340th Bombardment Group
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| 340th Bombardment Group | |
|---|---|
 340th Bombardment Group Insignia |
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| Active | 1942 - 1945 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Part of | Twelfth Air Force |
| Garrison/HQ | Mediterranean theatre of World War II |
The 340th Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. It served primarily in the Mediterranean, African, and The Middle East Theatres of World War II.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Operational Units
- 486th Bombardment Squadron 1942-1945
- 487th Bombardment Squadron 1942-1945
- 488th Bombardment Squadron 1942-1945
- 489th Bombardment Squadron 1942-1945
[edit] Aircraft Flown
[edit] Stations assigned
- Columbia AAB, SC 20 Aug 1942
- Walterboro, SC 30 Nov 1942-30 Jan 1943
- El Kabrit, Egypt Mar 1943
- Medenine, Tunisia Mar 1943
- Sfax, Tunisia Apr 1943
- Hergla, Tunisia 2 Jun 1943
- Comiso, Sicily c. 2 Aug 1943
- Catania, Sicily 27 Aug 1943
- San Pancrazio, Italy c. 15 Oct 1943
- Foggia, Italy 19 Nov 1943
- Pompeii, Italy c. 2 Jan 1944
- Paestum, Italy 23 Mar 1944
- Corsica c. 14 Apr 1944
- Rimini, Italy c. 2 Apr-27 Jul 1945
- Seymour Johnson Field, NC 9 Aug 1945
- Columbia AAB, SC 2 Oct-7 Nov 1945
[edit] Operational history
Constituted as 340th Bombardment Group (Medium) on 10 Aug 1942 and activated on 20 Aug. Trained with B-25's for duty overseas. Arrived in the Mediterranean theater in Mar 1943. Assigned first to Ninth AF and later (in Aug 1943) to Twelfth.
Served in combat from Apr 1943 to Apr 1945. Engaged chiefly in support and interdictory missions, but sometimes bombed strategic objectives. Targets included airfields, railroads, bridges, road junctions, supply depots, gun emplacements, troop concentrations, marshalling yards, and factories in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, France, Austria, Bulgaria, Albania, Yugoslavia, and Greece. Also dropped propaganda leaflets behind enemy lines. Participated in the reduction of Pantelleria and Lampedusa in Jun 1943, the bombing of German evacuation beaches near Messina in Jul, the establishment of the Salerno beachhead in Sep, the drive for Rome during Jan-Jun 1944, the invasion of Southern France in Aug, and attacks on the Brenner Pass and other German lines of communication in northern Italy from Sep 1944 to Apr 1945. Received a DUC for the period Apr-Aug 1943 when, although handicapped by difficult living conditions and unfavorable weather, the group supported British Eighth Army in Tunisia and Allied forces in Sicily. Received second DUC for the destruction of a cruiser in the heavily defended harbor of La Spezia on 23 Sep 1944 before the ship could be used by the enemy to block the harbor's entrance.
Returned to the US, Jul-Aug 1945. Inactivated on 7 Nov 1945.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
