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474th Air Expeditionary Group
The 474th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. It may be activated or inactivated at any time.
Its World War II predecessor unit, the 474th Fighter Group, was a Ninth Air Force combat unit of the Army Air Corps which fought in the European Theater. First deployed to England, it provided tactical air support in support of U.S. First Army until V-E Day.
The 474th Fighter Group was constituted on 26 May 1943 and activated on 1 August 1943 at Glendale Airport, California, flying Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. Its component fighter squadrons were the 428th, 429th, and 430th Fighter Squadrons. For the next several months the group trained for combat with the P-38s. The Group moved to England in February–March 1944 where it became part of Ninth Air Force. The 474th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 70th Fighter Wing, IX Tactical Air Command. The 474th P-38s provided bomber escort but the primary mission was ground attack.
The grass airfield and sandy soil at RAF Warmwell was considered suitable to support the 80 aircraft of a fighter group without metal tracking support. The personnel of the 474th Fighter Group arrived on 12 March from Oxnard Flight Strip, California with their Lightnings. Probably because they detrained at Moreton railway station, the group often referred to RAF Warmwell as Moreton. The 474th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 70th Fighter Wing, IX Tactical Air Command. Squadron markings on the vertical tail surfaces were a square and "F5" for the 428th with call sign "Geyser", a triangle and "Y7" for the 429th with call sign "Retail", and a circle and "K6" for the 430th with call sign "Back Door". The 474th FG was the only one of the three Ninth Air Force groups equipped with the P-38 in England that had trained with the type in the United States.
The 474th carried out its first mission on 25 April with a sweep along the French coast. The P-38's ability to carry two 1,000 lb bombs with ease, and its heavy nose-mounted armament, made it an excellent ground attack aircraft, although it appeared to be far more vulnerable to light anti-aircraft and small arms fire than the redoubtable P-47. During 15 weeks of operations from Warmwell, 27 P-38s were missing in action, all but five known or suspected lost due to ground fire. Three of these were lost to a 'bounce' by Fw 190s while escorting B-26s on 7 May.
On the night of 5/6 June, the group flew patrols over the invasion fleet and the two aircraft lost are believed to have collided. On the credit side, during an armed reconnaissance on 18 July, a 474th formation led by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Darling surprised a force of bomb-carrying Focke-Wulf Fw 190s and shot down 10 Luftwaffe aircraft with the loss of only one P-38. The Group attacked bridges and railroads in France in preparation for the Normandy invasion, provided air cover for the invasion force, and flew bombing missions in support of the landings on 5–6 June.
German records state that, on 6 July, the 474th P-38s attacked a German strong-point and inflicted such damage that the Germans were unable to offer effective resistance when attacked. Subsequently, the Group's P-38s attacked roads and troops in support of the Allied breakthrough at St. Lo on 25 July.
The 474th was the last of the Ninth Air Force's 18 fighter groups to move to an Advanced Landing Ground in France, departing from Warmwell for Saint-Lambert Airfield during the first week of August 1944, the main body of aircraft departing on 6 August. The last mission from Warmwell, the group's 108th, was flown on the previous day.
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474th Air Expeditionary Group
The 474th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. It may be activated or inactivated at any time.
Its World War II predecessor unit, the 474th Fighter Group, was a Ninth Air Force combat unit of the Army Air Corps which fought in the European Theater. First deployed to England, it provided tactical air support in support of U.S. First Army until V-E Day.
The 474th Fighter Group was constituted on 26 May 1943 and activated on 1 August 1943 at Glendale Airport, California, flying Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. Its component fighter squadrons were the 428th, 429th, and 430th Fighter Squadrons. For the next several months the group trained for combat with the P-38s. The Group moved to England in February–March 1944 where it became part of Ninth Air Force. The 474th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 70th Fighter Wing, IX Tactical Air Command. The 474th P-38s provided bomber escort but the primary mission was ground attack.
The grass airfield and sandy soil at RAF Warmwell was considered suitable to support the 80 aircraft of a fighter group without metal tracking support. The personnel of the 474th Fighter Group arrived on 12 March from Oxnard Flight Strip, California with their Lightnings. Probably because they detrained at Moreton railway station, the group often referred to RAF Warmwell as Moreton. The 474th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 70th Fighter Wing, IX Tactical Air Command. Squadron markings on the vertical tail surfaces were a square and "F5" for the 428th with call sign "Geyser", a triangle and "Y7" for the 429th with call sign "Retail", and a circle and "K6" for the 430th with call sign "Back Door". The 474th FG was the only one of the three Ninth Air Force groups equipped with the P-38 in England that had trained with the type in the United States.
The 474th carried out its first mission on 25 April with a sweep along the French coast. The P-38's ability to carry two 1,000 lb bombs with ease, and its heavy nose-mounted armament, made it an excellent ground attack aircraft, although it appeared to be far more vulnerable to light anti-aircraft and small arms fire than the redoubtable P-47. During 15 weeks of operations from Warmwell, 27 P-38s were missing in action, all but five known or suspected lost due to ground fire. Three of these were lost to a 'bounce' by Fw 190s while escorting B-26s on 7 May.
On the night of 5/6 June, the group flew patrols over the invasion fleet and the two aircraft lost are believed to have collided. On the credit side, during an armed reconnaissance on 18 July, a 474th formation led by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Darling surprised a force of bomb-carrying Focke-Wulf Fw 190s and shot down 10 Luftwaffe aircraft with the loss of only one P-38. The Group attacked bridges and railroads in France in preparation for the Normandy invasion, provided air cover for the invasion force, and flew bombing missions in support of the landings on 5–6 June.
German records state that, on 6 July, the 474th P-38s attacked a German strong-point and inflicted such damage that the Germans were unable to offer effective resistance when attacked. Subsequently, the Group's P-38s attacked roads and troops in support of the Allied breakthrough at St. Lo on 25 July.
The 474th was the last of the Ninth Air Force's 18 fighter groups to move to an Advanced Landing Ground in France, departing from Warmwell for Saint-Lambert Airfield during the first week of August 1944, the main body of aircraft departing on 6 August. The last mission from Warmwell, the group's 108th, was flown on the previous day.