The highly decorated unit served primarily in the Mediterranean, African, and The Middle East Theater of World War II.

Joint STARS detects, locates, classifies, tracks and targets ground movements on the battlefield, communicating real-time information through secure data links with U.S.

It engaged chiefly in bombardment of communications, industries, and other strategic objectives in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Greece.

[3] The 461st BG conducted Oil Campaign of World War II operations against Brüx, Czechoslovakia; Blechhammer, Germany; and Moosbierbaum and Vienna in Austria.

The group aided Operation Grapeshot, the spring 1945 Allied offensive in Italy, by attacking gun emplacements and troop concentrations.

[3] After three years of service with the B-57s the group was inactivated at the beginning of 1958 as TAC prepared to transfer Blytheville to Strategic Air Command.