333d Bombardment Group

333d Bombardment Group
Active	1942–1946
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces
Role	Bombardment
Part of	Twentieth Air Force
Garrison/HQ	Pacific Ocean Theater of World War II
Engagements	World War II American Campaign (1942–1945) Pacific Theater (1945)

The 333d Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 316 Bombardment Wing, stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. It was inactivated on 28 May 1946.

History

Established as a B-17 Flying Fortress Operational Training Unit (OTU) for replacement personnel under Second Air Force. Trained pilots and aircrews from July 1942 to April 1944.

Realigned as an operational B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomb group in July 1944. Trained under Second Air Force until June 1945, being deployed to Okinawa as part of the new Eighth Air Force in the Pacific Theater. Arrived in Okinawa but Japanese Capitulation led to drawdown of Eighth Air Force and the group never was engaged in combat. Flew show-of-force missions over Occupied Japan and aircraft helped evacuate prisoners of war from Japan and China to airfields in the Philippines. Personnel demobilized and aircraft flown to storage in the United States in May 1946 and the unit was inactivated as a paper unit in Okinawa on 28 May.

Assignments

• II Bomber Command, 15 July 1942 – 1 April 1944
• 21st Bombardment Wing, 7 July 1944 – 31 August 1945
• 316 Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy, 31 August 1945 – 28 May 1946

Stations assigned

• Topeka Army Air Base, Kansas, 15 July 1942
• Dalhart Army Airfield, Texas, 22 February 1943 – 1 April 1944; 7 July 1944 – 13 January 1945
• Great Bend Army Airfield, Kansas, 13 January – 18 June 1945
• Kadena AB, Okinawa 5 August 1945 – 28 May 1946

Operational Units

• B-24 Liberator squadrons
  • 466th Bombardment Squadron, 15 July 1942—1 April 1944
  • 467th Bombardment Squadron, 15 July 1942—1 April 1944
  • 468th Bombardment Squadron, 15 July 1942—1 April 1944
  • 469th Bombardment Squadron, 15 July 1942—1 April 1944
• B-29 Superfortress squadrons
  • 435th Bombardment Squadron, 7 July 1944 – 28 May 1946
  • 460th Bombardment Squadron, 7 July 1944 – 28 May 1946
  • 507th Bombardment Squadron, 7 July 1944 – 28 May 1946

Aircraft flown

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.