Origins The authorizing document was a letter issued by the Adjutant-General's Office titled "The Constitution and Activation of Certain Air Corps Units". Lieutenant Colonel Ross F. Cole was the first Group Commander. The first elements of the Group included: •
2nd Bombardment Squadron, commanded by Captain Leslie P. Halcomb •
19th Bombardment Squadron, commanded by 1st Lieutenant Herman E. Hurst •
33rd Bombardment Squadron, commanded by 1st Lieutenant Theodore E. Graff •
18th Reconnaissance Squadron (later 408th Bombardment Squadron), commanded by Captain John P. Doyle. The Group was located at
Langley Field, Virginia. Its first aircraft were a few
Douglas B-18 Bolo bombers, with a few
North American B-25 Mitchell bombers allocated to the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron. In 1941 the Group transitioned to
Martin B-26 Marauder bombers, a fast bomber with very specialized aerodynamic capabilities. These capabilities included short, stubby wings, which led the plane to be known as "The Flying Prostitute" (no visible means of support). However its flying characteristics led to many crashes, which also led to the plane being known as "The Flying Coffin". Throughout 1941 the 22nd trained extensively, increasing in intensity in November 1941. It was so combat ready that 16 hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the 44 planes of the 22nd headed for the West Coast and on to the South West Pacific. torpedo bomber
Susie-Q of the
408th Bombardment Squadron. It was flown by 1st Lt.
James Muri during the
Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942.
World War II The Group prepared itself at
Muroc Army Air Field in the
Mojave Desert in California from 15 December 1941 and began patrols of the west coast. A ground crew team left San Francisco on 31 January 1942 for
Brisbane,
Queensland in Australia. On 6 February 1942, the Group's aircraft were shipped to
Hickam Field (arriving about a week later). They immediately commenced patrol duties. On 22 March 1942, the first flight of the 22nd air echelon arrived at
Amberley Field. near Brisbane in Australia, and became the first fully armed Air Force Group to fly the Pacific en masse. They were warmly welcomed by the Australians who were concerned that, while the Japanese were threatening Australia, its troops were fighting the Germans in the Middle East. Shortly after arriving in Australia, the Group (now under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Millard L. Haskin) moved further North to the
Townsville area: •
2nd Bombardment Squadron (commanded by 1st Lt George R. Anderson) was based at Reid River, about 40 miles South of Townsville •
19th Bombardment Squadron (commanded by 1st Lt Elliott H. Reed) was based at
Garbutt field. •
33rd Bombardment Squadron (commanded by 1st Lt William A. Garnett) was based Antill Plains, 20 miles South of Townsville. •
408th Bombardment Squadron (commanded by Captain Brian O'Neill) was also based at Reid River On 5 April 1942, the 22nd took off from Garbutt Field for its first combat action, an attack on
Rabaul in New Britain (North of New Guinea). In this attack on the Japanese Naval Base, the Group sunk a transport ship but lost a plane and the life of S/Sgt Bourne. Meanwhile, four B-26 Marauders, including two from the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, left behind at Hawaii, saw action on 4 June 1942 as part of the air attack in the
Battle of Midway, and were the first Army planes to make a torpedo attack. These planes, piloted by 1st Lieutenant Herbert C. Mayes and 1st Lieutenant James P. Muri attacked the Japanese Naval Invasion Force, focusing torpedo and strafing action on its aircraft carrier. Lt Muri's plane, badly damaged with over 500 bullet and shrapnel holes, crash landed. [Lt Muri's account: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSm055a0394] [Alternate URL for broken link (same original commentary): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E67kmx3aWg&t=7m18s] In 1944, the group converted from medium, twin engined B-25 Mitchell and B-26 Marauder bombers to heavy four engine
Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers. Following its conversion to Liberators, on 11 February 1944 the 22nd was redesignated 22nd Bombardment Group, Heavy. The group was tasked to bomb Japanese airfields, shipping, and oil installations in Borneo, Ceram, and Halmahera. It began raiding the southern Philippines in September 1944 to neutralize Japanese bases in preparation for the invasion of Leyte. From December 1944 to August 1945, the group struck airfields and installations on Luzon, supported Australian ground forces on Borneo, and bombed railways and industries in Formosa and China. Near the end of the war the 22nd moved to Okinawa in August 1945 and flew some armed reconnaissance missions over southern Japan.
Postwar era The 22nd's staff and aircraft were released and the group moved to
Clark Air Base in the Philippines in November 1945. In April 1946 the 22nd returned to Okinawa as the 22nd Bombardment Group, Very Heavy and was remanned and assigned
Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers, operating from
Kadena Air Base. In May 1948, moved to the United States to serve
Strategic Air Command (SAC).
Korean War The 22nd was one of two SAC groups selected to deploy to the Pacific after SAC was directed to reinforce the
19th Bombardment Wing of
Far East Air Forces. The 22nd was selected because removing it from SAC control would have a minimum impact on the SAC mission because its planes were not yet equipped for the delivery of nuclear weapons and would not impact SAC's task of building a credible deterrent to the Soviet Union. The 22nd Bombardment Group deployed its B-29 Superfortresses in early July 1950 to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, where it came under control of FEAF Bomber Command (Provisional). On 13 July, the group flew its first mission, against the marshalling yards and oil refinery at
Wonsan, North Korea. By 21 October, it had amassed fifty-seven missions against the enemy, attacking bridges, factories, industrial targets, troop concentrations, airfields, marshalling yards, communications centers, and port facilities. During four months of combat, the group flew 335 sorties with only fourteen aborts and dropped over 6,500 tons of bombs. When the 22nd returned to
March Air Force Base in late October or early November 1950, 335 sorties had been flown. One plane, 44-62279, was reported lost during operations from Okinawa. Combat components of the group were the 2nd, 19th and 33rd Bombardment Squadrons. It became a records unit in February 1951, inactivated on 16 June 1952.
Modern era After activation in 1991, commenced air refueling missions. Using KC-10 aircraft, the group airlifted humanitarian equipment and supplies to Somalia, 1992–1994. Deployed group aircrews and aircraft on other contingency operations in many parts of the world, including Haiti in 1994 and Serbia in 1999. The group also refueled aircraft enforcing no-fly zones over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the mid-1990s and over northern and southern Iraq between 1992 and 2002. After terrorist attacks in the United States in September 2001, deployed crews and aircraft for operations in Afghanistan. ==Lineage==