25th Bombardment Group (Second World War)

History - Books - Aircraft - Time Line - Commanders - Main Bases - Component Units - Assigned To

History

The 25th Bombardment Group was part of the American garrison in the Caribbean from 1940 until 1944 when it returned to the US before being disbanded.

The group moved to Puerto Rico in November 1940, after the Air Corps was given permission to built an airfield on the island.

In 1941 the 25th Bombardment Group formed part of a small composite wing based on Puerto Rico. In April 1941 the entire wing could only boast three A-17s and twenty-one B-18As, despite officially containing two full groups and one reconnaissance squadron.

After the American entry into the Second World War the 25th was used to fly a mix of antisubmarine patrols, convoy escorts and general defensive sorties. It remained on Puerto Rico until November 1942, and moved twice in the Caribbean before returning to the US in April 1944. The group was officially converted to the B-17, but disbanded on 20 June 1944.

Books

 

Aircraft

  A-20 B-18 B-25 B-17 A-17
10th   1940-43 1943-1944 1940 1940-41
12th   1940-44 1943-44    
35th   1941-43 1943-44    
59th 1941-43 1943-1944 1943-44    
417th   1939-44 1943-44    

Timeline

22 December 1939 Constituted as 25th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
1 February 1940 Activated
November 1940 To Caribbean
May 1942 Redesignated 25th Bombardment Group (Medium)
March-April 1944 To United States
20 June 1944 Disbanded

Commanders (with date of appointment)

Ma j Theodore J Koenig: 1 Feb 1940
Maj William B Sousa: unkn
Lt Col Caleb V Haynes: 7 Jan 1941
Maj Alva L Harvey: 1 Jun 1941
Maj Neil B Harding: 10 Sep 1941
Maj Jasper N Bell: unkn
Lt Col Robert Alan: unkn
Maj Mathew J McKeever Jr: unkn
Maj Milton E Lipps: unkn
Maj Howard A Cheney: unkn
Col Charles F Born: 1942
Maj John J Mullen: unkn
Col Kenneth O Sanborn: 1Aug 1943-7 Apr 1944
unkn: Apr-Jun 1944

Main Bases

Langley Field, Va: 1 Feb-26 Oct 1940
Borinquen Field, PR: 1 Nov 1940
Edinburgh Field, Trinidad: 1 Nov 1942
Ft Amsterdam, Curacao: 1 Aug 1943
Borinquen Field, PR: 5 Oct 1943-24 Mar 1944
Alamogordo AA Fld, NM: 6 Apr- 20 Jun 1944

Component Units

10th Bombardment Squadron: 1940-1943
12th Bombardment Squadron: 1940-1944
35th Bombardment Squadron: 1940-1945
59th Bombardment Squadron: 1943-1944
417th Bombardment Squadron: 1942-1944

Assigned To

1940-1941: 13th Composite Wing (later 13th Bombardment Wing)
1941-1944: VI Bomber Command; Sixth Air Force

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (19 March 2013), 25th Bombardment Group (Second World War) , http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/USAAF/25th_Bombardment_Group.html

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