| 304th Air Division | |
|---|---|
 WingB-24 Liberator showing wing diamond on the tail[a] | |
| Active | 1943–1945; 1947–1949 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Command ofbombardment units |
| Engagements | Mediterranean Theater of Operations |
| Commanders | |
| Col John K. Brown Jr. | c. 29 December 1943 |
| Brig Gen Fay R. Upthegrove | 27 January 1944 |
| Lt Col William R. Boutz[b] | 5 July 1945-1945 |
| Insignia | |
| World War II tail and horizontal stabilizer marking[1] | Diamond (white on camouflaged aircraft, black on unpainted aircraft) |
The304th Air Division is an inactiveUnited States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was withFourth Air Force atLong Beach Airport, California, where it was inactivated in June 1949.
The division was initially activated as the304th Bombardment Wing atCerignola Airfield, Italy in December 1943. It was assigned fourConsolidated B-24 Liberator bombardment groups the following month and conductedstrategic bombing from bases in Italy against Germany and occupied Europe. Thewing's groups were occasionally diverted tointerdiction targets to support ground operations. AfterVE Day, the wing returned to the United States and was inactivated. It was activated as a reserve unit in 1947.
The personnel that would form thecadre for the wing were assembled in early December 1943 atTopeka Army Air Field, Kansas for shipment overseas.[2] Upon their arrival in Italy, the304th Bombardment Wing was activated at Cerignola Airfield, Italy in late December, although its personnel were located withFifteenth Air Force atBari at the time and did not arrive at thewing's permanent station until 4 January 1944.[3] It was assigned its first combat units in late January, although not all of them were in place until February,[4] and none had combat experience.[5][6][7] Thewing and itsgroups were located at various bases in theFoggia Airfield Complex inApulia.[8] The wing's first combat mission, against an airfield nearOrvieto, was flown in February.[3]
The 304th's primary mission was thestrategic bombardment of enemy occupied Europe. Targets includedharbors,marshalling yards,airfields, bridges, industrial areas, and troop concentrations in Italy, Austria, Germany, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Greece. In May 1944, some subordinate units began an intensive bombing campaign against enemy oil resources, which includedrefineries atPloiești, Romania, and oil and storage plants in Austria, Germany, and Hungary.[8]
The wing's groups were occasionally assignedinterdiction missions. These included theBattle of Anzio in the spring of 1944;[6] the subsequentBattle of Monte Cassino and the drive toRome;[4][6]Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France in July and August 1944;[4][5] and the advance against German troops in northern Italy.[8] Attacks in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria were made to weaken German forces opposing the Soviet advance in Eastern Europe. These attacks also had the strategic objective of causing theseAxis nations to withdraw from the war.[9]
The wing flew its last combat mission in April 1945. FollowingVE Day, The wing began carrying food and other supplies to airfields nearUdine.[10] In June the wing concentrated on preparing its personnel and equipment for return to the United States. By the end of the month, most planes and crews had departed Italy, and all but one of the wing's groups returned to the United States by July 1945, while only three or four planes remained behind in Italy.[4][5][7][11][12] The wingheadquarters returned in September and was inactivated at the port of embarkation.[8]
The 304th was reactivated as a reserve unit underAir Defense Command atLong Beach Municipal Airport, California in April 1947 and assigned two reserve bombardment groups, which were activated at Long Beach the same day. The two groups were designated as very heavy groups and nominally wereBoeing B-29 Superfortress units.[8][13] However, it does not appear that the groups were equipped during that period.[14]
In 1948Continental Air Command assumed the responsibility for managing reserve andAir National Guard units.[15] As the regular Air Force reorganized under thewing base organization, wings became single base organizations including both support and operational units. The 304th, which commanded two operational units was, therefore, renamed the304th Air Division.[8]
PresidentTruman's reduced 1949 defense budget also required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force,[16] The Division was inactivated on 29 June 1949[8] and most of its personnel transferred to the448th and452d Bombardment Wings, which were activated the same day as light bomber units.[17]
Groups
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Naples-Foggia | 29 December 1943 – 21 January 1944 | 304th Bombardment Wing[8] |
| Rome-Arno | 22 January 1944 – 9 September 1944 | 304th Bombardment Wing[8] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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