World War II Training in the United States The
457th Bombardment Group was activated at
Geiger Field, Washington on 1 July 1943 with the
748th,
749th,
750th and
751st Bombardment Squadrons assigned. It moved a week later to
Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, where it began training with the
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber and completed the first two phases of its training there. It completed its training at
Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington, then moved to
Wendover Field, Utah for final preparation for overseas movement. It departed for the
European Theater of Operations on New Years Day, 1944. The
group assembled at its combat station,
RAF Glatton by the end of the month. The air echelon had begun arriving at Glatton on 21 January. In June 1944, the group was diverted from its strategic mission to prepare for
Operation Overlord, the invasion of France. On
D Day, it attacked
coastal defenses on the
Cherbourg Peninsula. For the remainder of the month it was engaged in
air interdiction, striking
airfields, rail systems and roads and depots behind enemy lines. The group was also diverted to tactical targets for shorter periods. In July 1944, it supported
Operation Cobra the breakout of ground forces at
Saint Lo. During
Operation Market Garden, the attempt to secure bridgeheads across the
Rhine River in the Netherlands, it supported the
British 1st Airborne Division. It provided similar support during the
Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945, and
Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the
Rhine in March 1945.
Air refueling operations On 1 July 1993,
Air Mobility Command (AMC) transferred its crew training mission at
Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma to
Air Education and Training Command (AETC). Although the
97th Air Mobility Wing remained the host at Altus, it became an AETC wing. The two operational
air refueling squadrons at Altus, the
11th and
306th Air Refueling Squadrons, and their
Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers were transferred to the reactivated
457th Operations Group. The 457th's squadrons deployed personnel and aircraft to
Aviano Air Base, Italy, and
Incirlik Air Base, Turkey to support
Operation Northern and
Operation Southern Watch duties as the lead tanker unit. The 11th Squadron was inactivated in August 1994, while the group and the 306th Squadron remained active until 1 October 1994.
Expeditionary operations The group was converted to provisional status as the
457th Air Expeditionary Group in February 2001 and assigned to
United States Air Forces in Europe to activate or inactivate as needed. In the spring of 2003, the group was activated at
RAF Fairford to support approximately a dozen
Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses deployed from
Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, bombing
Iraq War targets. While at Fairford, the bombers flew 120 sorties, both bombing and leaflet dropping. On a sortie flown on 11 April 2003, a 457th crew deployed from the
917th Wing at
Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana used the
Litening II precision targeting pod system, which uses a
laser designator to "paint" targets. Although the system had been used by other platforms, this was its first use in combat by a B-52 The bombers returned to North Dakota on 24 April, but elements of the group remained behind to secure materiel, including unexpended munitions.
Operation Odyssey Dawn In 2011, the group was briefly active at
Naval Station Rota, Spain to support
Operation Odyssey Dawn, the enforcement of a no fly zone over Libya. ==Lineage==