A Consolidated History of the 464th Bomb Group

The 464th Bombardment Group (H), consisting of HQS, the 776th, 777th, 778th and 779th Bombardment Squadrons, was activated at Wendover Field, Utah, on 1 August 1943.
The first temporary change of station was made on 22 August 1943 without personnel or equipment to Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho. The first personnel were assigned to the Group on 26 August 1943.
The first training was received at AAFSAT, Orlando, Florida during the month of September, 1943, where Lt. Colonel Marshall Bonner assumed command. Lt. Colonel Sylvan D. Hand joined the Group at Gowen Field as Deputy Group Commander.
The Group arrived at its permanent base, AAB, Pocatello, Idaho on 2 October 1943, where second and third phase combat training was carried on during the months of October, November and December, 1943, and in January and February, 1944.
The Ground Echelon departed by troop train for overseas service on 9 February 1944. The Air Echelon departed by air on 21 February 1944 for the staging area at AAB, Lincoln, Nebraska. From Lincoln, aircraft crews took off singly for their overseas destination, via Morrison Field, Florida, Borinquen, Puerto Rico, Atkinson, British New Guiana, Belem and Natal, Brazil, Dakar, Marrakech and Oudna, Africa. The first aircraft and crew arrived at Oudna on 9 March 1944.
After training at Oudna, the Group flew to temporary Base at Gioia del Cole, Italy on 21 April 1944 and flew their first combat mission on 30 April 1944 with the Marshalling Yards at Castel Maggiore, Italy as the Group's first combat target.
The Group moved by air and truck to its permanent base at Pantanella, Italy on 1 June 1944. Lt. Colonel Sylvan D. Hand, the Deputy Group Commander, was lost on the second combat mission, the target being the Parma West Marshalling Yards, Italy on 2 May 1944. Colonel Marshall Bonner, Group Commander, was lost on combat mission over Vienna, Austria, on 26 June 1944.
Lt. Colonel Charles F. McKenna III, was appointed Deputy Group Commander on 30 May 1944. Colonel A. L. Schroeder was appointed Group Commanding Officer on 30 June 1944.
Colonel Andrew Jackson Byrd replaced Colonel Schroeder early in the winter of '44-'45 remaining in command until the end of hostilities and the deactivation of the group at Waller Field, Trinidad 31 July 1945.
210 completed combat sorties were flown with a loss of 138 aircraft. Fortunately many B-24 type air crews survived to return and fly again unless they were captured or interned in a neutral nation.

This brief history was reproduced with the permission of Tony Schneider, Secretary/NL Editor (464th, 776), from the 464th 2000 Reunion booklet .

Commanding officers

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  Marshall Bonner

  Military | Colonel | Group Commander - Pilot | 464th Bomb Group

Structure

Part of

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  55th Bombardment Wing

  Wing

Encompassing

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  776th Bomb Squadron

  Squadron
  Established as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber squadron with the 464th Bombardment Group in mid-1943, trained under Second Air Force. Deployed to Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), October 1943, becoming a Fifteenth Air Force heavy bomb squadron,...

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  777th Bomb Squadron

  Squadron
  Established as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber squadron in mid-1943, trained under Second Air Force. Deployed to Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), October 1943, becoming a Fifteenth Air Force heavy bomb squadron, attacking enemy targets both in...

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  778th Bomb Squadron

  Squadron
  Established as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber squadron in mid-1943, trained under Second Air Force. Deployed to Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), October 1943, becoming a Fifteenth Air Force heavy bomb squadron, attacking enemy targets both in...

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  779th Bomb Squadron

  Squadron
  Established as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber squadron in mid-1943, trained under Second Air Force. Deployed to Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), October 1943, becoming a Fifteenth Air Force heavy bomb squadron, attacking enemy targets both in...

Previously was

Not yet known

Became

Not yet known

Stations

Station	Location	Date
Based	Pantanella	March 1944 – 21 April 1944
Based	Gioia del Colle	21 April 1944 – 1 June 1944
Based	Pantanella	1 June 1944 – May 1945

Connections

People

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  Wilton Abbott

  Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Engineer | 464th Bomb Group
  Flying a mission from Panatella AAB in Italy, Sergeant Wilton L Abbott's B-24 Liberator took 3 direct hits from anti aircraft fire on a raid over Blechammer, Germany at 11:20am on the 13th October 1944. Abbott was last seen manning one of the waist...

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  Jack Abrams

  Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 464th Bomb Group
  On the 17th October 1944, whilst on route from Pantanella, Italy to bomb an ordnance factory South of Vienna, 1st Lieutenant Abrams plane, B24-J Liberator, (Lively Lady), was hit by flak. Abrams was believed to have been killed instantly on the flight...

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  William Bingham

  Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer | 464th Bomb Group

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  Marshall Bonner

  Military | Colonel | Group Commander - Pilot | 464th Bomb Group

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  Howard Carlson

  Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 464th Bomb Group
  Howard R. Carlson followed his brother (Gilbert Carlson) into the Air Corps on 23 Feb 1943 and was stationed in Italy (1944-45) where he was a co-pilot on a B-24 Liberator with the 464th Bomb Group, 778th BS, 15th Air Force. He was discharged on 16 Aug...

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  Norman Cope

  Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist gunner | 464th Bomb Group
  Assigned to 778BS, 464BG, 15AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Lugo, Italy in B-24 44-49710; A/C suffered direct flak hit on a 'milk run'. Starboard wing collapsing between engines; crashed Lugo, Italy 10-Apr-45, Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 13711. ...

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  Rosh Crosby

  Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-pilot | 464th Bomb Group
  Rosh Crosby served as a co-pilot with the 778th Bomb Squadron of the 464th Bomb Group, flying missions out of Pantanella airfield, Italy. On 5 February 1945, he was flying B-24 42-52537 on a mission to Regensburg. With two engines shot up, they...

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  Don Dickson

  Military | Sergeant | Gunner | 464th Bomb Group
  Critically injured in a parachute jump after plane malfunction

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  Stanley Dyer

  Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 464th Bomb Group

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  Charles Foote

  Military | Captain | Co-pilot | 464th Bomb Group
  Assigned to 778BS, 464BG, 15AF USAAF. Gilson crew. Failed to Return (FTR) Lugo, Italy in B-24 44-49710; A/C suffered direct flak hit on a 'milk run'. Starboard wing collapsing between engines; crashed Lugo, Italy 10-Apr-45, Killed in Action (KIA) MACR...

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Aircraft

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  44-49710 "Stevonovitch II"

  B-24 Liberator
  Assigned to 778BS, 464BG, 15AF USAAF. Suffered direct flak hit on a 'milk run'. Starboard wing collapsing between engines, pilot Col James Gilson, C/O of the 779th BS and nine other crew members were KIA [killed in action], one waist gunner was thrown...

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  42-95364 Wheel N' Deal

  B-24 Liberator

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  42-52453 Three Cornered Kid

  B-24 Liberator

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  44-41084 Big Fat Mama

  B-24 Liberator

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  42-52520 Com-Batty

  B-24 Liberator

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  42-50796 Easy Maid

  B-24 Liberator

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  42-52537 Ruthie the Raider

  B-24 Liberator
  Lost Feb 5, 1945, Germany. Two engines shot up, diverted to Switzerland, ran out of fuel and crash landed on deserted German airfield. Crew returned. MACR 12064.

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  44-41043 Be Commin Back

  B-24 Liberator

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  44-41070 Lively Lady

  B-24 Liberator

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  44-49363

  B-24 Liberator
  Shot down near Spinazzola, Italy, on 4 March 1945

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Citations

Distinguished Unit Citations; Vienna, Austria, 8 Jul 1944;
Pardubice, Czechoslovakia, (24) Aug 1944