| Unit Name: | 457th Air Expeditionary Group |
| Dates: | 1943–1945; 1993–1994; 2003 |
| Role: | expeditionary operations |
| Command Structure: | United States Air Forces Europe |
| Nickname: | The Fireball Outfit[1] |
| Motto: | Fait Accompli French Mission Accomplished |
| Battles: | European Theater of Operations Operation Iraqi Freedom |
| Decorations: | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award wilth Combat "V" Device Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Identification Symbol Label: | 457th Air Expeditionary Group emblem |
| Identification Symbol 2 Label: | 457th Bombardment Group emblem |
| Identification Symbol 3: | Triangle with U |
| Identification Symbol 3 Label: | World War II Tail Code |
The United States Air Force's 457th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe to activate or inactivate as needed. It has been activated to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, joint operations with the Tanzania Air Force Command and for Operation Odyssey Dawn.
The group was activated during World War II as the 457th Bombardment Group. It flew Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress from England, entering the strategic bombing campaign during Big Week. It flew 7,086 sorties before returning to the United States for inactivation in the summer of 1945. It was again active from 1993 to 1994 as the 457th Operations Group, controlling Air Mobility Command's air refueling operations at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The 457th was converted to provisional status in 2001.
The 457th Bombardment Group was activated at Geiger Field, Washington on 1 July 1943 with the 748th, 749th, 750th and 751st Bombardment Squadrons assigned.[2] [3] It moved a week later to Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, where it began training with the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber and completed the first two phases of its training there. It completed its training at Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington, then moved to Wendover Field, Utah for final preparation for overseas movement.[4] It departed for the European Theater of Operations on New Years Day, 1944.[2]
The group assembled at its combat station, RAF Glatton by the end of the month. The air echelon had begun arriving at Glatton on 21 January.[4] The group flew its first mission during Big Week on 21 February 1944, as Eighth Air Force concentrated its attacks on Germany's aircraft manufacturing industry. It engaged primarily in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany, attacking ball bearing plants, oil refineries and aircraft factories until June 1944. In July 1944, the group returned to strategic targets, which remained its primary objectives through April 1945.[2] On 2 November 1944, the 457th and another group strayed from the main bomber stream and its fighter cover. Luftwaffe fighter controllers directed a geschwader of interceptors against the formation. Nine of the 457th Group's Flying Fortresses were lost to this attack.[5]
In June 1944, the group was diverted from its strategic mission to prepare for Operation Overlord, the invasion of France. On D Day, it attacked coastal defenses on the Cherbourg Peninsula. For the remainder of the month it was engaged in air interdiction, striking airfields, rail systems and roads and depots behind enemy lines. The group was also diverted to tactical targets for shorter periods. In July 1944, it supported Operation Cobra the breakout of ground forces at Saint Lo. During Operation Market Garden, the attempt to secure bridgeheads across the Rhine River in the Netherlands, it supported the British 1st Airborne Division. It provided similar support during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945, and Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.[2]
The group flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945. In fourteen months in combat, the group had flown 7086 sorties. It claimed the destruction of 33 enemy aircraft, but lost 83 Flying Fortresses. Following V-E Day, it transported prisoners of war from Austria to France.[2] The air echelon departed Glatton between 19 and 23 May, while the ground echelon sailed on the on 24 June, arriving at the New York Port of Emarkation five days later.[4] It assembled at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota in late July. It was inactivated there the following month.[2]
See main article: B-25 Empire State Building crash. On Saturday, 28 July 1945, Lieutenant Colonel William F. Smith lost his way while ferrying a 457th North American B-25 Mitchell bomber from Bedford Army Air Base to Sioux Falls via Newark Airport. Emerging from low cloud at about Smith found himself among the skyscrapers of Midtown Manhattan. His aircraft crashed headlong into the 79th floor level of the Empire State Building, killing Smith, two passengers and eleven office workers. The B-25 exploded on impact spraying burning fuel into 34th Street below, one of the engines completely passing through the building and out the other side.[6]
On 1 July 1993, Air Mobility Command (AMC) transferred its crew training mission at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma to Air Education and Training Command (AETC). Although the 97th Air Mobility Wing remained the host at Altus, it became an AETC wing. The two operational air refueling squadrons at Altus, the 11th and 306th Air Refueling Squadrons, and their Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers were transferred to the reactivated 457th Operations Group.[7] The 457th's squadrons deployed personnel and aircraft to Aviano Air Base, Italy, and Incirlik Air Base, Turkey to support Operation Northern and Operation Southern Watch duties as the lead tanker unit. The 11th Squadron was inactivated in August 1994, while the group and the 306th Squadron remained active until 1 October 1994.
The group was converted to provisional status as the 457th Air Expeditionary Group in February 2001 and assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe to activate or inactivate as needed.[8]
In the spring of 2003, the group was activated at RAF Fairford to support approximately a dozen Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses deployed from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, operating to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. While at Fairford, the bombers flew 120 sorties, both bombing and leaflet dropping.[9] On a sortie flown on 11 April 2003, a 457th crew deployed from the 917th Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana used the Litening II precision targeting pod system, which uses a laser designator to "paint" targets. Although the system had been used by other platforms, this was its first use in combat by a B-52[10] The bombers returned to North Dakota on 24 April, but elements of the group remained behind to secure materiel, including unexpended munitions.[9]
The group was activated for three months in 2008 at Dar es Salaam Tanzania. During this time, it had an air control squadron and an air base squadron assigned.[11] [12]
In 2011, the group was briefly active at Naval Station Rota, Spain to support Operation Odyssey Dawn, the enforcement of a no fly zone over Libya.[13]
Activated on 1 July 1943
Redesignated 457th Bombardment Group, Heavy c. 1944
Inactivated on 28 August 1945[14]
Inactivated on 1 October 1994
Inactivated c. 31 May 2003[15]
Inactivated 4 May 2008[12]
Inactivated c. April 2011[13]
16th Air Expeditionary Task Force, c. 1 February–c. 31 May 2003[15] [17]
Attached to Third Air Force, 30 January–4 May 2008[11] [12]
313th Air Expeditionary Wing, c. March–c. April 2011[13]
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Offensive, Europe | 28 January 1944 – 5 June 1944 | 457th Bombardment Group | ||
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 457th Bombardment Group | ||
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 457th Bombardment Group | ||
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 457th Bombardment Group | ||
| Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 457th Bombardment Group | ||
| Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 457th Bombardment Group |
New Edition as The Mighty Eighth: The Colour Record. London: Cassell & Co., 2001. .
