europe, 29 May 1943 – 31 July 1944
- Distinguished Unit Citation, Germany, 11 January 1944[1]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 Maurer, Maurer (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History. pp. 257–258. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. Search this book on
- ↑ "379th Bombardment Group". Army Air Corps Library and Museum. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 "History". 379th Bomb Group Association. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Freeman, Roger A. (1970). The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London: Macdonald and Co. ISBN 0-87938-638-X. Search this book on
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "379th Bomb Group". americanairmuseum.com. American Air Museum in Britain. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2026. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wood, John (31 December 2014). "RAF Kimbolton and the 379th Bombardment Group (Heavy)". Cambridge Military History. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ "379th Air Expeditionary Wing". United States Air Forces Central. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
Further reading
- Cassens, Kenneth H. (1992). Screwball Express: A History of the 379th Bombardment Group (H) in World War II. 379th Bombardment Group Association. OCLC 27429083. Search this book on
- Freeman, Roger A. (1990). The Mighty Eighth War Diary. Osceola, Wisconsin: Motorbooks International. ISBN 0-87938-495-6. Search this book on
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