|
|
The 467th Bombardment Group was a B-24 Liberator unit within the Eighth Air Force that was based at Rackheath, Norfolk, from March 1944 until the end of the war in Europe.
The group was activated on 1 August 1943, and spent the rest of 1943 in training. It moved to England in the spring of 1944, and entered combat on 10 April 1944 with an attack on the German airfield at Bourges. Most of the group's missions were part of the strategic bombing campaign, attacking targets at Kiel, Bonn, Stuttgard, Hamm, Osnabruck, Brunswick and elsewhere in Germany.
Like most of the Eighth Air Force the 467th also performed a number of tactical missions. On D-Day (6 June 1944) the group attacked German shore installations and bridges near Cherbourg. On 25 July 1944 it attacked German troop concentrations near Montreuil, as part of the operations to support the breakout across France. In September it was one of many B-24 units used to carry fuel to the Allied front line, as the rapid advance across France threatened to outrun the supply chains.
During the battle of the Bulge the 467th was used to attack German communications and fortifications. During the Rhine crossings in March 1945 it attacked enemy transport links. The group flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945, and returned to the United States in June-July.
Consolidated B-24 Liberator (Crowood Aviation), Martin W. Bowman. A well balanced book that begins with a look at the development history of the B-24, before spending nine out of its ten chapters looking at the combat career of the aircraft in the USAAF, the US Navy and the RAF.
B-24 Liberator Units of the Eighth Air Force, Robert F. Dorr. Although the Eighth Air Force is famous for operating the B-17, even at the end of the Second World War the B-24 still equipped one third of all Eighth Army Bombardment Groups. Here Dorr looks at the role the Liberator played with the Eighth Army, from its tiny beginnings in 1942 to the final massive air armadas of 1944 and 1945. Dorr also looks at the sizable detachments sent to North Africa during 1943, and the famous Ploesti mission.
August 1943-April 1945: Consolidated B-24 Liberator
| 19 May 1943 | Constituted as 467th Bombardment Group (Heavy) |
| 1 August 1943 | Activated |
| February-March 1944 | Moved to England to join Eighth Air Force |
| 10 April 1944 | First combat operation - attack on airfield at Bourges |
| 25 April 1945 | Last combat operation |
| June-July 1945 | Returned to the United States |
| August 1945 | Redesignated 467th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) |
Captain Garnet B. Palmer: 9 September 1943
Colonel Frederic E. Glantzberg: 17 September 1943
Colonel Albert H Shower: 25 October 1943-1945
Major Frank E. McCarthy: 10 September 1945
Wendover Field, Utah: 1 August 1943
Mountain Home, Idaho: 8 September 1943
Kearns, Utah: 17 October 1943
Wendover Field, Utah: 1 November 1943-12 February 1944
Rackheath, England: 11 March 1944-12 June 1945
Sioux Falls, SD: c. 15 July 1945
Fairmont, Nebraska: 25 July 1945
788th Bombardment Squadron: 1943-1944 and 1944-1946
789th Bombardment Squadron: 1943-1946
790th Bombardment Squadron: 1943-1946
791st Bombardment Squadron: 1943-1946
Eighth Air Force: 1944-1945
1944-1945: 96th Bombardment Wing; 2nd Air Division; Eighth Air Force