5th Bombardment Group (Heavy)

Description

“This document is intended to cover the history of the Fifth Bombardment Group from the era immediately preceding WWII, through the war years until V-J Day 1945. It is presented against a summary background of the entire life of the organization.”

Sujets

• Histoire
• WW2
• 5th Operations Group
• Military
• History of the United States
• World War II
• History
• Seconde Guerre mondiale

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2000
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781681622712
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

Turner Publishing Company
Publishers of Military History
Co published by
Mark A. Thompson, Associate Publisher
Pre Press work by M.T. Publishing Company, Inc.
Graphic Designer: Diana F. Butcher
Author: The 5th Bombardment Group Association
Copyright 2000
Turner Publishing Company
This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Publishers.
The materials were compiled and produced using available information; Turner Publishing Company, M.T. Publishing Company, Inc. regret they cannot assume liability for errors or omissions.
Library of Congress Catalog
Card No. 98 61818
ISBN: 978 1 56311 491 5
Limited Edition
Page 1 photo: 30 September 1944. First mission to Balikpapan. Pandansari refinery. Mission was supposed to be 13th Air Force and 5th Air Force; however, the 5th Air Force had back luck and did not get to the target. The 31st Squadron of the 5th Bomb Group with Col. Tomas Musgrave in the lead did hit the target .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
History of the 5th Bomb Group
Missions
Citations and Commendations
A Tribute to Ground Men
History of the Squadrons
War Sories
Veterans
Index

THE 5TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP (H)
This document is intended to cover the history of the Fifth Bombardment Group from the era immediately preceding WWII, through the war years until V J Day 1945. It is presented against a summary background of the entire life of the organization.
The group was originated and activated in Hawaii on the island of Oahu on 19 May 1918 as the Second Observation Group. On 12 April 1921 it was redesignated as the Fifth Group (Observation) and later on 21 June 1922 as the Fifth Group (Pursuit and Bombardment). Effective 1 May 1923 it was reorganized as the Fifth Group (Composite) at Luke Field, Oahu. The units assigned were Headquarters, Fifth Group; 65th Service squadron; 41st Air Intelligence Section; 11th Photo Section; 6th Pursuit Squadron; 23rd Bombardment Squadron and the 72nd Bombardment Squadron. On 25 March 1938 it was redesignated as the Fifth Bombardment Group, again as the Fifth Bombardment Group (M) on 26 December 1939 and finally as the Fifth Bombardment Group (H) on 20 November 1940.
Following the end of WWII, the Fifth was redesignated the Fifth Reconnaissance Group, Very Long Range, Photographic on 11 March 1947. On 1 July 1949 the Fifth Reconnaissance Wing was established. On 14 November 1950, the group was redesignated the Fifth Reconnaissance Wing (H). The wing was redesignated the Fifth Bombardment Wing (H) on 1 October 1955. In the year 1999 it resided at Minot AFB, North Dakota and operated B 52H aircraft.
During its life the group has had two official and one unofficial group insignia. At the time WWII began it was a winged death s head on a blue background. The death s head was white with black eyes, nose and teeth outline. The wings were gold and were joined at the bottom by a gold banner bearing the inscription: Kiai O KaLewa , which is an expression in the Hawaiian language meaning Guardians Of The Upper Regions . During 1944 45 the group adopted the name of Bomber Barons with an insignia which included a death s heads figure, clothed in maroon and gold, smoking a cigarette in a long holder and wearing a black top hat. The figure was shown against a blue shield having a broad gold stripe running from the upper left hand to the lower right hand corner, with the letter B located on the stripe at the two corners. This insignia was never officially adopted.
The emblem adopted by the Fifth Bombardment Wing features a winged death s head against a shield which is divided vertically by a nubbly line. The area to the left of the line is green and the area to the right is black. The deaths head is blue with gold wings. The lower part of the shield is enclosed with a banner carrying the Kiai O KaLewa motto.

In its long history, going back to the earliest days of what eventually became the Air Force, the Group/Wing maintained and flew a variety of aircraft as illustrated by the following list. DH 4 1919 1924 A 3 1936 1939 HS 21 1919 1926 B 18 1937 1942 N 9 1919 1920 B 17 1941 1943 R 6 1919 1920 B 24 1943 1945 FD VIII 1920 1926 LB 30 1942 JN 6 1920 1929 B 29 1946 1952 MB 3 1920 1926 C 46 1947 1948 NBS 1 1922 1929 LB 5 1923 1929 SE 5 1924 1926 PW 9 1927 B 4 1929 1937 LB 6 1929 1937 OA 1 1929 1937 0 19 1929 1937 P 12 1930 1937 B 12 1934 1939 BB 10 1934 1940 C 47 1945 B 25 1945 A 24 1945
The following distinguished officers have commanded the Group/Wing over the years. Lt. Col. Millard F. Harmon Oct 1936 Sep 1938 Colonel Shepler W. Fitzgerald Sep 1938 Aug 1941 Lt. Co. Edwin B. Bobzein Aug 1941 1942 Colonel Arthur W. Meehan 1942 1 Nov 1942 Colonel Brooke E. Allen 1Nov 1942 10 Aug 1943 Colonel Marion D. Unruh 10 Aug 1943 31 Dec 1943 Lt. Col. Joseph E Reddoch, Jr. 31 Dec 1943 4 Apr 1944 Colonel Thomas C. Musgrave,Jr. 4 Apr 1944 21 Apr 1944 Colonel Joseph E. Reddoch, Jr. 21 Apr 1944 15 Aug 1944 Colonel Thomas C. Musgrave,Jr. 15 Aug 1944 6 Jan 1945 Major Albert W. James 7 Jan 1945 15 Mar 1945 Colonel Isaac J. Haviland 15 Mar 1945 5 Jul 1945 Lt. Col. Albert W. James 5 Jul 1945 9 Sep 1945
In September 1939 World War II began in Europe. Shortly thereafter the United States Army Air Corps (later the Army Air Force) began to build and train toward a stronger organization. The Fifth Group moved from Luke Field on Ford Island in the middle of Pearl Harbor to their new home at Hickam Field. Hickam provided a beautiful, new, three story, concrete barracks for the enlisted men and new homes and apartments for officers and senior non commissioned officers. At Hickam the Fifth was joined by the recently activated Eleventh Bombardment Group (H). As new enlisted men arrived from the mainland, they were sent to specialty schools and following completion of classes were assigned to combat crews. The group comprised the 23rd Bombardment Squadron, the 31st Bombardment Squadron, the 72nd Bombardment Squadron and the 4th Reconnaissance Squadron.
The group was equipped with the Douglas B 18 medium bomber, a twin engined plane with a very rugged structure. Those sent to Hawaii were equipped with flotation compartments in the wing as well as having a bilge pump. They were lightly defended for an aircraft expected to go into combat: three .30 caliber machine guns and no power turrets. The B 18s however served a useful purpose in 1940. Combat crews normally flew five days a week, Monday through Friday from 0800 hours until 1200 hours. Many of the flights were navigation exercises to various other islands in the Hawaiian Group. The many hours aloft built up valuable experience for every member of the crew. Many flights were for the benefit of the bombardiers. At that time all bombardiers were enlisted men, primarily senior non commissioned officers. The Norden bombsights were classified secret and were kept in a special vault in the hanger which was guarded 24 hours a day. One never saw the bombsight. When the crew came to the aircraft, the bombardier was carrying it in a canvas bag. The squadrons annually spent two weeks at the South Cape of the big island, Hawaii for record bombing using the 100 pound practice bomb. There was a short runway there which could handle the B 18 and wooden barracks, which was kind of roughing it after the comfort of the new barracks at Hickam. There was also the opportunity to gain experience in handling live bombs at the bombing range on the island of Kahoolawe. This is a small and at that time uninhabited island near Kauai. Rumor had it that one person, a goatherd, lived on the island but that seems unlikely. This activity went on regularly through the spring of 1941. Each squadron also retained a Martin B 10, and there was an occasional flight in it. The B 10 was a pretty, low wing, twin-engined monoplane. As a note of the advancement of technology from the B 10 to the B 18, the B 10 s engine instruments were in a small panel on the inboard side of the engine nacelles. The pilot needed sharp eyesight.

Hickam 1909 1939 30th Anniversay, US Air Corps B 18s .
In November of 1940 the group was redesignated from a medium bombardment group to a heavy, and in May of 1941 received its first B 17s. The squadrons each retained a couple of B 18s but the regular crews found themselves with three added members and flying in a B 17. These were the C models, lacking tail guns and effective belly guns. Nevertheless they were a valuable step up for all personnel. Flying went on in the regular schedule of 0800 to 1200 five days a week. Now however the emphasis was on bombing, usually from an altitude of 20,000 feet. Combat crews gained experience in operating at altitude, on oxygen and even in Hawaiian skies, dressed in the Air Corps heavy flying suit. (An especially difficult task was using the relief tube, which was in the bomb bay, just ahead of the radio cabin door, with the bomb bay doors open. Remember the aircraft was neither heated nor pressurized. Sounds trivial, but on a real mission it could become a problem if not solved.)
Experience went beyond that obtained in flying. The combat crews were required to do regular routine maintenance on the aircraft, and so crew members became competent in keeping the aircraft air ready. This was a crucial skill in later times at distant bases in the South Pacific. There were times when a crew on an island and far from an Air Depot or hanger personnel, accomplished such major tasks as an engine change or the change of a main landing gear. This depended upon skills which had been honed by the many hours spent with the aircraft in the air and on the ground. In addition to his own particular skill, every crew member became familiar with the field stripping and maintenance of the .30 caliber and .50 caliber machine guns.
In September of 1941 the Fifth Bombardment Group assisted in equipping the Ninteenth Bombardment Group (H). Each squadron in the Fifth and the Eleventh Groups gave up