34th Training Wing - World War II

World War II

Activated 15 January 1941 at Langley field, Virginia 391st Bomb Squadron originally designated 1RS Group equipped with B-17s and on completion of training moved to Westover Field in Massachusetts They took part in anti-submarine patrols on the eastern seaboard flying from Pendleton Field, Ore. from the end of January 1942 to mid May 1942. Group moved to Davis Monthan Field in Arizona and on 4 July 1942 to Geiger Field Washington, where it became a replacement training unit.

Prior to this many of the cadres were drawn from 34 Bomb Group to build new bomb groups destined for the 8th AF. On 15 December 1942 they moved to Blythe Army Air Base, California where it formed part of the 358th CCTS but reverted to an operational role 5 January 1944 to train B-24s for overseas duty. Air echelon began overseas movement on 31 May 1944, taking southern ferry route, from Florida Trinidad, Brazil, West Africa, Marrakesh to Valley. Ground echelon to port of embarkation on 1 April 1944.

The group moved to RAF Mendlesham England in April 1944 and entered combat on 23 May 1944. The 34th was assigned to the 93d Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Square-S".

The group flew both B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign. The 34th flew 170 operations from the station, the first sixty-two while flying B-24 Liberators and the remainder with B-17G Fortresses. The change-over was made during the summer of 1.944 when, in common with other groups assigned to the 93rd Combat Wing, the 3rd Division standardised on the Fortress. The group helped to prepare for the invasion of Normandy by bombing airfields in France and Germany, and supported the landing in June by attacking coastal defences and communications. Continued to take part in the campaign in France by supporting ground forces at Saint-Lô, 24–25 July, and by striking V-weapon sites, gun emplacements, and supply lines throughout the summer of 1944.

The group converted to B-17's in September 1944 and engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic objectives from October 1944 to February 1945. Targets included marshalling yards in Ludwigshafen, Hamm, Osnabrück, and Darmstadt; oil centres in Bielefeld, Merseburg, Hamburg, and Misburg; factories in Berlin, Dalteln, and Hanover; and airfields in Münster, Neumünster, and Frankfurt. During this period the group also supported ground forces during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 – January 1945. In March 1945, with few industrial targets remaining and with Allied armies advancing across Germany, the 34th turned almost solely to interdicting enemy communications and supporting Allied ground forces.

After V-E Day it carried food to flooded areas of Holland and transported prisoners of war from German camps to Allied centres. Redeployed to the US June/July 1945. First of the air echelon departed 19 June 1945. Ground echelon sailed Queen Elizabeth from Southhampton on 6 August 1945. Personnel had 30 days R and R. Group established Sioux Falls AAFd, South Dakota, and inactivated there on 28 August 1945.