| 338th Bombardment Group | |
|---|---|
 P-39 Airacobras of the 338th Fighter Group atDale Mabry Field in 1942 | |
| Active | 1942–1944; 1947–1949 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Motto | Ad Metam (Latin for 'To The Goal') |
| Insignia | |
| 338th Bombardment Group emblem[a][1] |  |
The338th Bombardment Group is a disbandedUnited States Air Force unit. It was last active withContinental Air Command atO'Hare International Airport, Illinois on 27 June 1949. It was first activated duringWorld War II as the338th Fighter Group and served primarily as aReplacement Training Unit until it was disbanded in 1944. The group was reconstituted in thereserves in 1947, but was inactivated when military spending was reduced in 1949.
Thegroup was activated as part ofIII Fighter Command atDale Mabry Field, Florida in July 1942.[1] The305th,306th, and312th Fighter Squadrons were assigned as its operational elements.[2][3][4] The group initially flew a mix ofBell P-39 Airacobras,Curtiss P-40 Warhawks,Republic P-47 Thunderbolts andNorth American P-51 Mustangs.[1]
The group's mission was to act as aReplacement Training Unit (RTU). RTUs were oversized units that trained individualpilots oraircrews following their graduation from flight school.[5] In February 1943, the group added a fourthsquadron, the441st Fighter Squadron.[6] After this squadron was operational, the group began a split operation, with groupheadquarters and the 305th and 306th Squadrons remaining at Dale Mabry Field, while the 312th and 441st Squadrons operated fromPerry Army Air Field, Florida.[1][2][3][4][6] After September 1943, the group focused on P-47 training,[1] although it also had some P-40s again in 1944.[6]
However, theArmy Air Forces was finding that standard military units, based on relatively inflexibletables of organization were not proving well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly it adopted a more functional system for its training bases in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[7]The group and its squadrons were disbanded in May 1944,[1] and its personnel, equipment and mission at Dale Mabry Field transferred to 335th Army Air Force Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter), while units at Perry were blended into the 342d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter).
The group was reconstituted in 1947 and activated in thereserves atOrchard Place Airport, Illinois on 12 June. It was assigned the561st562d and563d Bombardment Squadrons.[8][9][10] The560th Bombardment Squadron, which was already active at Orchard Park, however, was not assigned to the group until the end of September.[11] In October, the42d Fighter Squadron was activated and assigned to the group.[12] The group trained under the supervision ofAir Defense Command (ADC)'s 141st AAF Base Unit (Reserve Training) (later the 2471st Air Force Reserve Flying Training Center). As the post war Air Force took shape, theNational Guard was considered the first line of reserve. Reserve units got what was left over after National Guard units received facilities, equipment and aircraft.[13] Aircraft were allotted to reserve units as a means of maintaining flying proficiency, not combat readiness.[14] Aircraft assigned to the reserves were overwhelmingly trainers.[15]
In July 1948Continental Air Command (ConAC) assumed responsibility for managing reserve andAir National Guard units from ADC.[16] In September 1948, the group's 561st Squadron moved toGeneral Mitchell Field, Wisconsin, although it remained assigned to the group.[17] The 338th was inactivated when ConAC reorganized its reserve units under thewing base organization system in June 1949. PresidentTruman’s reduced 1949 defense budget also required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force,[18] The Air Force reorganized its operational reserve forces into 25 wings located at 23 reserve training centers, a reduction of 18 training centers.[19] At O'Hare, the 338th Group and its squadrons were inactivated, and most of its personnel transferred to the437th Troop Carrier Wing.[1][20] The 561st Squadron in Wisconsin was also inactivated, but its inactivation temporarily ended reserve flying operations there.[17][21]
| Service Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
.png) | American Theater without inscription | 22 July 1942 – 1 May 1944 | 338th Fighter Group[1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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