The 304th Bombardment Group is an inactive

United States Army Air Forces 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 ...

(AAF) unit. Its last assignment was with the

Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command The Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command was formed in the fall of 1942 to establish a single command to control antisubmarine warfare (ASW) activities of the Army Air Forces (AAF). It was formed from the resources of I Bomber Command, whi ...

, based at

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Langley Wakeman Collyer (1885–1947), one ...

, Virginia. It was inactivated on 30 December 1942

History

The

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

was activated in July 1942 but did not receive personnel until September 1942 when it began training on the west coast. Its original assigned squadrons were the 361st, 362d,Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 30

363d 363rd or 363d may refer to: *363d Expeditionary Operations Group, inactive United States Air Force unit *363d Bombardment Squadron or 19th Antisubmarine Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *363d Fighter Squadron or 164th Airlift Squadro ...

,Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 101 and 421st Bombardment SquadronsMaurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 779-780. The 421st was originally the 32d Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy), but was redesignated before activating in July In October 1942, the group moved to Langley Field and operated with AAF Antisubmarine Command, using such planes as

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 ...

B-18 Bolo The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American twin-engined medium bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was developed by the Douglas Airc ...

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

and

A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American light bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for ...

to fly

Anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

patrols A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology The word "patrol" is derived from the French ...

along the east coast. The 304th also trained crews for antisubmarine patrol duty overseas. In early November, the 361st squadron moved to

St Eval St Eval () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and hamlet in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The hamlet is about four miles (6.5 km) southwest of Padstow. The parish population at the 2011 census was 960. Much of the vil ...

, England and began antisubmarine operations for

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 ...

. In late November, three of the group's

squadrons Squadron(s) may refer to: Military * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 ...

were redesignated as Antisubmarine Squadrons. In December the group was inactivated and its squadrons transferred to the

25th Antisubmarine Wing The 25th Antisubmarine Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, based in New York City, New York. It was the principal United States Army Air Forces Unit conductin ...

Lineage

* Constituted as 304th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 January 1942 : Activated on 15 July 1942 : Inactivated on 30 December 1942

Assignments

II Bomber Command The II Bomber Command is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. It was established in September 1941, shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor to command heavy bomber units assigned to Second Air Force. Following the entry of the United St ...

, 28 January 1942 * Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, 29 October 1942 – 30 December 1942

Squadrons

* 361st Bombardment Squadron (later 1st Antisubmarine Squadron): 15 July 1942 – 30 December 1942 : Air echelon attached to

VIII Bomber Command 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European '' *oḱtṓ(w)-'', and as such cognate wi ...

, after c. 10 November 1942 * 362d Bombardment Squadron (later 18th Antisubmarine Squadron): 15 July 1942 – 30 December 1942 * 363d Bombardment Squadron (later 19th Antisubmarine Squadron): 15 July 1942 – 30 December 1942 * 421st Bombardment Squadron: 15 July – 6 November 1942

Stations

* Salt Lake City AAB, Utah, 15 July 1942 *

Geiger Field Spokane International Airport is a commercial airport in Spokane, Washington, United States, located approximately west-southwest of Downtown Spokane. It is the primary airport serving the Inland Northwest, which consists of 30 counties and ...

, Washington, 15 September 1942 *

Ephrata, Washington Ephrata ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Grant County, Washington, United States. Its population was 8,477 at the 2020 census. History Ephrata was officially incorporated on June 21, 1909 and was given the county seat for the newly crea ...

, 1 October 1942 *

, Virginia, 29 October – 30 December 1942.

Notes and references

{{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II Military units and formations established in 1942 Bombardment groups of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations in Washington (state)