World War II 461st Operations Group

461st bombardment group b-24 liberators attacking muhldorf marshalling yard germany, 11 march 1945

the group constituted in may 1943 b-24 liberator heavy bombardment group , activated on 1 july @ wendover field, utah. trained under ii bomber command @ several airfields in utah, idaho, , california, group elements undergoing combat simulation training @ army air force school of applied tactics in florida.

the 461st deployed mediterranean theater of operations (mto) in february 1944, air echelon flying b-24 s via south atlantic transport route, stopping in north africa before joining ground echelon in italy. assigned 49th bombardment wing of fifteenth air force @ torretto airfield, italy, in late february.

the group began combat operations in april, engaging in long range strategic bombardment operations of nazi germany , occupied europe. engaged chiefly in bombardment of communications, industries, , other strategic objectives in italy, france, germany, czechoslovakia, hungary, austria, romania, yugoslavia, , greece. supported fifteenth af s counter-air operations bombing enemy airdromes , aircraft centers, receiving distinguished unit citation (duc) mission on 13 april 1944 when group battled way through enemy defenses attack aircraft components plant in budapest. 461st bg conducted oil campaign of world war ii operations against brux, blechhammer, moosbierbaum, vienna, , ploiești; receiving second duc july 1944 bombing of ploiești despite flak, clouds, smoke, , fighters. operated in support of ground forces , flew interdictory missions.

it hit artillery positions in support of invasion of southern france in august 1944 , flew supply missions france in september. group aided allied offensive in italy in april 1945 attacking gun emplacements , troop concentrations. after german capitulation, 461st dropped supplies prisoner-of-war camps in austria during may 1945. during operations in mediterranean, group suffered 108 aircraft lost in combat, , credited destruction of 129 enemy aircraft. dropped on 13,000 tons of bombs in on 46,000 hours of combat flying.

the group alerted redeployment pacific theater in june 1945 , programmed heavy bomber training b-29 superfortresses. unit returned united states in july; many personnel being demobilized upon arrival. small cadre formed @ sioux falls army air field, south dakota , unit awaiting new personnel , aircraft when japanese capitulation ended pacific war in august. group inactivated on 18 august.