346th Bombardment Group

The 346th Bombardment Group was a former United States Army Air Forces unit organized during the Second World War. It was constituted as the 346th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in September 1942 and activated at Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah, on 7 September of that year. Its initial organization included the 502d, 503d, 504th, and 505th Bombardment Squadrons. The group soon moved to Smoky Hill Army Air Field in Kansas, where it entered the Army Air Forces’ heavy-bomber training system. During its first phase, the group served as an oversized operational training unit and later as a replacement training unit. These formations were designed to prepare aircrews and provide trained personnel for combat organizations. The 503d and 504th Squadrons initially operated Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, but the group was equipped entirely with Consolidated B-24 Liberators by the end of 1942. Its role subsequently focused on training replacement aircrews rather than deploying as a combat group. The Army Air Forces gradually concluded that conventional group-and-squadron structures were inefficient for specialized training functions. In October 1943, the 346th’s aircraft were withdrawn and its training responsibilities were concentrated at group headquarters. On 1 April 1944, the group and its squadrons were inactivated at Dyersburg Army Air Base, Tennessee. Their functions were transferred to the 223d Army Air Forces Base Unit, a reorganization intended to place training under purpose-built base units. The unit returned to active service later in 1944 in a different form. It was redesignated the 346th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy, on 4 August and reactivated at Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, on 18 August. Rather than reactivating its original squadrons, the group received the 461st, 462d, and 463d Bombardment Squadrons, formerly associated with the 331st Bombardment Group. Equipped with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses, it trained at Dalhart and Pratt Army Air Field, Kansas, for deployment to the Pacific. The group left the United States in late June 1945 and reached Kadena Airfield on Okinawa on 7 August, only days before Japan’s surrender. Consequently, it did not conduct combat operations as a complete group. Some of its intended lead crews nevertheless flew missions with other B-29 organizations operating from bases on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. After the war, the 346th performed several show-of-force flights over Japan and helped transport Allied prisoners of war from Okinawa to the Philippine Islands. It subsequently supported the occupation mission in the Pacific until being inactivated at Kadena on 30 June 1946. The 346th is therefore best understood as a wartime training, transition, and postwar support formation rather than as a long-running commercial or consumer brand. Its historical identity is associated with American heavy-bomber training, B-24 and B-29 operations, Pacific deployment, occupation duties, and the organizational changes that reshaped the Army Air Forces during World War II.

The 346th Bombardment Group was constituted as a heavy-bomber organization on 3 September 1942 and activated four days later at Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah. Its original components were the 502d, 503d, 504th, and 505th Bombardment Squadrons. On 3 October 1942, the group moved to Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas, and began functioning within the Army Air Forces’ operational training system. The group initially trained with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses in part of its organization, but transitioned to an all-Consolidated B-24 Liberator equipment profile by the end of 1942. Its mission changed from operational training of complete units to replacement training for individual aircrews. The distinction was important: an operational training unit supplied cadres for newly formed satellite groups, while a replacement training unit prepared personnel to fill vacancies in established combat formations. The AAF later determined that fixed tables of organization were poorly suited to large-scale specialized training. In October 1943, the 346th’s aircraft were removed and its training work was centralized under group headquarters. The group was attached to the 46th Bombardment Operational Training Wing from February 1943 and operated from Dyersburg Army Air Base, Tennessee, during its final training phase. On 1 April 1944, the 346th, its component squadrons, and associated support organizations were inactivated. The 223d AAF Base Unit assumed the mission as part of a broader conversion to functional base-unit administration. The unit was reconstituted for the B-29 program in the summer of 1944. Redesignated the 346th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy, on 4 August, it was activated at Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, on 18 August. The new group did not revive the original four squadrons. Instead, the 461st, 462d, and 463d Bombardment Squadrons were assigned to it, along with support such as the 32d Photographic Laboratory. The group trained with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses at Dalhart and, beginning in January 1945, at Pratt Army Air Field, Kansas. The group departed the continental United States in late June 1945 and was assigned to the 316th Bombardment Wing in the Pacific. It arrived at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, on 7 August 1945. Since Japan surrendered before the group could begin its planned combat schedule, the 346th did not fly combat missions as an intact organization. Some personnel designated for lead-crew duties participated in missions with other B-29 units based on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. Its postwar work included show-of-force flights over Japan and the movement of Allied prisoners of war from Okinawa to the Philippines. The group remained associated with occupation forces after the war and continued operating from Kadena until its final inactivation on 30 June 1946. Its lineage consequently spans two distinct periods: a 1942–1944 heavy-bomber training group equipped with B-17s and B-24s, and a 1944–1946 very-heavy-bomber group equipped with B-29s and assigned to the Pacific theater and occupation mission.

• 1946

  Final inactivation

  [1]346th Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  After postwar occupation and transport duties, the group was inactivated at Kadena on 30 June.

• 1945

  Arrival at Kadena Airfield

  [1]346th Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group reached Kadena Airfield on Okinawa on 7 August, too late to conduct combat operations before Japan’s surrender.

• 1944

  First inactivation

  [1]346th Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The original group and its squadrons were inactivated on 1 April at the end of the AAF’s reorganization of training units.

• 1944

  Reactivation as a very-heavy bomber group

  [1]346th Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Redesignated on 4 August and activated on 18 August at Dalhart Army Air Field, the group began B-29 training with the 461st, 462d, and 463d Bombardment Squadrons.

• 1942

  Constitution and activation

  [1]346th Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group was constituted as the 346th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 3 September and activated at Salt Lake City Army Air Base on 7 September.

• 1942

  Move to Smoky Hill and bomber training

  [1]346th Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  On 3 October, the group moved to Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas, and began heavy-bomber operational and replacement training.

A United States Army Air Forces bomber group focused first on heavy-bomber aircrew training and later on B-29 preparation, Pacific deployment, and postwar occupation support.

• Heavy bomber · 1942

  Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

  The B-17 was used by elements of the group during its initial training phase in 1942. It was soon superseded within the group by the Consolidated B-24 as the organization shifted toward replacement training.

• Heavy bomber · 1942

  Consolidated B-24 Liberator

  By the end of 1942, the group had become fully equipped with B-24 Liberators. The aircraft supported the group’s heavy-bomber replacement-training mission before the organization was inactivated in April 1944.

• Very heavy bomber · 1944

  Boeing B-29 Superfortress

  The reactivated group trained with B-29 Superfortresses at Dalhart and Pratt Army Air Fields from 1944 into 1945. It deployed to Okinawa for planned Pacific combat operations, but arrived after the war had effectively ended.

• 1944

  Conversion from training group to B-29 organizationStrategy

  Background

  The Army Air Forces needed additional very-heavy-bomber formations for the Pacific and had already reorganized its conventional training structure.

  Action taken

  The former group was redesignated and reactivated with new B-29-equipped squadrons rather than simply restoring its original heavy-bomber organization.

  Aftermath

  The reconstituted group deployed to Okinawa and performed postwar support duties, although it did not conduct combat operations as a complete group.

  Source

• 1943

  Centralization of the training missionStrategy

  Background

  Army Air Forces planners found standard group and squadron structures insufficiently flexible for specialized crew training.

  Action taken

  The group’s aircraft were withdrawn and its training responsibilities were concentrated at headquarters before the organization was ultimately replaced by a numbered base unit.

  Aftermath

  The 346th and its squadrons were inactivated on 1 April 1944, with the 223d AAF Base Unit taking over the training function.

  Source

1. 1346th Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org