The418th Bombardment Group is the designation held by twoUnited States Army Air Forces advanced training units, briefly active duringWorld War II. The two groups were consolidated in 1958 and redesignated the418th Tactical Missile Wing in 1985, but the consolidated unit has never been active.
The first418th Bombardment Group was activated in August 1943 atLake Charles Army Air Field, Louisiana. It was apparently only minimally manned and never received aircraft before it was disbanded in September.[1]
The second418th Bombardment Group was activated in March 1944 atAlamogordo Army Airfield, New Mexico as aReplacement Training Unit forBoeing B-29 Superfortress aircrews. However, even as the unit was being activated, theArmy Air Forces (AAF) had determined that standard military units like the group, based on relatively inflexibletables of organization not well adapted to the training mission. The AAF had already determined to change to a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[2] The 418th was disbanded and bomber training activities at Alamogordo were assigned to the new 231st AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training Station, Bombardment, Heavy)[1][3]
TheUnited States Air Force consolidated the two groups in April 1958.[1] In 1985, the consolidated unit was redesignated the418th Tactical Missile Wing,[4] but has not been active since.
^abcDepartment of the Air Force/MPM Letter 648q, 31 July 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Organizations
Goss, William A. (1955). "The Organization and its Responsibilities, Chapter 2 The AAF". In Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L. (eds.).The Army Air Forces in World War II(PDF). Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.LCCN48003657.OCLC704158. Retrieved17 December 2016.
United States
United States Air Force
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.svg)
