88th Bombardment Group
B-17 Flying Fortress flown by the group
Active	1942–1944
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	heavy bomber training
Motto	Power to Shatter[1]
Insignia
88th Bombardment Group emblem[note 1][1]

The88th Bombardment Group is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. DuringWorld War II, thegroup served as a training unit forBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress units andaircrews. It was inactivated in May 1944, when theArmy Air Forces reorganized its training units, replacing units like the 88th that were organized under rigidtables of organization.

The88th Bombardment Group was activated in July 1942 atSalt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah. However, it existed only on paper until September 1942, when it was organized atGeiger Field, Washington, with the316th,317th,318th and399th Bombardment Squadrons as its operational components.^{[2][3][4][5][note 2]}

Thegroup soon moved toWalla Walla Army Air Base, Washington, where it equipped withBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and initially acted as anOperational Training Unit (OTU).^[1] The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to providecadres to "satellite groups"^[6] However, within a month of organization it became aReplacement Training Unit. RTUs were also oversized units, but had a mission to train individualpilots oraircrews.^[6] In late 1943,Second Air Force, which had been conducting nearly all of theArmy Air Force (AAF)'sheavy bomber training, began to concentrate onBoeing B-29 Superfortress training. The group moved toAvon Park Army Air Field, Florida in November, becoming part ofThird Air Force.^[1]

However, the AAF was finding that standard military units like the 88th Group, whose equipment and manning were based on relatively inflexibletables of organization were not well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.^[7] As a result, the group and supporting units at Avon Park were inactivated on 1 May 1944,^[1] and replaced by the 325th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training, Bombardment, Heavy).^[8][9]

• Constituted as the88th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 January 1942

Activated on 15 July 1942

Inactivated on 1 May 1944^[1]

• II Bomber Command, 15 July 1942 (attached to 17th Bombardment Wing (later 17th Bombardment Training Wing,17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing) after c. 1 November 1942)^[10]
• Second Air Force, 6 October 1943 (attached to 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing)^[10]
• III Bomber Command, c. 9 November 1943 – 1 May 1944

• 316th Bombardment Squadron: 15 July 1942 – 1 May 1944^[2]
• 317th Bombardment Squadron: 15 July 1942 – 1 May 1944^[3]
• 318th Bombardment Squadron: 15 July 1942 – 1 May 1944^[4]
• 399th Bombardment Squadron: 15 July 1942 – 1 May 1944^[5]

• Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah, 15 July 1942
• Geiger Field, Washington, 1 September 1942
• Walla Walla Army Air Base, Washington, 21 September 1942
• Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, c. 28 October 1942
• Walla Walla Army Air Base, Washington, c. 28 November 1942
• Avon Park Army Air Field, Florida, c. 9 November 1943 – 1 May 1944^[1]

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942-1944

Campaign Streamer	Campaign	Dates	Notes
	American Theater without inscription	15 July 1942 – 1 May 1944	[1]

Explanatory notes

Citations

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

• Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L., eds. (1955).The Army Air Forces in World War II(PDF). Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.LCCN 48003657.OCLC 704158. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved17 December 2016.

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.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. 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. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved17 December 2016.

• Military units and formations established in 1942
• Bombardment groups of the United States Army Air Forces

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