The 1st Bombardment Wing is a disbanded

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

unit. It was initially formed in France in 1918 during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a command and control organization for the Pursuit Groups of the First Army Air Service. 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 The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

, created in August 1919 to control three groups patrolling the border with Mexico after revolution broke out there. As the 1st Wing, the unit was one of the original wings of the GHQ Air Force on 1 March 1935. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was one of the primary

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

heavy strategic bombardment wings of VIII Bomber Command and later,

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 Forces S ...

. Its last assignment was with the Continental Air Forces, based at McChord Field, Washington. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945.

History

World War I

Organized at Croix de Metz Aerodrome, Toul Sector, France, during

as the 1st Pursuit Wing on 6 July 1918, it was a command and control organization in the First Army Air Service for several pursuit groups in the American Sector of the Western Front in France. 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.Clay, 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, KSMaurer, 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]

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 Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-use airport, Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he ...

, Texas. Provided command and control of all

units conducting patrol duties 1919–22 along the Mexican Border from

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border, border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas ...

, 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. Allotted to the Eighth Corps Area on 29 February 1927.

Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a United States Army, U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam", it is named for the first president o ...

, Texas, designated as headquarters on organization, but the unit was never organized at that location. Designated headquarters location changed on 14 September 1928 to

. 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. Was responsible for the supervision and administration of twenty-five camps in the southern California

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

(CCC) District, 1933–34. Re-designated Headquarters, 1st Wing on 1 March 1935 and assigned to the

General Headquarters Air Force The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

(GHQAF). Transferred on 27 May 1941 to Tucson Municipal Airport, later Tucson Army Air Field, Arizona, under IV Bomber Command.

World War II

After the

Pearl Harbor Attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the ti ...

, 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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

July–August 1942.Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . In England, mission was command and control of

bombardment groups stationed in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

, receiving operational orders from VIII BC headquarters and mobilizing subordinate groups for strategic bombardment attacks on enemy targets in

Occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

. Operated primarily from RAF Bassingbourn,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

. Served in combat in the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater (warfare), theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It command ...

(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.

Lineage

; 1st Pursuit Wing * Organized as the 1st Pursuit Wing on 6 July 1918 * Demobilized in France, 17 December 1918 * Reconstituted and consolidated with 1st Wing as the 1st Wing on 14 October 1936 ; 1st Bombardment Wing * Authorized as the 1st Wing on 15 August 1919 : Organized and activated on 16 August 1919 * Redesignated: 1st Wing (Provisional) on 19 July 1922 : Inactivated on 26 June 1924. * Redesignated 1st Bombardment Wing on 8 May 1929 : Activated on 1 April 1931 : Redesignated 1st Pursuit Wing on 18 August 1933 : Redesignated 1st Wing on 1 March 1935 * Consolidated with the 1st Pursuit Wing on 14 October 1936 : Redesignated 1st Bombardment Wing on 19 October 1940 : Redesignated 1st Combat Bombardment Wing (Heavy) in August 1943 : Redesignated 1st Bombardment Wing (Heavy) in June 1945 : Inactivated on 7 November 1945 * Disbanded on 15 June 1983Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 498q, 15 September 1983, Subject: Disbandment of Certain Inactive Air Force Units

Assignments

* First Army Air Service, 6 July – 17 December 1918 *

, 16 August 1919 *

, 14 March 1921 * Advanced Flying School, Kelly Field, Texas, 19 July 1922 – 26 June 1924 *

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

, 1 April 1931 *

, 1 March 1935 * Southwest Air District, 19 October 1940 * IV Bomber Command, 1 September 1941 * VIII Bomber Command, 19 August 1942 * 1st Bombardment Division, 13 September 1943 : Re-designated: 1st Air Division: 19 December 1944 – 26 August 1945 * Continental Air Forces, 6 September – 7 November 1945

Stations

* Croix de Metz Aerodrome, Toul, France, 6 July 1918 * Chaumont, France, c. 24 September 1918 – 17 December 1918 *

, Texas, 16 August 1919 – 26 June 1924 * March Field, California, April 1931 * Tucson Municipal Airport, Arizona, 27 May 1941 – July 1942 * Brampton Grange (AAF-103), England, c. 19 August 1942 * RAF Bassingbourn (AAF-121), England, September 1943 * RAF Alconbury (AAF-102), England, c. 26 June – c. 26 August 1945 * McChord Field, Washington, c. 6 September – 7 November 1945.

Components

;; World War I * 1st Pursuit Group, 6 July 1918 – 17 December 1918 * 2d Pursuit Group, 6 July 1918 – 17 December 1918 * 3d Pursuit Group, 6 July 1918 – 17 December 1918 ;; Inter-War period * 1st Pursuit Group, 1919–1922; 1933–1935 * 2d (formerly 1st) Bombardment Group, 1918; 1919–1922 * 3d Attack (formerly 1st Surveillance) Group, 1919–1924 * 7th Bombardment Group, 1931–1933, 1935–1941 * 8th Pursuit Group, 1933–1935 * 17th Bombardment Group, 1931–1941 * 19th Bombardment Group, 1935–1941 * 10th Pursuit Group, 1939–1941 * 35th Pursuit Group, 1940–1941 * 41st Bombardment Group, 1941 ;; World War II (VIII Bomber Command) * 91st Bombardment Group, September 1942 – 23 June 1945 : Attached to: 201st Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, February – 13 September 1943 * 92d Bombardment Group, August 1942 – 13 September 1943 : Attached to: 102d Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, May – 13 September 1943 * 93d Bombardment Group, 6 September – 6 December 1942 * 97th Bombardment Group*, August – 9 November 1942 * 301st Bombardment Group*, 9 August – 2 September 1942 * 303d Bombardment Group, 10 September 1942 – 13 September 1943 : Attached to: 102d Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, February–May 1943 : Attached to: 103d Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, May – 13 September 1943 * 305th Bombardment Group, September 1942 – 13 September 1943 : Attached to: 102d Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, February – 13 September 1943 * 306th Bombardment Group, September 1942 – 13 September 1943 : Attached to: 101st Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, February – June 1943 : Attached to: 102d Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, June – 13 September 1943 * 351st Bombardment Group, May 1943 – 1 November 1943 : Attached to: 101st Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, May – 13 September 1943 * 379th Bombardment Group, May – 13 September 1943 : Attached to: 103d Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, May – 13 September 1943 * 381st Bombardment Group, June 1943 – 1 January 1945 : Attached to: 101st Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, June – 13 September 1943 * 384th Bombardment Group, June – 13 September 1943 : Attached to: 103d Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, June – 13 September 1943 * 398th Bombardment Group, 22 April 1944 – 22 June 1945 * 482d Bombardment Group, 20 August 1943 – 24 June 1945 * Note: Reassigned to

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

References

{{USAAF 8th Air Force UK 001 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 0001 Military units and formations of the United States Army Air Corps