333d Bombardment Group
The 333d Bombardment Group was a United States Army Air Forces heavy and very-heavy bomber training and operational unit active during World War II.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The 333d Bombardment Group was a United States Army Air Forces unit created during the expansion of American military aviation in World War II. It was constituted as the 333d Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 9 July 1942 and activated at Topeka Army Air Base, Kansas, on 15 July 1942. Its initial organization consisted of the 466th, 467th, 468th, and 469th Bombardment Squadrons. Equipped with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, the group served primarily as an operational training unit under Second Air Force. Its role was to train cadres and aircrews for newly forming bomber organizations rather than to conduct an independent combat deployment. In February 1943, the group moved to Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, where its mission changed to replacement training. As a replacement training unit, it prepared individual airmen and crews for assignment to operational theaters. The Army Air Forces subsequently concluded that large, conventionally organized groups were not the most efficient structure for standardized training. In response, training functions were transferred to numbered base units, and the 333d Bombardment Group was inactivated on 1 April 1944. The group was reactivated at Dalhart on 7 July 1944, redesignated as the 333d Bombardment Group, Very Heavy, and assigned three B-29 Superfortress squadrons: the 435th, 460th, and 507th Bombardment Squadrons. The reactivated organization formed part of the Army Air Forces' effort to prepare very-heavy bomber units for the war against Japan. In January 1945, it moved to Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas, where training continued through June. The group subsequently deployed to Okinawa and was associated with Eighth Air Force operations in the Pacific. The war ended before the 333d could conduct combat missions. After Japan's defeat, the group assisted in the evacuation of prisoners of war from Japan to airfields in the Philippines. It was inactivated on Okinawa on 28 May 1946. Its principal wartime aircraft were the B-17 Flying Fortress during its first period of activity and the B-29 Superfortress during its second. In 1985, the 333d Bombardment Group was consolidated with the former 633d Special Operations Wing, a Vietnam-era unit that had operated from Pleiku Air Base in South Vietnam between 1968 and 1970. The consolidated designation became the 333d Special Operations Wing, but the consolidated organization was never activated under that designation. Accordingly, the 333d Bombardment Group is best understood as a historical United States military aviation unit rather than a commercial brand or continuing operational organization.
History
The 333d Bombardment Group was established during the rapid wartime growth of the United States Army Air Forces. Constituted as a heavy bombardment group on 9 July 1942, it was activated six days later at Topeka Army Air Base, Kansas, under the 21st Bombardment Wing. The group's original squadrons were formed at Salt Lake City Army Air Base and joined the group headquarters at Topeka in late August. Flying Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, the unit operated as an oversized operational training unit. Such units were intended to create the personnel and organizational cadres needed to establish additional bomber groups. The 333d moved to Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, in February 1943. There its function changed from operational group training to replacement training. The replacement training system used large units to prepare pilots, aircrew members, and other personnel for shipment to combat theaters. The Army Air Forces later reorganized its training structure around more specialized numbered base units because standard combat-group organizations were relatively inflexible for this purpose. The 333d was consequently inactivated on 1 April 1944, with its Dalhart training responsibilities transferred to the 232d and 268th Army Air Forces Base Units. The group returned to active status at Dalhart on 7 July 1944, this time as a very-heavy bombardment group. It was assigned the 435th, 460th, and 507th Bombardment Squadrons. These squadrons had previously been the fourth squadrons of other B-29 groups and had been inactivated during a reorganization that reduced many B-29 groups from four squadrons to three. The 333d therefore became part of the Army Air Forces' system for assembling and training B-29 formations for the Pacific war. On 13 January 1945, the group moved to Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas. Training continued there until June, after which the organization deployed to the Pacific. It reached Kadena Air Base on Okinawa on 5 August 1945 and was assigned in the Pacific structure associated with Eighth Air Force. Japan's surrender ended the war before the group could fly combat missions. During the postwar period, it supported the movement of liberated prisoners of war from Japan to airfields in the Philippines. The 333d Bombardment Group was inactivated on Okinawa on 28 May 1946. The unit's historical lineage was later connected to the Vietnam-era 633d Special Operations Wing. That wing had been activated at Pleiku, South Vietnam, in July 1968 to command special-operations and support elements, including the 6th Air Commando Squadron, which operated Douglas A-1 Skyraiders. The wing conducted close air support, escort, interdiction, and visual and photographic reconnaissance missions until the reduction of American forces in South Vietnam. Its operational squadron was inactivated in November 1969, and the wing itself ceased activity at Pleiku in March 1970. On 31 July 1985, the 333d Bombardment Group and the 633d Special Operations Wing were consolidated. The resulting lineage was designated the 333d Special Operations Wing, but it was never activated under that designation. The consolidation preserved an administrative and historical relationship between the World War II bomber group and the later special-operations wing without restoring the bomber group as an active unit.
- 1985
Consolidation with the 633d Special Operations Wing
[1]The group was consolidated with the 633d Special Operations Wing on 31 July, creating the lineage of the 333d Special Operations Wing, which was never activated.
- 1946
Inactivation
[1]The 333d Bombardment Group was inactivated on Okinawa on 28 May after postwar prisoner-of-war evacuation duties.
- 1945
Move to Great Bend
[1]The group relocated to Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas, on 13 January to continue B-29 training.
- 1945
Deployment to Okinawa
[1]The group deployed to Okinawa and arrived at Kadena Air Base on 5 August, but did not conduct combat operations before Japan surrendered.
- 1944
First inactivation
[1]The group was inactivated on 1 April after the Army Air Forces transferred training responsibilities to numbered base units.
- 1944
Reactivation as a very-heavy bombardment group
[1]The organization was reactivated at Dalhart on 7 July as the 333d Bombardment Group, Very Heavy, with three B-29 squadrons.
- 1943
Move to Dalhart and replacement training
[1]The group moved to Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, in February and shifted from operational training to replacement training for bomber personnel.
- 1942
Constitution as a heavy bombardment group
[1]The unit was constituted as the 333d Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 9 July 1942 and activated at Topeka Army Air Base, Kansas, on 15 July.
Products and positioning
A wartime United States Army Air Forces training and deployment unit specializing first in B-17 heavy-bomber preparation and later in B-29 very-heavy bomber organization and training.
Heavy bomber
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
The B-17 Flying Fortress was the principal aircraft associated with the group's first period of activity from 1942 to 1944. The 333d used the aircraft in operational and replacement training roles, preparing bomber personnel and cadres rather than deploying the group as an independent combat formation.
Very-heavy bomber
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress equipped the reactivated group from 1944 through 1946. The group trained at Dalhart and Great Bend and later deployed to Okinawa as part of the Pacific force structure. The end of the war prevented it from undertaking combat missions with the aircraft.
Marketing campaigns
- 1945Pacific Theater deployment
Okinawa · Japan · Philippines
The B-29-equipped group deployed to Okinawa near the end of World War II. Although it did not fly combat missions, it participated in postwar prisoner-of-war evacuation activity from Japan to the Philippines.
Outcome. The group remained noncombatant because Japan surrendered before its operational employment.
Sources1 sources
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