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447th Air Expeditionary Group

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447th Air Expeditionary Group
A KC-135 lands at Incirlik Air Base on 2 July 2016.
Active1943–1945; 1947–1951; 2003–c. 2011; c. 2015–present
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Garrison/HQIncirlik Air Base, Turkey
Nickname(s)The Ramblers
Motto(s)Fiat justitia ruat coelum – Let justice be done though the heavens fall
EngagementsEuropean Theater of World War II Iraq Campaign
DecorationsAir Force Meritorious Unit Award
Commanders
Current
commander		Col David C. Trucksa
Notable
commanders		Hunter Harris, Jr.[1]
Insignia
447th Air Expeditionary Group emblem
447th Air Expeditionary Group heritage emblem based on unofficial World War II emblem[2]
World War II Tail Marking[2]Square K

The 447th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command (ACC) and United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE). The unit is currently stationed at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

The group was first active during World War II as the 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy). It participated in combat in the European Theater of Operations with B-17 Flying Fortress at RAF Rattlesden as part of Eighth Air Force. During Big Week, 20–25 February 1944, the 447th took part in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry.

2d Lieutenant Robert E. Femoyer, of the 711th Bombardment Squadron, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during a mission over Merseburg, Germany, on 2 November 1944. The group returned to the United States following the war and was inactivated.

The group was activated again in 1947 in the Air Force Reserve. It moved to Castle Air Force Base, California in 1949, where it became a corollary unit of the active duty 93d Bombardment Group. It was called to active service in 1951 and was inactivated shortly thereafter while its members were used as fillers for other units.

In 2003, as the 447th Air Expeditionary Group, the unit was converted to provisional status and assigned to Air Combat Command to activate as needed. From April 2003 to December 2011, the group served at Sather Air Base, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

History

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World War II

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Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress 42-97392 711th BS, 'Ramblin Wreck' (IR-F)
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress 42–32081, 708th BS 'Yellow Cab' Hit by flak and crashed into the North Sea killing all nine on board.

Training in the United States

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The group was first activated on 1 May 1943 at Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington as the 447th Bombardment Group.[1] The group's original squadrons were the 708th,[3] 709th,[4] 710th[5] and 711th Bombardment Squadrons.[1][6]

The original mission of the 447th was to be an operational training unit.[7] However, by the time the group had reached full strength in October it had been identified for overseas deployment and its key personnel were assigned to the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics at Orlando Army Air Base, Florida for advanced tactical training. The cadre trained at Brooksville Army Air Field with the 1st Bombardment Squadron, engaging in simulated attacks against Mobile, Charleston and New Orleans. The squadron then trained at Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota with the 17th Bombardment Training Wing. In June 1943 the group moved to Harvard Army Air Field, Nebraska for Phase I training. The group lost three planes during training, two due to a mid-air collision in August 1943, and one to adverse weather in October.[8]

The first 42 of the group's B-17s began to move from the United States to the European theater of operations in November 1943. The unit sailed on the RMS Queen Elizabeth on 23 November 1943 and arrived at the Firth of Clyde on 29 November 1943.[9] The air echelon moved overseas via southern ferry route in early November 1943.

Combat in the European Theater

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The group was stationed at RAF Rattlesden, England from 25 November 1943 to 1 August 1945. The group flew its first combat mission on 24 December 1943 against a V-1 missile site near Saint-Omer in northern France.[10] Until May 1944 the 447th helped prepare for the invasion of the European continent by attacking submarine pens, naval installations, and cities in Germany; missile sites and ports in France; and airfields and marshaling yards in France, Belgium and Germany.[11] The group conducted heavy bombardment missions against German aircraft industry during Big Week, 20 to 25 February 1944.[1] The group lost 21 B-17s during April 1944. Only the 100th Bombardment Group lost more bombers in a single month.[12] Heavy losses continued the following month. In an attack on Zwickau the composite wing in which the group was flying was attacked by over 200 Luftwaffe fighters, and the 447th lost seven Forts.[13]

The group supported the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 by bombing airfields and other targets.[1] On D-Day the group bombed the beachhead area using pathfinder aircraft.[14]

The group aided in the breakthrough at St. Lo, France, and the effort to take Brest, France, from July to September 1944.[1] It bombed strategic targets from October to December 1944, concentrating on sources of oil production.[1] It assaulted marshalling yards, railroad bridges and communication centers during the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 to January 1945.[1] In March 1945 the group bombed an airfield in support of airborne assault across the Rhine.

On 2 November 1944, 2d Lieutenant Robert E. Femoyer, a navigator with the group, was flying a mission to Merseburg, Germany. His B-17 was damaged by flak and Lt. Femoyer was severely injured in his back and side. He refused morphine to relieve the pain of his injuries in order to keep his mind alert to navigate the plane out of the danger from heavily defended flak areas and then to a place of safety for his crew. Because he was too weak to climb back in his seat, he asked other crew members to prop him up so he could read his charts and instruments. For more than two hours he directed the navigation of his plane back to its home station with no further damage. Shortly after being removed from his plane, Lt. Femoyer died of his injuries.[1][15]

The group flew its last combat mission on 21 April 1945 against a marshalling yard at Ingolstadt, Germany.[16] Two days earlier, it lost a B-17 to an attack by a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. The six bombers lost by Eighth Air Force that day were its last losses of the war.[17]

From 24 December 1943 to 21 April 1945 the group flew 258 combat missions; for a total of 8086 sorties, of which 6867 attacked their targets. Overall, the 447th dropped a total of 112,828 bombs, weighing 17,099 tons, on enemy targets during World War II.[18] One of the group's planes, named "Milk Wagon" flew 129 missions without turning back,[note 1] a record for the 3d Air Division.[9]

The group redeployed to the United States during the summer 1945. The air echelon ferried their aircraft and personnel back to the United States, leaving on 29 and 30 June 1945. The group ground echelon, along with the 708th and 710th squadrons sailed on the SS Joseph T. Robinson on 1 August 1945, while the 709th and 711th squadrons departed on 3 August 1945 on the SS Benjamin R. Milam from Liverpool. Most personnel were discharged at Camp Myles Standish after arrival at the port of Boston. A small cadre proceeded to Drew Field, Florida[19] and the group inactivated on 7 November 1945.[1]

Reserves and Korean War

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Two years later, on 25 July 1947, the 447th was redesignated the 447th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy. It was activated in the Air Force Reserve on 12 August 1947, at Bergstrom Field Texas, and equipped with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. The group was redesignated as the 447th Bombardment Group, Medium when the B-29 was classified as a medium bomber and reassigned to Castle Air Force Base, California,[1] where it became a corollary unit of the active duty 93d Bombardment Group. The 447th was ordered to active service in May 1951 as a result of the Korean War, with personnel and equipment reassigned to other units. It was inactivated as a "paper unit" on 16 June 1951.[1]

Expeditionary service in Iraq

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Lockheed C-130H Hercules 74-1667 of the 317th Airlift Group being unloaded despite a dust storm at Sather Air Base

The group was redesignated the 447th Air Expeditionary Group and converted to provisional status on 28 January 2003.[11] The 447th was activated at Baghdad International Airport in April 2003, after elements of the 3rd Infantry Division captured the airport 4 April of the same year. The base was named Sather Air Base on 8 April 2005 in honor of Air Force Staff Sergeant Scott D. Sather, who was killed two years prior in combat during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[20] As of 2008, Sather was one of the busiest airports in Iraq, leading in number of passengers handled, and placing second in the amount of cargo.[11]

The group provided aerial port, military runway control, aerial control, base operating support, combat airmen and combat medical support. The group also supported United States and Coalition forces with airlift, supplies and delivery of forces and materials within the Baghdad area. Air Force aerial port airmen worked next to United States Army soldiers. The airfield was a joint civilian-military airport, with a military ramp on the west side and a civilian runway and terminal on the other used for international civil flights.[11]

Expeditionary service in Turkey

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The 447 AEG was reactivated on 18 December 2015 at Incirlik Air Base with a complement of Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (A-10Cs) and KC-135R aerial refueling aircraft as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. The group was reactivated as part of the U.S. and allied efforts to take back territory in Iraq and Syria from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Lineage

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  • Constituted as 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 6 April 1943
Activated on 1 May 1943
Inactivated on 7 November 1945.
  • Redesignated 447th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy and activated in the reserve on 12 August 1947
Redesignated 447th Bombardment Group, Medium on 27 June 1949
Ordered to active duty on 1 May 1951
Inactivated on 16 June 1951[1]
  • Redesignated 447th Air Expeditionary Group and converted to provisional status on 28 January 2003[11]
Activated in April 2003[21]
Inactivated c. 19 December 2011
Activated 18 December 2015

Assignments

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332d Air Expeditionary Wing, April 2003 – April 2010[21]
321st Air Expeditionary Wing, c. 28 April 2010 – c. 19 December 2011[21]
332d Air Expeditionary Wing, 18 December 2015 – Present[26]

Components

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Bombardment Squadrons

  • 708th Bombardment Squadron: 1 May 1943 – 7 November 1945; 12 August 1947 – 15 June 1951[3]
  • 709th Bombardment Squadron: 1 May 1943 – 7 November 1945; 10 November 1947 – 27 June 1949[4]
  • 710th Bombardment Squadron: 1 May 1943 – 7 November 1945[5]
  • 711th Bombardment Squadron: 1 May 1943 – 7 November 1945[6]

Support Squadrons

Stations

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Aircraft

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Awards and campaigns

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Award streamer Award Dates Notes
Air Force Meritorious Unit Award 10 September 2003–30 April 2004 447th Air Expeditionary Group[28]
Air Force Meritorious Unit Award 1 May 2004–30 April 2005 447th Air Expeditionary Group[28]
Air Force Meritorious Unit Award 1 June 2009–31 May 2010 447th Air Expeditionary Group[28]
Air Force Meritorious Unit Award 1 June 2011–19 December 2011 447th Air Expeditionary Group[28]
Air Force Meritorious Unit Award 20 November 2015-2 May 2016 447th Air Expeditionary Group[28]
Campaign Streamer Campaign Dates Notes
American Theater 1 May 1943 – 11 November 1943 447th Bombardment Group[1]
Air Offensive, Europe 29 November 1943 – 5 June 1944 447th Bombardment Group[1]
Normandy 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 447th Bombardment Group[1]
Northern France 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 447th Bombardment Group[1]
Rhineland 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 447th Bombardment Group[1]
Ardennes-Alsace 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 447th Bombardment Group[1]
Central Europe 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 447th Bombardment Group[1]
Liberation of Iraq April 2003-1 May 2003 447th Air Expeditionary Group
Transition of Iraq 2 May 2003 -28 June 2004 447th Air Expeditionary Group
Iraqi Governance 29 June 2004 – 15 December 2005 447th Air Expeditionary Group
National Resolution 16 December 2005 – 9 January 2007 447th Air Expeditionary Group
Iraqi Surge 10 January 2007 – 31 December 2008 447th Air Expeditionary Group
Iraqi Sovereignty 1 January 2009 – 31 August 2010 447th Air Expeditionary Group
New Dawn 1 September 2010-c. 19 December 2011 447th Air Expeditionary Group

See also

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List of B-29 units of the United States Air Force

References

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Notes
  1. ^ The crew of "Milk Wagon" marked missions by painting milk bottles on the aircraft nose, rather than the traditional bombs. Freeman, p. 232
  2. ^ Exact dates of squadron activations and inactivations, if different than the group, have not been publicly disclosed
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 321–322
  2. ^ a b Watkins, pp. 92–93
  3. ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 711
  4. ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 711–712
  5. ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 712
  6. ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 712–713
  7. ^ Surridge & Dooley, p. 18
  8. ^ a b Surridge & Dooley, pp. 19–21
  9. ^ a b Freeman, p. 257
  10. ^ "Abstract, History 447 Bombardment Group May 1943 – Apr 1944". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  11. ^ a b c d e f "447th Air Expeditionary Group". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  12. ^ Freeman, p. 139
  13. ^ Freeman, p. 142
  14. ^ "Abstract, History 447 Bombardment Group Mar–Jun 1944". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  15. ^ Freeman, p. 180
  16. ^ "Abstract, History 447 Bombardment Group Apr 1945". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  17. ^ Freeman, p. 228
  18. ^ Surridge, Estley (1946). "Pictorial History of the 447th Bombardment Group (H)". Regimental Histories: 34.
  19. ^ Surridge & Dooley, pp. 214–215
  20. ^ "447th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs". Al Bawaba News. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  21. ^ a b c Summers, Jr., Sr Amn Eric (27 April 2010). "447th Transition of Authority". 447th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  22. ^ Maurer, Combat Units, p. 376
  23. ^ Maurer, Combat Units, p. 383
  24. ^ Maurer, Combat Units, p. 414
  25. ^ Ravenstein, p. 130
  26. ^ "U.S. footprint expands at Turkey's Incirlik Air Base". Air Force Times. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  27. ^ Station number in Anderson
  28. ^ a b c d e "Air Force Recognition Programs". Air Force Personnel Center. Retrieved 18 January 2014.

Bibliography

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Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

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