Army Air Forces in Europe

world war II

458th Bomber Group


8th Air Force 458th BG

Squadrons of the 458th BG

752nd Bombardment Squadron - Heavy
753rd Bombardment Squadron - Heavy
754th Bombardment Squadron -Heavy
755th Bombardment Squadron - Heavy

Assigned 8th AAF: January 1944

Wing/Command Assignment

2 BD, 96 CBW 11 Jan 1944
2 AD, 96 CBW 1 Jan 1945

Combat Aircraft:

B-24H
B-24J
B-24L
B-24M

Stations

HORSHAM ST. FAITHS: 29 January 1944 - 3 July 1945

Group COs

Col James H. Isbell 16 Dec. 1943 - 9 Mar. 1945.
Col Allen F. Herzberg 10 Mar. 1945 - 18 Jun. 1945.

First Mission: 24 Feb 1944
Last Mission: 25 Apr 1945
Missions: 240
Total Sorties: 5,759
Total Bomb Tonnage: 13,204 Tons
Aircraft MIA: 47

Major Awards:

None

Claims to Fame


Carried out operational test of Azon radio-controlled bomb for OAF.

Early History:

Activated on 1 July 1943 at Wendover Field, Utah. Assembly began at Gowen Field, Idaho, on 28 July 1943. The unit trained there until early September 1943 then moved to Kearns Field, Utah. On 31 October 1943 the unit moved to train at Tonopah AAFd, Nev. The ground unit moved to the port of embarkation on the 29th of December 1943. The aircraft flew to the UK via the southern ferry route. The ground unit sailed from New York on USS Florence Nightingale on the 18 January 1944.

Subsequent History:

Redeployed to the US in June 1945. The aircraft left Horsham St. Faiths on the 14 June 1945. The ground unit sailed on the Queen Mary from Greenock on the 6 July 1945, arriving in New York on the 11 July 1945. The group was established at Walker AAFd, Kansas on the 25 July 1945, and later at March Field, Ca. to train as a B-29 unit, but with end of war in Pacific, the Group was inactivated on the 17 October 1945.

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