The 335th Air Refueling Wing is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

unit. The group was active at

Barksdale Field Barksdale may refer to: Places * Barksdale, Mississippi, an unincorporated community *Barksdale, Texas, an unincorporated community * Barksdale, Wisconsin, a town ** Barksdale (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community *Barksdale Air Force ...

, Louisiana from July 1942 as a training unit for

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

aircrew Aircrew are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions In commercial aviatio ...

s. It was disbanded in May 1944, when the

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 ...

reorganized its training and support units in the United States. The group was reconstituted in 1985 as the 335th Air Refueling Wing, but has not been active since then.

History

The 335th Bombardment Group was activated on 17 July 1942 at

, Louisiana. Its original components were the 474th, 475th, 476th and

477th Bombardment Squadron 477th may refer to: *477th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *477th Fighter Group, the Air Force Reserve Command's first F-22A Raptor unit *477th Tactical Fighter Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit See also

s, and 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 equipped with

Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in ...

s. It became part of

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a Numbered Air Force, numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U ...

, which was responsible for the majority of

training for the

(AAF).Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 576-577Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 577Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 577-578Craven & Cate, Introduction, p. xxxvi The group drew its cadre from the

17th Bombardment Group The 17th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The group was last stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The Group is a direct successor to the 17th Pursuit Group, one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the ...

, which was in the process of converting to the B-26 from the

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allies of World War ...

. The 355th acted as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) for the B-26. The RTU was an oversized unit which trained individual

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

and

s, after which they would be assigned to operational units. However, the AAF found that standard military units, whose manning was based on relatively inflexible

tables of organization A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of military units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of a unit as well ...

were not well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit, manned according to the base's specific needs. As this reorganization was implemented in the spring of 1944, he 335th Group, its components and supporting units at Barksdale, were disbanded on 1 May and replaced by the 331st AAF Base Unit (Medium, Bombardment). Group

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

became Section N of the new base unit, while the four squadrons became Sections O, P, T and U. The reorganization also resulted in the addition of Section F, which trained

Free French Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

aviators on the Marauder. The group was reconstituted in inactive status on 31 July 1985 and designated the 335th Air Refueling Wing.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 648q, 31 July 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Organizations In addition, three of the group's four squadrons were consolidated with post-war fighter squadrons.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 September 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons

Lineage

* Constituted as the 335th Bombardment Group (Medium) on 9 July 1942 : Activated on 17 July 1942 : Disbanded on 1 May 1944Lineage through May 1963 in Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 214-215. : Reconstituted on 31 July 1985 and redesignated 335th Air Refueling Wing

Assignments

* Third Air Force, 17 July 1942 *

III Bomber Command The III Bomber Command is a disbanded United States Air Force headquarters. It was established in September 1941, shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor to command bomber units assigned to 3rd Air Force. Following the entry of the United St ...

, 31 July 1942 – 1 May 1944

Components

* 474th Bombardment Squadron: 17 July 1942 – 1 May 1944 * 475th Bombardment Squadron: 17 July 1942 – 1 May 1944 * 476th Bombardment Squadron: 17 July 1942 – 1 May 1944 * 477th Bombardment Squadron: 17 July 1942 – 1 May 1944

Stations

* Barksdale Field, Louisiana, 17 July 1942 – 1 May 1944

Aircraft

* Martin B-26 Marauder, 1942–1944

Campaigns

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* *: * *

External links

{{USAAF 3d 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 disestablished in 1944