The 445th also earned the French Croix de Guerre with Palm for its operations supporting the liberation of France.

The following year, the group moved to March Air Reserve Base, California when Norton AFB closed.

[1] The 445th Bombardment Group was activated 1 April 1943 at Gowen Field in Idaho, where initial organization took place while key personnel traveled to Orlando AAB, Florida for training with the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics.

[6][7] Both elements met at Wendover Army Air Field, Utah on 8 June 1943, where initial training with the Consolidated B-24 Liberator took place.

While the group was at Wendover, it was joined by actor Jimmy Stewart as the operations officer, then the commander of the 703d Bombardment Squadron.

The group moved to Sioux City Army Air Base, Iowa in July 1943 to complete training.

In September the group began to receive B-24H aircraft, the model of the Liberator they would fly in combat.

[8] Upon arrival in England, the group was assigned to the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing and stationed at RAF Tibenham in East Anglia.

[11] The unit operated primarily as a strategic bombardment organization until the war ended, striking such targets as industries in Osnabrück, synthetic oil plants in Lutzendorf, chemical works in Ludwigshafen, marshalling yards at Hamm, an airfield at Munich, an ammunition plant at Duneberg, underground oil storage facilities at Ehmen, and factories at Münster.

[12] This was the longest running, continuous air battle of World War II – some two and a half hours of fighter attacks and flak en route and leaving the target area.

The unit attacked shore installations on D-Day, 6 June 1944 with 81 sorties[14] and supported ground forces at Saint-Lô by striking enemy defenses in July 1944.

It was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palm by the French government for operations in the theater from December 1943 to February 1945[7] supplying the resistance.

After the bomb run, the group was alone in the skies and was attacked from the rear by an estimated 150 Luftwaffe planes, resulting in the most concentrated air battle in history.

Only four 445th planes made it back to the base – two crashing in France, one in Belgium, another at RAF Old Buckenham.

[6] The group was inactivated in June 1949[7] when Continental Air Command reorganized to the wing base organizational model.

In 1955 the group moved a few miles to Niagara Falls Municipal Airport and converted to the Republic F-84 Thunderjet.

As a result, the 445th redesignated as the 445th Troop Carrier Group in September and its remaining squadron began training in Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar aircraft.

The following year both wings and their subordinate elements moved to March Air Reserve Base, California as Norton AFB closed.

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