92d Bombardment Group senior Pilots pose in front of Boeing B-17F 42-30455 at RAF Alconbury, England, after a successful mission to Hülser Berg Germany in late June 1943. Equipped with radar, this aircraft flew several missions as the lead aircraft of the group.
Demobilized after the Armistice in France, it was re-established in the United States as the first wing formed in the reorganized United States Army Air Service, created in August 1919 to control three groups patrolling the border with Mexico after revolution broke out there.
Served in combat on the St. Mihiel offensive in September, flew reconnaissance sorties, protected observation aircraft, attacked enemy observation balloons, strafed enemy troops, flew counter-air patrols, and bombed towns, bridges, and railroad stations behind the enemy's lines. Moved to Chaumont-Sur-Aire Aerodrome, and during the Meuse-Argonne offensive (26 September – 11 November 1918) bombardment aircraft continued their attacks behind the lines while pursuit ships concentrated mainly on large-scale counter-air patrols. Demobilized in France, December 1918.[1][2]
Inter-War Period
Authorized in the Regular Army on 15 August 1919 as the 1st Wing Headquarters. Organized on 16 August 1919 at Kelly Field, Texas. Provided command and control of all United States Army Air Service units conducting patrol duties 1919–22 along the Mexican Border from Brownsville, Texas, to the California-Arizona border, Assigned to the GHQ, US Army in 1921. Reorganized 19 July 1922 as 1st Wing (Provisional) Headquarters and assigned responsibility to perform duties as the headquarters for the Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field. Inactivated on 26 June 1924.[1][2]
Allotted to the Eighth Corps Area on 29 February 1927. Fort Sam Houston, Texas, designated as headquarters on organization, but the unit was never organized at that location. Designated headquarters location changed on 14 September 1928 to Kelly Field. Re-designated as Headquarters, 1st Bombardment Wing on 8 May 1929. Activated on 1 April 1931 at March Field, California. Re-designated as Headquarters, 1st Pursuit Wing on 18 August 1933.[1]
After the Pearl Harbor Attack, initially supervised Heavy Bomber Operational Training at Tucson AAF. Re-designated as 1st Bombardment Wing and reassigned to VIII Bomber Command and deployed to England July–August 1942.[3][4]
In England, mission was command and control of B-17 Flying Fortress bombardment groups stationed in East Anglia, receiving operational orders from VIII BC headquarters and mobilizing subordinate groups for strategic bombardment attacks on enemy targets in Occupied Europe. Operated primarily from RAF Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire. Served in combat in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from August 1942 until 25 April 1945, receiving a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for an attack on aircraft factories in Germany on 11 January 1944. Returned to the United States in August 1945. Inactivated on 7 November 1945.[3][4]
^ abcdefClay, Steven E. US Army Order of Battle, Volume 3, The Services: Air Service, Engineers, and Special Troops, 1919–41, Combat Studies Institute Press US Army Combined Arms Center Fort Leavenworth, KS
^ abcdMaurer, Maurer (1978) The US Air Service in World War I, Volume I, The Final Report and a Tactical History, The Office of Air Force History Headquarters USAF Washington]
^ abcdefgMaurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN0-89201-092-4.
