| 395th Bombardment Group | |
|---|---|
 B-17 Flying Fortress as flown by the group | |
| Active | 1943–1944 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Combat Crew Training |
| Engagements | American Theater of World War II[1] |
The395th Bombardment Group is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was part ofSecond Air Force, serving as aheavy bomber training unit from February 1943 until it was inactivated on 1 April 1944 in a reorganization ofArmy Air Forces training units..
The395th Bombardment Group was organized atEphrata Army Air Base, Washington on 16 February 1943.[1] The group drew its originalcadre from the34th Bombardment Group.[2] Its original components were the 588th, 589th, 590th and 591st Bombardment Squadrons.[1][3][4] Thegroup served as anOperational Training Unit (OTU) forBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress units preparing for overseas deployment. The OTU program was patterned after the unit training system of theRoyal Air Force. It involved the use of an oversized parent unit to providecadres to "satellite groups"[5] The parent unt then assumed responsibility for their training and oversaw their expansion with graduates ofArmy Air Forces Training Command schools to become effective combat units.[6][7] The398th,401st and447th Bombardment Groups were formed at Ephrata during the group's period as an OTU there.[8] A detachment of the group, referred to as the 395th Heavy Bombardment Crew Detachment, conducted Phase I training, acting, in effect, as a fifth squadron of the group.[9] Phase I training concentrated on individual training increwmember specialties.[10] The 589th and 590th Squadrons conducted Phase II training, each being organized as a provisional group for this purpose.[9] This phase emphasized the coordination for the crew to act as a team. The final phase (Phase III) concentrated on operation as a unit.[10]
In late September 1943, the483d Bombardment Group was formed at Ephrata. The cadre for this group was provided by the21st Antisubmarine Squadron, which moved from the Gulf Coast when theNavy took overantisubmarine warfare operations from theArmy Air Forces.[11] While the 483d Group was organizing, the 21st Squadron was attached to the 395th Group.[9]
In October 1943, the group and itssquadrons moved toArdmore Army Air Field, Oklahoma, where its mission changed to acting as aReplacement Training Unit (RTU).[1] Like OTUs, RTUs were oversized units, but their mission was to train individualpilots or aircrews.[5] By this time most of the AAF's combat units had been activated and almost three quarters of them had deployed overseas. With the exception of special programs, like formingBoeing B-29 Superfortress units, training “fillers” for existing units became more important than unit training.[12] However, the AAF found that standard military units like the 395th Group, based on relatively inflexibletables of organization were not proving well adapted to the training mission, particularly the training of replacements. Accordingly, the AAF adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[13] The group was inactivated on 1 April 1944,[1] along with its components and support elements at Ardmore, and replaced by the 222d AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training Station, Bombardment, Heavy).
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
.png) | American Theater without inscription | 16 February 1943 – 1 April 1944 | [1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
