304th Bombardment Group
B-18 Bolo with aMAD tail boom for antisubmarine operations[a]
Active	1942–1942
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Antisubmarine warfare
Motto	Aquila non Captat Muscas (Latin for 'The Eagle Does Not Catch Flies')[1]
Engagements	Antisubmarine Campaign[1]
Insignia
304th Bombardment Group emblem[b][1]

The304th Bombardment Group is an inactiveUnited States Army Air Forces unit. It was activated as aheavy bomber unit in January 1942. In October, it moved toLangley Field, Virginia, from which it participated inantisubmarine warfare until it was inactivated on 30 December 1942.

Thegroup was activated atSalt Lake City Army Air Base in July 1942.^[1] It was assigned the361st,^[2]362d,^[3]363d,^[4] and421st Bombardment Squadrons^[5][c] In September, the group moved toGeiger Field, Washington, where it received personnel and began training.^[1]

In late October 1942, the group moved from the west coast toLangley Field, Virginia, where it beganantisubmarine warfare operations, usingBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress,Douglas B-18 Bolo,Consolidated B-24 Liberator andDouglas A-20 Havoc bombers to flypatrols along the east coast.^[1] The 304th also trained crews for antisubmarine patrol duty overseas.^[1] The 421st Squadron did not move with the group to Langley, but toSaint John's, Newfoundland, and was reassigned toNewfoundland Base Command in early November.^[5] In late November, the group's remainingsquadrons were redesignated as antisubmarine squadrons.^[2][3][4]

In the fall of 1942, theKriegsmarine began to equip itsU-boats with radar receivers capable of detecting theRoyal Air Force (RAF)'s long-wave radars used forair-to-surface-vessel radar (ASV). This enabled the subs to dive, avoiding detection while on the surface. RAF'sCoastal Command requested reinforcements from theArmy Air Forces in the form of B-24s equipped with ASV radar operating in themicrowave band. In response, the 361st Squadron's air echelon was dispatched toRAF St Eval, England on 10 November to support Coastal Command.^[6] On arrival in England, the 361st was attached toVIII Bomber Command for operations.^[2]

In November 1942,Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command organized its units into twowings, reflecting theNavy's desire that forces in a sea frontier be unified in a single command.^[7] In December the group was inactivated and its squadrons transferred to the25th Antisubmarine Wing, which commandedArmy Air Forces antisbmarine forces operating off the Atlantic coast.^[2][3][4][8]

• Constituted as the304th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 January 1942

Activated on 15 July 1942

Inactivated on 30 December 1942^[1]

• II Bomber Command, 15 July 1942
• Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, 29 October 1942 – 30 December 1942^[1]

• 361st Bombardment Squadron (later 1st Antisubmarine Squadron): 15 July 1942 – 30 December 1942 (air echelon attached to VIII Bomber Command, after 10 November 1942)^[2].^[6]
• 362d Bombardment Squadron (later 18th Antisubmarine Squadron): 15 July 1942 – 30 December 1942^[3]
• 363d Bombardment Squadron (later 19th Antisubmarine Squadron): 15 July 1942 – 30 December 1942^[4]
• 421st Bombardment Squadron: 15 July – 6 November 1942^[5]

• Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah, 15 July 1942
• Geiger Field, Washington, 15 September 1942
• Ephrata Army Air Field, Washington, 1 October 1942
• Langley Field, Virginia, 29 October – 30 December 1942^[1]

Campaign Streamer	Campaign	Dates	Notes
	Antisubmarine	29 October 1942–30 December 1942	[1]

• B-17 Flying Fortress units of the United States Army Air Forces
• B-24 Liberator units of the United States Army Air Forces

Explanatory notes

Citations

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Ferguson, Arthur B. (April 1945)."The AAF Antisubmarine Command, AF Historical Study No. 107"(PDF). Assistant Chief Air Staff, Intelligence. Retrieved17 February 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. Retrieved17 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. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• Warnock, Timothy."The Battle Against the U-Boat in the American Theater"(PDF). Bolling AFB, DC: Air Force History Support Office. Retrieved22 June 2015.

Further reading

• Schoenfeld, Max (1995).Stalking the U-Boat: USAAF Offensive Antisubmarine Operations in World War II. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.ISBN 978-1-56098-403-0.

• Military units and formations established in 1942
• Bombardment groups of the United States Army Air Forces
• Military units and formations in Washington (state)
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1942

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