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464th Bomb Group

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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

  • Marshall Bonner

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

Structure

Part of
Encompassing
  • 776th Bomb Squadron

    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,...

  • 777th Bomb Squadron

    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...

  • 778th Bomb Squadron

    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...

  • 779th Bomb Squadron

    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

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • William Bingham

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer | 464th Bomb Group

  • Marshall Bonner

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

  • 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...

  • 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. ...

  • 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...

  • Don Dickson

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

  • Stanley Dyer

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

  • 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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Citations

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

Air Force
Not yet known
Type
Combat
Type category
Bombardment
Nicknames
Not yet known
Motto
Not yet known
Insignia
Not yet known
Aircraft used
  • B-24 Liberator

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
15 November 2016 02:28:12 466thHistorian Changes to commanding officers associations
Sources

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=56371269
Date Contributor Update
15 November 2016 02:14:02 466thHistorian Changes to citations
Sources

http://464bg.com/history/
Date Contributor Update
14 November 2016 23:56:08 466thHistorian Changes to description and stations
Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foggia_Airfield_Complex
Date Contributor Update
14 November 2016 23:40:31 466thHistorian Created entry with type, category, name, description, aircraft types, unit encompassing associations and media associations
Sources

http://464th.jkhathaway.org/

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