395th Bombardment Group
The 395th Bombardment Group was a United States Army Air Forces heavy-bomber training unit active during World War II.
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Overview
The 395th Bombardment Group was an inactive United States Army Air Forces heavy-bomber training organization that operated in the United States during World War II. Constituted as the 395th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 29 January 1943 and activated at Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington, on 16 February 1943, it was assigned to II Bomber Command of the Second Air Force. Its principal aircraft was the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Unlike combat groups deployed overseas, the 395th existed primarily to prepare personnel and newly forming bomber organizations for operational service. It initially functioned as an Operational Training Unit. Under the Army Air Forces training system, a large parent organization supplied experienced cadres and supervised the development of smaller satellite groups. The 395th helped organize and train the 398th, 401st, and 447th Bombardment Groups at Ephrata. Its four regular squadrons were the 588th, 589th, 590th, and 591st Bombardment Squadrons. The group also used a specialized detachment, designated the 395th Heavy Bombardment Crew Detachment, to conduct the first stage of aircrew preparation. This phase focused on individual specialties such as piloting, navigation, bombardment, engineering, and gunnery. The 589th and 590th Bombardment Squadrons conducted the second stage, in which personnel learned to function as coordinated crews. The final stage emphasized the operation of the assembled unit. This layered approach reflected the Army Air Forces' effort to create effective combat formations from personnel who had completed separate technical and flying schools. In late September 1943, the 483d Bombardment Group was formed at Ephrata. Its initial cadre came from the 21st Antisubmarine Squadron, which had moved inland after the Navy assumed primary responsibility for antisubmarine warfare. During the 483d's organization, the 21st Antisubmarine Squadron was attached to the 395th. It was later redesignated the 818th Bombardment Squadron. The 395th and its squadrons moved to Ardmore Army Air Field, Oklahoma, on 25 October 1943. At Ardmore, the organization shifted from an Operational Training Unit to a Replacement Training Unit. This change reflected the evolving needs of the wartime air forces. By late 1943, many combat groups had already been activated and sent overseas, so the training system increasingly needed to provide replacement pilots and aircrews for existing formations rather than create entirely new groups. The Army Air Forces ultimately concluded that conventional groups, built around relatively rigid tables of organization, were not sufficiently adaptable to replacement training. It therefore moved toward a functional base-unit structure in which each installation received a numbered organization tailored to its training mission. As part of this reorganization, the 395th Bombardment Group, its squadrons, and associated support elements were inactivated at Ardmore on 1 April 1944. The 222d Army Air Forces Base Unit, designated a Combat Crew Training Station for heavy bombardment, replaced the group. The 395th therefore represents a wartime training formation rather than a commercial brand or a permanently active military command.
History
The 395th Bombardment Group was established within the wartime expansion of the United States Army Air Forces' heavy-bomber training system. It was constituted as the 395th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 29 January 1943 and activated on 16 February 1943 at Ephrata Army Air Base in Washington. Its original cadre was drawn from the 34th Bombardment Group, and its permanent components were the 588th, 589th, 590th, and 591st Bombardment Squadrons. The group served under II Bomber Command, part of the Second Air Force. At Ephrata, the 395th operated as an Operational Training Unit for Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress formations. The operational-training model was influenced by the Royal Air Force system and relied on an oversized parent unit to form and supervise smaller satellite groups. The parent organization provided experienced personnel, trained incoming graduates of Army Air Forces schools, and helped the new groups develop into combat-ready units. During its time at Ephrata, the 395th participated in the development of the 398th, 401st, and 447th Bombardment Groups. Training was organized into successive phases. A detachment known as the 395th Heavy Bombardment Crew Detachment conducted the initial phase, effectively serving as an additional training element. This phase concentrated on individual qualifications and crew-member specialties. The 589th and 590th Bombardment Squadrons conducted the next phase, each operating in a provisional group-like role to teach aircrew coordination. The final phase dealt with operating as a complete unit, linking individual and crew skills to the requirements of a heavy-bomber group. The group was also involved in the organization of the 483d Bombardment Group. That group was formed at Ephrata in late September 1943, using cadre from the 21st Antisubmarine Squadron. The squadron had moved from the Gulf Coast after the Navy assumed responsibility for antisubmarine operations. While the 483d was being organized, the 21st Antisubmarine Squadron was attached to the 395th. It was subsequently redesignated the 818th Bombardment Squadron. On 25 October 1943, the 395th moved with its squadrons to Ardmore Army Air Field in Oklahoma. Its mission there changed to Replacement Training Unit work. This function trained individual pilots and aircrews intended to replenish combat organizations already deployed overseas. The change corresponded to the broader development of the Army Air Forces: by this stage of the war, most of its combat units had been activated and many had already gone abroad. Training replacement personnel was consequently more important than continually creating new complete combat groups, although special programs such as B-29 organization continued. The Army Air Forces found that ordinary military units were poorly suited to replacement training because their tables of organization were relatively inflexible. It adopted a more functional system in which bases were organized as numbered units designed around specific training responsibilities. On 1 April 1944, the 395th Bombardment Group was inactivated at Ardmore along with its four squadrons and related support elements. The 222d Army Air Forces Base Unit, designated a Combat Crew Training Station for heavy bombardment, assumed the installation's training role. The 395th had no recorded overseas combat campaign; its wartime contribution was the preparation of bomber crews and the development of formations intended for combat elsewhere.
- 1944
Inactivation and replacement by a base unit
[1]The group and its components were inactivated on 1 April and replaced by the 222d Army Air Forces Base Unit, a heavy-bomber combat crew training station.
- 1943
Constitution as a heavy bombardment group
[1]The organization was constituted as the 395th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 29 January 1943.
- 1943
Activation at Ephrata
[1]The group was activated at Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington, on 16 February and began heavy-bomber operational training.
- 1943
Support for new bombardment groups
[1]The 395th helped provide the training framework and cadre support used in forming the 398th, 401st, and 447th Bombardment Groups.
- 1943
Attachment of the 21st Antisubmarine Squadron
[1]The 21st Antisubmarine Squadron was attached to the group during the organization of the 483d Bombardment Group and was later redesignated the 818th Bombardment Squadron.
- 1943
Move to Ardmore and mission change
[1]On 25 October, the group moved to Ardmore Army Air Field, Oklahoma, and changed from operational unit training to replacement training.
Products and positioning
A wartime Army Air Forces training group focused on preparing B-17 personnel, replacement aircrews, and cadres for heavy-bomber operations.
Aircraft training · 1943
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress training
The group used Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers in its training role. Instruction prepared pilots, navigators, bombardiers, engineers, gunners, and other aircrew personnel for the coordinated demands of heavy-bomber operations. The group trained both newly forming organizations and replacement personnel destined for combat units.
Military training · 1943
Heavy-bomber crew training
The 395th's training structure progressed from individual crew-member preparation to crew coordination and finally to complete unit operations. This phased system was intended to turn personnel with separate technical qualifications into functioning B-17 combat crews and operational formations.
Brand decisions
1944
Replacement of the group structure with a functional base unitStrategyBackground
Army Air Forces planners determined that conventional groups with relatively rigid organizational tables were not well adapted to replacement training.
Action taken
The 395th and its components were inactivated on 1 April 1944, and the 222d Army Air Forces Base Unit took over the Ardmore heavy-bomber combat crew training mission.
Aftermath
The reorganization moved training management toward numbered functional units tailored to the work performed at each air base.
1943
Transition from operational unit training to replacement trainingStrategyBackground
As increasing numbers of Army Air Forces combat groups deployed overseas, the training requirement shifted from creating complete new formations toward supplying replacements for existing units.
Action taken
After relocating to Ardmore in October 1943, the 395th operated as a Replacement Training Unit for individual pilots and aircrews.
Aftermath
The change reflected the wider wartime reorientation of the Army Air Forces training system.
Sources1 sources
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