91st Bombardment Group
The 91st Bombardment Group was a United States Army Air Forces heavy-bomber unit that flew B-17 missions from England during the Second World War and later served in reconnaissance and missile-alert lineages.
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Overview
The 91st Bombardment Group was a heavy-bombardment formation of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. Although the input describes it as a brand, the subject is a military organization rather than a commercial brand. It was established on 28 January 1942 and activated on 14 April 1942 at Harding Field, Louisiana, as the United States expanded its air forces for global war. The group initially had only a small administrative cadre. Its four flying squadrons—the 322nd, 323rd, 324th and 401st Bombardment Squadrons—were activated after the group moved to MacDill Field, Florida, where Lieutenant Colonel Stanley T. Wray assumed command and began organizing personnel and aircraft. Training proceeded through several American bases. The group began with very limited equipment, initially having only three B-17 aircraft available for early training. It moved to Walla Walla Army Air Base, Washington, in June 1942 for advanced preparation, while elements operated from satellite fields in Oregon. The unit then received orders for overseas deployment. Its ground echelon crossed the Atlantic aboard RMS Queen Mary in September 1942, while aircrews ferried B-17s through the northern route via Newfoundland and Scotland. After arriving in England, the group was initially directed to RAF Kimbolton, but its commanders judged the wartime airfield unsuitable for the operational weight of fully loaded B-17s. On 14 October 1942, the 91st moved without prior approval to RAF Bassingbourn in Cambridgeshire, which became its principal wartime base. The group began combat operations in November 1942 and flew 340 bombing missions with the Eighth Air Force over Europe. Its early missions concentrated heavily on German submarine facilities, especially the U-boat base at Brest, France. The group later participated in the daylight strategic bombing campaign against transportation infrastructure, aircraft production, ball-bearing factories, industrial targets and other military objectives in occupied Europe and Germany. It flew B-17 Flying Fortresses, initially primarily B-17F models and later increasing numbers of B-17G aircraft. Its fuselage squadron codes were LG for the 322nd, OR for the 323rd, DF for the 324th and LL for the 401st. The 91st became known informally as “The Ragged Irregulars,” or “Wray’s Ragged Irregulars,” reflecting its early commander and the difficult conditions under which the group entered combat. It is also associated with the B-17 Memphis Belle, which served with the 324th Bombardment Squadron. The group earned two Distinguished Unit Citations and developed a reputation for severe combat exposure. Reference material identifies it as having suffered the greatest number of losses of any heavy-bombardment group in the Second World War. Particularly costly operations included the August–October 1943 deep-penetration missions, when the Eighth Air Force operated beyond the effective range of fighter escorts, and the 17 August 1943 attack on Schweinfurt, during which the group lost ten aircraft. After the war, the organization was inactivated, but its lineage continued through postwar reorganizations. It was reactivated on 1 July 1947 as the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Group, operating under the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. During its postwar reconnaissance service it flew Boeing RB-29, North American RB-45 and Boeing RB-47 aircraft, and its structure included the 322nd, 323rd and 324th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadrons together with the 91st Air Refueling Squadron. The group was inactivated on 28 May 1952 during a Strategic Air Command reorganization that eliminated groups as an organizational echelon; the wing and subordinate units continued for several more years. In 1991 the lineage was activated again as the 91st Operations Group. From 1991 to 1994, and again from 1996 onward according to the reference material, the group maintained the alert force of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. It was initially associated with the 91st Space Wing and later with the 91st Missile Wing. The missile squadrons assigned to that later organization did not possess a direct traditional connection to the wartime 91st Bombardment Group, having previously belonged to the 455th Strategic Missile Wing and 455th Bombardment Group.
History
The 91st Bombardment Group was created during the rapid expansion of American military aviation in 1942. Established on 28 January and activated on 14 April at Harding Field, Louisiana, it initially existed mainly as an administrative framework. The four heavy-bomber squadrons assigned to it were activated after its move to MacDill Field, Florida, where Lieutenant Colonel Stanley T. Wray took command. The group began training with a severe shortage of aircraft, at one point having only three B-17s available. It moved to Walla Walla Army Air Base in Washington in June for the next phase of training, with squadron elements using fields in Oregon. The group was selected for overseas deployment in late summer 1942. Its ground echelon traveled to Fort Dix, New Jersey, and crossed the Atlantic aboard RMS Queen Mary, reaching Scotland on 11 September. The air echelon acquired new B-17F aircraft at Gowen Field, Idaho, and ferried them through the United States and Canada to Dow Field, Maine. The squadrons crossed the Atlantic separately through Newfoundland and Prestwick. One aircraft was lost during the movement when a 401st Bombardment Squadron B-17 crashed in fog near Cushendall, Northern Ireland, killing eight crew members and a flight surgeon. The 91st was first assigned to RAF Kimbolton, but the field's runway and facilities were not adequate for sustained operations by heavily loaded B-17s. Wray inspected RAF Bassingbourn, a more permanent and better-developed station in Cambridgeshire, and ordered the group to relocate. On 14 October the organization moved its personnel and equipment to Bassingbourn in a single day. The decision established the base most closely associated with the group's wartime identity. Combat operations began in November 1942. A proposed mission on 4 November was cancelled because of weather, but the group flew its first operational sortie on 7 November against the German submarine base at Brest, France. Brest and other U-boat facilities remained important targets during the group's early operations. The 91st flew eight missions in November, and a 23 November operation produced particularly serious losses among aircraft and senior personnel. The group's first mission against Germany took place on 27 January 1943. On 4 March it received its first Distinguished Unit Citation after continuing an attack on the Hamm marshalling yards despite deteriorating weather that caused other formations to withdraw. During 1943 the group became increasingly involved in the Eighth Air Force's campaign against German industry and air power. It led the first Eighth Air Force mission against the German aircraft industry on 17 April, attacking Bremen, and suffered six aircraft losses. The group operated under the 101st Provisional Bomb Wing from January 1943. In May, its original commander, Stanley Wray, left to lead a provisional combat wing. William Reid, Clemens Wurzbach and later Claude E. Putnam successively commanded the unit during a period of heavy operations and personnel turnover. The group's association with the Memphis Belle dates from this period: the aircraft and its crew served in the 324th Bombardment Squadron, and completed their required combat tour before returning to the United States. The 91st also adopted the Triangle A tail marking in 1943, a visual identifier later familiar from portrayals of the B-17 campaign. The group received its first B-17G on 22 September 1943, while continuing to operate and replace B-17F aircraft through the end of that year. Deep-penetration operations in the second half of 1943 were extremely costly because German fighters could engage the bombers beyond the range of available escorts. On 17 August the 91st led an attack on the ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt and lost ten aircraft. Between that operation and 14 October, the group lost 28 aircraft, reportedly the highest total among Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber groups during that period. The group later resumed intensive operations as long-range fighter escorts became available. On 11 January 1944 the 91st participated in the attack on the AGO aircraft factory at Oschersleben and received its second Distinguished Unit Citation. During Operation Argument, commonly called Big Week, in February 1944, it flew on all five days and lost ten aircraft. It led the Eighth Air Force's first attack on Berlin on 6 March and continued to participate in missions against the German capital and other targets. Across the war, the group completed 340 Eighth Air Force bombing missions. The wartime group was inactivated after the end of hostilities. Its lineage was revived on 1 July 1947 as the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Group, a subordinate unit of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. It conducted worldwide surveillance with RB-29, RB-45 and RB-47 aircraft and included three strategic reconnaissance squadrons and a medium air-refueling squadron. The group was inactivated on 28 May 1952 during an SAC reorganization that removed groups as an organizational level. In 1991 the lineage appeared again in the 91st Operations Group. The reactivated organization maintained Minuteman III missile alert forces at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, first under the 91st Space Wing and later under the 91st Missile Wing. Although the later missile squadrons inherited the numerical designation and organizational lineage, they had previously belonged to the 455th Strategic Missile Wing and 455th Bombardment Group rather than directly to the wartime B-17 group.
- 1991
Reactivation as operations group
[1]The lineage was activated again as the 91st Operations Group for missile-alert operations at Minot Air Force Base.
- 1952
Inactivation under SAC reorganization
[1]The group was inactivated on 28 May as Strategic Air Command eliminated groups as an organizational echelon.
- 1947
Reactivation as reconnaissance group
[1]On 1 July the lineage returned as the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Group, flying RB-29, RB-45 and RB-47 aircraft.
- 1944
Second Distinguished Unit Citation
[1]The group received its second citation for the 11 January attack on the AGO aircraft factory at Oschersleben.
- 1944
First Berlin mission
[1]The group led the Eighth Air Force's first attack on Berlin on 6 March.
- 1943
First Distinguished Unit Citation
[1]The group was recognized after pressing its attack against the Hamm marshalling yards on 4 March despite poor weather.
- 1943
Bremen aircraft-industry mission
[1]On 17 April the group led the Eighth Air Force's first mission against the German aircraft industry and suffered six B-17 losses.
- 1943
Schweinfurt losses
[1]The group led the 17 August attack on Schweinfurt's ball-bearing factories and lost ten aircraft.
- 1943
Introduction of B-17G aircraft
[1]The group received its first B-17G on 22 September, beginning the transition toward the standard later-war Fortress variant.
- 1942
Activation
[1]The group was established on 28 January and activated on 14 April at Harding Field, Louisiana.
Products and positioning
A wartime United States heavy-bomber formation and later military lineage organization, recognized for B-17 operations from RAF Bassingbourn, participation in the Eighth Air Force daylight bombing campaign, and its association with the Memphis Belle.
Brand decisions
1943
Transition from B-17F to B-17G aircraftGeneration changeBackground
The group required aircraft with improved equipment and longer-range capabilities for the expanding daylight bombing campaign.
Action taken
It received its first B-17G on 22 September 1943 while continuing to operate replacement B-17F aircraft for a period.
Aftermath
The B-17G became the principal Fortress variant used by the Eighth Air Force during the later war.
1942
Relocation from RAF Kimbolton to RAF BassingbournStrategyBackground
The group determined that Kimbolton's wartime runway and facilities were poorly suited to fully loaded B-17 operations.
Action taken
Commander Stanley Wray ordered the group to move its personnel and equipment to the more suitable RAF Bassingbourn on 14 October 1942.
Aftermath
Bassingbourn became the group's principal wartime station and its best-known operating base.
Sources1 sources
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