World War II Training in the United States The 458th Bombardment Group was activated at
Wendover Field, Utah on 1 July 1943, with the
752d,
753d,
754th and
755th Bombardment Squadrons assigned. In July, the
group moved to
Gowen Field, Idaho to begin organizing, drawing its initial
cadre from the
29th Bombardment Group. The air echelon of the group's cadre immediately departed for
Orlando Army Air Base, where they spent the next two months participating in specialized tactical training. In September 1943, the air and ground echelons of the group were united at
Kearns Army Air Base, Utah, before proceeding to Wendover to begin the first phase of training with the
Consolidated B-24 Liberator. At Wendover, most of the initial combat crews were assigned to the group. The ground echelon departed its final training base,
Tonopah Army Air Field, Nevada, where it had been the first heavy bomber group to train, for the port of embarkation at
Camp Shanks, New York, on 1 January 1944. They sailed to England on the . The air echelon assembled at
Hamilton Field, then ferried its Liberators to England via the southern ferry route.
Combat in Europe The group arrived at its combat station,
RAF Horsham St. Faith near
Norwich in eastern England on 1 February 1944. Aircrews had begun arriving on 24 January. The last bombers of the 458th arrived on 16 February. The group had the distinction of being the test squadron for the
Army Air Forces' first
guided bomb project.
Return and inactivation In May 1945, the group flew 105 "Trolley" missions. These missions transported ground personnel of the group over target areas on the continent to permit them to see the results of their contributions to the group mission. The group returned to the United States in June 1945, with aircraft beginning to depart for
Bradley Field, Connecticut on 14 June. The ground echelon sailed on the on 6 July. The group reformed at
Walker Army Air Field, Kansas. It moved to
March Field, California in August, once it had achieved 20% manning. At March Field, it trained with the
Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber, but never approached 60% of its manning. It was inactivated there in October 1945. In October 1994, the group and its
2d and
32d Air Refueling Squadrons moved to
McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. The group was inactivated on 1 July 1995. It's KC-10s were reassigned to the
305th Operations Group, when
Air Mobility Command consolidated its tanker force.
United States Air Forces in Europe expeditionary operations The unit was converted to provisional status in February 2001 and assigned to
United States Air Forces in Europe. In September 2002 the group deployed to Air Force Base Waterkloof, South Africa to participate in the first bilateral exercise between the air forces of South Africa and the United States. More than 200 airmen from Royal Air Force Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath in England, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., and the Oklahoma Air National Guard participated in the exercise. In 2003, the group was again brought briefly to life, when it was active at
Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport, 26 km northwest of
Constanța, Romania. The group was active from about March to June 2003, charged with maintaining an
airbridge at the base to transport supplies and people to the
United States Central Command area of responsibility at the beginning of the U.S.
Iraq War - Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the
Afghanistan War - Operation Enduring Freedom. ==Lineage==