Military unit
The
500th Air Expeditionary Group
is a provisional
United States Air Force
unit. Its last known assignment was at
Christchurch
, New Zealand, where it was activated for the summer 2005?2006 season.
The unit's origins lie with its predecessor unit, the
United States Army Air Forces
500th Bombardment Group
, which was part of
Twentieth Air Force
during
World War II
. The 500th engaged in very heavy (
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
) bombardment operations against Japan. It was awarded two
Distinguished Unit Citations
for actions in 1945.
The
500th Air Refueling Wing
replaced the
4045th Air Refueling Wing
as a
Strategic Air Command
tanker unit at
Selfridge Air Force Base
, Michigan on 1 January 1963. The two units were consolidated in 1984.
In 2002, the consolidated unit was converted to provisional status as the
500th Air Expeditionary Group
. It has been activated several times to support operations in Antarctica.
History
[
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]
World War II
[
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]
Rare photo of a World War II USAAF Helicopter ferrying parts to a 500th Bomb Group B-29 on its hardstand, Saipan, 1945
Base Operations,
Isely Field
, Saipan, 1945
"Supine Sue", first B-29 on Saipan, November 1944
The
group
was established as the
500th Bombardment Group
in late 1943 at
Gowen Field
, Idaho. It was formed as a
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
very heavy bombardment group. The unit was initially composed of four bombardment
squadrons
, the
881st
,
882d
,
883d
, and
884th Bombardment Squadrons
, the 29th, 30th, 31st and 32d Bombardment Maintenance Squadrons and the 18th Photographic Laboratory (Bombardment, Very Heavy).
Due to a shortage of B-29s, the group was equipped with
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses
already at Gowen Field. These aircraft were previously used for training heavy bomber replacement personnel. In January the unit moved to
Clovis Army Air Field
, New Mexico due to the poor flying weather during the winter in Idaho. It moved to
Walker Army Air Field
, Kansas in April 1944 where it finally received newly manufactured B-29 Superfortresses from the Boeing plant at Wichita, Kansas. In May the
United States Army Air Forces
reconfigured its very heavy groups and the 884th Bombardment Squadron and the Bombardment Maintenance Squadrons were inactivated. Their personnel were consolidated into the remaining squadrons.
[note 1]
The 500th deployed to the
Pacific Theater of Operations
in September 1944, where it was assigned to the
73d Bombardment Wing
of
XXI Bomber Command
in the Northern Mariana Islands, at
Isely Field
, Saipan. Upon their arrival the group's personnel engaged in Quonset hut construction. By mid-October most personnel were able to move into the huts from the tents which they were assigned to on their arrival in theater. The 500th's assigned tail code was a Z-Square. It entered combat on 11 November 1944 with an attack against a submarine base in the
Truk
Islands.
On 24 November, the 500th participated in the first attack on Japan by B-29's based in the Marianas. After that attack, the group conducted many daylight raids, operating from high altitude to bomb strategic targets in Japan. It struck the
Mitsubishi
aircraft engine plant at
Nagoya
in January 1945 and received a
Distinguished Unit Citation
(DUC) for the mission. The group bombed enemy airfields and other installations on
Ky?sh?
in support of the
Allied assault on Okinawa
in April 1945.
Beginning in March 1945, the group flew missions at night and at low altitude to drop incendiaries on area targets in Japan. It received a second DUC for incendiary attacks on the urban-industrial section of
Osaka
, feeder industries at
Hamamatsu
, and shipping and rail targets on Ky?sh? during June. The group released propaganda leaflets over the Japanese home islands in July and August, continuing strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until the Japanese capitulation in August 1945.
After
V-J Day
, the 500th dropped supplies to Allied prisoners, participated in show-of-force missions, and flew over Japan to evaluate bombardment damage. In October 1945 the unit returned to the United States. It was assigned to Continental Air Forces'
Fourth Air Force
at
March Field
, California. However demobilization was in full swing and the group was inactivated on 17 January 1946.
Cold War
[
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4045th Air Refueling Wing Patch
The
500th Air Refueling Wing
was activated and established in 1963 as part of
Strategic Air Command
at
Selfridge AFB
, Michigan. The wing replaced the
4045th Air Refueling Wing
at Selfridge, absorbing its personnel and assets.
The 4045th Wing had been established at Selfridge on 1 January 1959, along with three
maintenance
squadrons and a security unit and assigned to
Second Air Force
. The
44th Air Refueling Squadron
and
307th Air Refueling Squadron
moved from
Chennault AFB
, Louisiana in June 1960 and were assigned to the wing as its operational squadrons. In September, the wing was reassigned to the
17th Air Division
.
In 1962, in order to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious
World War II
records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its Major Command controlled (MAJCON) wings that were equipped with tactical aircraft and to activate Air Force controlled (AFCON) units, most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history.
[note 2]
As a result, the 4045th was replaced by the newly constituted
500th Air Refueling Wing
on 1 January 1963.
[note 3]
The two refueling squadrons were reassigned to the 500th wing. The 4045th's maintenance and security squadrons were replaced by ones with the 500th numerical designation of the newly established wing. Each of the new units assumed the personnel, equipment, and mission of its predecessor. The wing was reassigned to the 40th Air Division on 1 July 1963.
The wing supported SAC bombardment and
Tactical Air Command
fighter aircraft with air refueling and occasionally deployed segments of its tanker force overseas to support unit movements and special operations. The unit was discontinued and inactivated on 15 December 1964. The two units were consolidated in 1984.
[1]
Expeditionary Operations
[
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]
LC-130 of the
New York Air National Guard
onloading fuel and cargo for an Antarctic mission
The consolidated unit was redesignated as the
500th Air Expeditionary Group
and activated in 2003 to conduct
Operation Deep Freeze
activities under
Pacific Air Forces
, before being replaced by the 13th Air Expeditionary Group. During deployments to support Deep Freeze, the group had controlled ski-equipped
Lockheed LC-130 Hercules
aircraft of the
139th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron
and
McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III
aircraft of the
304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron
.
[2]
Lineage
[
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]
500th Bombardment Group
- Constituted as
500th Bombardment Group
, Very Heavy on 19 November 1943
- Activated on 20 November 1943
- Inactivated on 17 January 1946
- Consolidated with
500th Air Refueling Wing
as
500th Air Refueling Wing
on 31 January 1984
[1]
(remained inactive)
500th Air Expeditionary Group
- Established as
500th Air Refueling Wing
on 15 November 1962
- Activated on 15 November 1962 (not organized)
- Organized on 1 January 1963
- Discontinued and inactivated, 15 December 1964
- Consolidated with
500th Bombardment Group
on 31 January 1984
[1]
(remained inactive)
- Redesignated
500th Air Expeditionary Group
and converted to provisional status on 12 June 2002
[3]
- Activated on 15 August 2003
- Inactivated on 1 March 2004
- Activated on 15 August 2004
- Inactivated on 28 February 2005
- Activated on 19 July 2005
- Inactivated unknown (probably February 2006).
Assignments
[
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]
- attached to Support Forces, Antarctica, 15 August 2003 ? 1 March 2004
- attached to Support Forces, Antarctica, 15 August 2004 ? 28 February 2005
- 500th Aerospace Expeditionary Task Force, 29 July 2005 ? unknown
Components
[
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]
Tactical Squadrons
- 139th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron
[2]
- 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron
[2]
- 44th Air Refueling Squadron, 1 January 1963 ? 15 December 1964 (detached 10 July 1963 ? 10 October 1963)
- 307th Air Refueling Squadron, 1 January 1963 ? 15 December 1964 (detached 31 July 1963 ? 5 October 1963)
- 881st Bombardment Squadron, 20 November 1943 ? 17 January 1946
- 882d Bombardment Squadron, 20 November 1943 ? 17 January 1946
- 883d Bombardment Squadron, 20 November 1943 ? 17 January 1946
- 884th Bombardment Squadron, 20 November 1943 ? 10 May 1944
Support Units
- 29th Bombardment Maintenance Squadron, 20 November 1943 ? 10 May 1944
- 30th Bombardment Maintenance Squadron, 20 November 1943 ? 10 May 1944
- 31st Bombardment Maintenance Squadron, 20 November 1943 ? 10 May 1944
- 32d Bombardment Maintenance Squadron, 20 November 1943 ? 10 May 1944
- 18th Photographic Laboratory, 20 November 1943 ?
ca
. 17 January 1946
Stations
[
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]
- Gowen Field, Idaho, 20 November 1943 ? 12 January 1944
- Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico, 12 January ? 16 April 1944
- Walker Army Air Field, Kansas, 16 April ? 23 July 1944
- Isely Field, Saipan, Mariana Islands, 18 September 1944 ? 21 October 1945
- March Field, California, 24 October 1945 ? 17 January 1946
- Selfridge AFB, Michigan, 1 January 1963 ? 15 December 1964
- Christchurch
, New Zealand, 15 August 2003 ? 1 March 2004
- Christchurch, New Zealand, 15 August 2004 ? 28 February 2005
- Christchurch, New Zealand, 29 July 2005 ? unknown
Aircraft
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]
References
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Notes
[
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]
- Explanatory notes
- ^
The 884th was reactivated a month later as part of the
383d Bombardment Group
.
- ^
MAJCON units could not carry a permanent history or lineage.
Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).
A Guide to Air Force Lineage and Honors
(2d, Revised ed.). Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Historical Research Center. p. 12.
- ^
Although the 500th Wing was a new organization, it continued, through temporary bestowal, the history, and honors of the World War II 500th Bombardment Group. It was also entitled to retain the honors (but not the history or lineage) of the 4045th. This temporary bestowal ended in January 1984, when the wing and group were consolidated into a single unit.
- Citations
Bibliography
[
edit
]
This article incorporates
public domain material
from the
Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961].
Air Force Combat Units of World War II
(PDF)
(reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
ISBN
0-912799-02-1
.
LCCN
61060979
.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969].
Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II
(PDF)
(reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
ISBN
0-405-12194-6
.
LCCN
70605402
.
OCLC
72556
.
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).
Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947?1977
. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
ISBN
0-912799-12-9
.
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).
A Guide to Air Force Lineage and Honors
(2d, Revised ed.). Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Historical Research Center.
- 500th ARW ? Strategic Air Command.com
External links
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