World War II The personnel that would form the
cadre for the wing were assembled in early December 1943 at
Topeka Army Air Field, Kansas for shipment overseas. Upon their arrival in Italy, the
304th Bombardment Wing was activated at Cerignola Airfield, Italy in late December, although its personnel were located with
Fifteenth Air Force at
Bari at the time and did not arrive at the
wing's permanent station until 4 January 1944. It was assigned its first combat units in late January, although not all of them were in place until February, and none had combat experience. The
wing and its
groups were located at various bases in the
Foggia Airfield Complex in
Apulia. The wing's first combat mission, against an airfield near
Orvieto, was flown in February. The wing flew its last combat mission in April 1945. Following
VE Day, The wing began carrying food and other supplies to airfields near
Udine. In June the wing concentrated on preparing its personnel and equipment for return to the United States. By the end of the month, most planes and crews had departed Italy, and all but one of the wing's groups returned to the United States by July 1945, while only three or four planes remained behind in Italy. The wing
headquarters returned in September and was inactivated at the port of embarkation. However, it does not appear that the groups were equipped during that period. In 1948
Continental Air Command assumed the responsibility for managing reserve and
Air National Guard units. As the regular Air Force reorganized under the
wing base organization, wings became single base organizations including both support and operational units. The 304th, which commanded two operational units was, therefore, renamed the
304th Air Division. The Division was inactivated on 29 June 1949 ==Lineage==