The 474th Fighter Group was constituted on 26 May 1943 and activated on 1 August 1943 at Glendale Airport, California,[1] flying Lockheed P-38 Lightnings.

[2][3] 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 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.

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 support included bomber escort missions and ground attacks on enemy transportation at Malmedy, St. Vith, and Schleiden.

The award of the Distinguished Unit Citation was for a mission on 23 August 1944 in which, as part of a joint ground effort, they attacked retreating German forces in the Falaise-Argentan area.

The targets of these attacks included an immense quantity of enemy equipment massed and trapped along the Seine River and, despite heavy anti-aircraft fire defending the bridges and covering the German retreat, the P-38s repeatedly bombed and strafed enemy motor transports, barges, bridges, and other objectives.

[6][7] From Kunsan the Group entered combat in August 1952 and bombed and strafed bridges, bunkers, troop concentrations, artillery positions, and a host of other targets.

On 16 March 1953 Far East Air Forces put into effect a new concept of a fighter-bomber wing (reinforced) to ease maintenance and support problems.

Lt. Gen. Roger M. Ramey, Fifth Air Force Commander, presented the 474th Fighter-Bomber Group with the Distinguished Unit Citation, 1 Dec 1952 – 30 Apr 1953.

[8][9] The group moved to the US, November–December 1954,[1] and became operational training unit for F-100 aircraft for the 312th Fighter-Bomber Wing at Clovis Air Force Base, New Mexico.