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322nd Bombardment Group
| Constituted as 322nd Bombardment Group (Medium) on 19
Jun 1942. Activated on 17 Jul 1942. Trained with B-26 aircraft. Part of
the group moved overseas, Nov-Dec 1942; planes and crews followed, Mar-Apr 1943. Operated
with Eighth AF until assignment to Ninth in Oct 1943. Served in combat, May 1943-Apr 1945,
operating from England, France, and Belgium. Began combat on 14 May when it dispatched 12
planes for a minimum-level attack on a power plant in Holland. Sent 11 planes on a similar
mission three days later: one returned early; the others, with 60 crewmen, were lost to
flak and interceptors. Trained for medium-altitude operations for several weeks and
resumed combat on 17 Jul 1943. Received a DUC for the period 14 May 1943- 24 Jul 1944,
during which its combat performance helped to prove the effectiveness of the medium
bombers. Enemy airfields in France, Belgium, and Holland provided the principal targets
from Jul 1943 through Feb 1944, but the group also attacked power stations, shipyards,
construction works, marshalling yards, and other targets. Beginning in Mar the 322nd
bombed railroad and highway bridges, oil tanks, and missile sites in preparation for the
invasion of Normandy; on 6 Jun 1944 it hit coastal defenses and gun batteries; afterward,
during the Normandy campaign, it pounded fuel and ammunition dumps, bridges, and road
junctions. Supported the Allied offensive at Caen and the breakthrough at St Lo in Jul.
Aided the drive of Third Army across France in Aug and Sep. Bombed bridges, road
junctions, defended villages, and ordnance depots in the assault on the Siegfried Line,
Oct-Dec 1944. Flew a number of missions against railroad bridges during the Battle of the
Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945. Then concentrated on communications, marshalling yards, bridges,
and fuel dumps until its last mission on 24 Apr 1945. Moved to Germany in Jun 1945.
Engaged in inventorying and disassembling German Air Force equipment and facilities.
Returned to the US, Nov-Dec 1945. Inactivated on 15 Dec 1945. Redesignated 322nd Bombardment Group (Light). Allotted to the reserve. Activated on 9 Aug 1947. Inactivated on 27 Jun 1949· Redesignated 322nd Fighter-Day Group. Activated on 1 Jul 1954. Assigned to Tactical Air Command. Equipped first with F-86 and later with F-100 aircraft. Squadrons
Stations
Commanders
Campaigns
Decorations: Distinguished Unit Citation: ETO, 14 May 1943-24 Jul 1944. Insigne:. Shield: Tierce per fess azure and or, five piles, three conjoined between two transposed counterchanged. Motto: RECTO FACIENDO NEMINEM TIMEO -- " I Fear None in Doing Right. " (Approved 9 Jan 1943.) |