The505th Bombardment Group is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was withThirteenth Air Force, stationed atClark Field,Philippines, where it was inactivated on 30 June 1946. After orgamnizing and training in the United states, thegroup served in thePacific Ocean theater of World War II as part ofTwentieth Air Force. The group'sBoeing B-29 Superfortress engaged in thestrategic bombing campaign against Japan from January through August 1945, earning twoDistinguished Unit Citations.

505th Bombardment Group
GroupB-29s atNorth Field, Tinian July 1945
Active	1944-1946
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Strategic bombardment
Engagements	Pacific Ocean Theater
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation
Insignia
Tail marking	K above a triangle (January – March 1945)[1]
Tail marking	W within a circle (April – September 1945)[1]

The505th Bombardment Group was activated atDalhart Army Air Field, Texas in March 1944 as aBoeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardmentgroup, drawing its initialcadre from the9th Bombardment Group.^[2] In moved toHarvard Army Air Field, Nebraska on 1 April, where the group began training withBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses on 1 July until B-29s became available.^[2][3] On 1 May 1944, the group reorganized from four squadrons of 7 airplanes into three squadrons of 10 planes each.^[4] The group trained for combat with B-29s until leaving Harvard on 6 November 1944.^[3]

The group's ground echelon sailed from theSeattle Port of Embarkation for the Pacific on 14 November. The air echelon staged throughHamilton Field andMather Field, California with its B-29s.^[2]

The group arrived at its combat station,North Field, Tinian in the Mariana Islands on 19 December 1944. Three days later, it began flying training missions, including an attack onMoen Airfield in January. It flew its first combat mission on 24 January 1945 against targets onIwo Jima and theTruk Islands.^[2] It began operations flying high altitude daylight missions, engaging in thestrategic bombing campaign against Japan. On 10 February, it flew a strike on theNakajima Aircraft Company factory atOta, for which it was awarded aDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC).^[3] Eighteen group B-29s bombed the target, but eight were lost, most to operational problems.^[2] However, The results of high altitude B-29 raids on Japan were disappointing. From 19 January, no mission had been able to bomb visually, and radar bombing results were unsatisfactory. Low altitude night area attacks with incendiaries promised better results forXXI Bomber Command. The switch in tactics began with the launch of a raid against the port and urban area of Tokyo on 9 March 1945.^[5][6]

The group conducted area raids with incendiaries until August 1945. During April 1945, the group was diverted from the strategic campaign against Japan to supportOperation Iceberg, the invasion ofOkinawa. It struckMiyazaki Airfield andKanoya Airfield,^[6] bases from whichkamikaze attacks were being launched. These bases were located onKyushu, only 300 miles from Okinawa. The attacks directly impacted kamikaze launches, but also forced the Japanese military to retainfighter aircraft to defend theJapanese Special Attack Units that otherwise might have been used to challengeair superiority over Okinawa.^[6][7][a]

The group also conductedaerial mining operations against Japanese shipping.^[3] It was the only group inXXI Bomber Command to carry out these missions, which began on 27 March.^[6] On 17 June, it concentrated its efforts on the mining campaign. It received a second DUC for mining theShimonoseki Strait and harbors in theInland Sea between 17 June and 1 July 1945.^[3][8] The group flew its last mission on the night of 14 and 15 August 1945.^[8] FollowingV-J Day its B-29s carried relief supplies to Alliedprisoner of war camps. It also flewshow of force flights and conductedbomb damage assessment flights over Japan. It moved toClark Field in the Philippines in March 1946, and was inactivated there on 15 June 1946.^[3]

• Constituted as the505th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy on 28 February 1944

Activated on 11 March 1944

Inactivated on 30 June 1946^[3]

• Second Air Force, 28 February – 6 November 1944 (attached to17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing, after c. 15 April 1944)^[9]
• 313th Bombardment Wing, 19 December 1944^[10]
• Thirteenth Air Force, 6 December 1945 – 30 June 1946^{[citation needed]}

• 482d Bombardment Squadron: 11 March 1944–30 June 1946^[3][11]
• 483d Bombardment Squadron: 11 March 1944–30 June 1946^[3][12]
• 484th Bombardment Squadron: 11 March 1944–30 June 1946^[3][13]
• 485th Bombardment Squadron: 11 March – 10 May 1944^[3][14]

• Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 11 March 1944
• Harvard Army Air Field, Nebraska, 1 April – 6 November 1944
• North Field, Tinian, Mariana Islands, 19 December 1944 – 5 March 1946
• Clark Field,Luzon, Philippines, 14 March – 30 June 1946^[3]

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1944
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1944–1946^[3]

Explanatory notes

Citations

  This article incorporatespublic domain material from theAir Force Historical Research Agency

• Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1953).The Army Air Forces in World War II(PDF). Vol. V, The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.LCCN 48003657.OCLC 704158. Retrieved17 December 2016.

Cate, James L.; Olson, James C. (1953). "Strategic Bombardment from Pacific Bases, Chapter 17, Precision Bombardment Campaign". In Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L. (eds.).The Army Air Forces in World War II(PDF). Vol. V, The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.LCCN 48003657.OCLC 704158. Retrieved17 December 2016.

Cate, James L.; Olson, James C. (1953). "Strategic Bombardment from Pacific Bases, Chapter 19, Urban Area Attacks". In Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L. (eds.).The Army Air Forces in World War II(PDF). Vol. V, The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.LCCN 48003657.OCLC 704158. Retrieved17 December 2016.

• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961].Air Force Combat Units of World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-02-1.LCCN 61060979. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969].Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-405-12194-6.LCCN 70605402.OCLC 72556. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• Watkins, Robert A. (2017).Insignia and Aircraft Markings of the U.S. Army Air Force In World War II. Vol. VI, China-Burma-India & The Western Pacific. Atglen,PA: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.ISBN 978-0-7643-5273-7.