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| 467th Bombardment Group | |
|---|---|
 467th Bombardment Group Insignia | |
| Active | 1943–1946 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Part of | Eighth Air Force |
| Garrison/HQ | European Theatre of World War II |
The467th Bombardment Group is an inactiveUnited States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was to theStrategic Air Command, being stationed atClovis Army Airfield,New Mexico. It was inactivated on 4 August 1946.
During World War II, the group was anEighth Air ForceB-24 Liberator unit in England assigned toRAF Rackheath. The group set unsurpassed record for bombing accuracy on 15 April 1945, holding the record forbombing accuracy in the Eighth Air Force. They destroyed a Germanbattery atPointe de Grave, on the west coast of France and scored a 100 per cent strike. The group commander, Colonel Albert J. Shower, was the only group commander to stay with the same group from beginning to the end of the war. Returned to the United States in July 1945, converted toB-29 Superfortresses and trained for deployment to thePacific Theater. Deployment toOkinawa cancelled with the end of the Pacific War in August 1945.
After training completed, assigned to Clovis AAF, New Mexico and was one of the original ten USAAF bombardment groups assigned toStrategic Air Command on 21 March 1946. The group was inactivated on 4 August 1946 due to the Air Force's policy of retaining only low-numbered groups on active duty after the war, and its B-29 aircraft, personnel and equipment were reassigned to the senior301st Bombardment Group atSmoky Hill Army Airfield,Kansas.
Established as aB-24 Liberator heavy bombardment group in mid-1943 atMountain Home Army Air Field,Idaho, and activated on 8 September. Transferred to Kearns Center, Utah for personnel assignment and organization then sent toWendover Field,Utah for combat training on 1 November.
In January the group received deployment orders for theEuropean Theater of Operations (ETO). On 12 February 1944 the ground unit went by train toCamp Shanks, New York. They sailed on theUSAT Frederick Lykes on 28 February 1944 and arrived in Clyde on 10 March 1944. The aircraft left Wendover on 12 February 1944 and took the southern Atlantic ferry route. One B-24 was lost with all the crew over the Atlas mountains. Moved toRAF Rackheath, Norfolk in England, February–March 1944, and was assigned to theVIII Bomber Command. The group was assigned to the 96th Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Circle-P".
The mission of the 467th was to engage in very long range strategic bombardment operations overOccupied Europe andNazi Germany. The group began operations on 10 April 1944 with an attack by thirty aircraft on an airfield atBourges in central France. In combat, the unit served chiefly as a strategic bombardment organization, attacking the harbor atKiel, chemical plants atBonn, textile factories atStuttgart, power plants atHamm, steel works atOsnabrück, the aircraft industry atBrunswick, and other objectives.
In addition to strategic operations, engaged occasionally in support and interdictory missions. Bombed shore installations and bridges nearCherbourg Naval Base onD-Day, 6 June 1944. Struck enemy troop and supply concentrations nearMontreuil on 25 July 1944 to assist theAllied drive across France.
In September, over two weeks the bombers flew gasoline from Rackheath toClastres Airfield (A-71) France for use by the US mechanized forces. Attacked German communications and fortifications during theBattle of the Bulge, December 1944 – January 1945. Hit enemy transportation to assist theAllied assault across the Rhine in March 1945.
After the German Capitulation in May 1945, the group was ordered back to the United States for B-29 transition and redeployment to thePacific Theater of Operations (PTO). Redeployed to the US June/July 1945. The air echelon departed Rackheath on 12 June 1945. The ground units sailed from Greenock on the Queen Mary on 6 July 1945. They arrived in New York on 11 July 1945. Upon arrival, most of the group was demobilized due to their combat service in Europe; a cadre of officers and men was formed atSioux Falls Army Air Field,South Dakota on 25 August.
At Sioux Falls, the unit was redesignated as the467th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) in August and was reformed with newly trained pilots, aircrews and ground personnel. The reformed group was sent toHarvard Army Airfield,Nebraska for initialSecond Air Force training then on to Phase II training atAlamogordo Army Airfield,New Mexico where the group trained on wornII Bomber Command B-17s and some pre-production YB-29s used for aircrew training. The Japanese Capitulation in early August canceled the planned deployment to the Pacific, however the group continued to train
Due to the advanced training state of the unit, it was reassigned toHarvard Army Airfield,Nebraska, where the group received newB-29 Superfortresses and completed training. In December 1945 was assigned to a permanent base at Clovis AAF, New Mexico as part ofContinental Air Forces.
Engaged in strategic bombardment training operations on a reduced scale upon arrival at Clovis, as many personnel were being demobilized. On 21 March 1946, was assigned as one of the initial units of the newStrategic Air Command. The unit, however was inactivated on 4 August due to personnel shortages and funding reductions in the immediate postwar Air Force. The equipment and remaining personnel were reassigned to other SAC units, primarily the301st Bombardment Group atSmoky Hill Army Airfield,Kansas.
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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