321st Air Expeditionary Group

321st Air Expeditionary Group
	Emblem of the 321st Air Expeditionary Group
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Part of	Air Combat Command

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The 321st Air Expeditionary Group (321 AEG) is a provisional United States Air Force Air Combat Command unit. It now^[when?] appears to be the 321st Air Expeditionary Training Group at COB Speicher, Iraq, supervising Iraqi Air Force training.

The group's World War II predecessor unit, the 321st Bombardment Group (Medium) flew B-25 Mitchells in combat with the Northwest African Strategic Air Force in 1943 and the Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force in 1944-45. The group was assigned to the 12th Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.

From 2001, the unit was believed to operate RQ-1 Predator reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda as part of Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan (OEF-A). It was believed^[when?] to be stationed at Jacobabad Airbase, Pakistan.

Components

Currently it appears that the 52d Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron is attached to the Group.

History

See the 321st Air Expeditionary Wing for additional history and lineage

World War II

Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons

Emblem of the 321st Bombardment Group

B-25 Mitchells of the 321st Bomb Group over Italy, 1944

Constituted as 321st Bombardment Group (Medium) on 19 June 1942 and activated on 26 June at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. The group's operational squadrons were the 445th, 446th, 447th and 448th Bombardment Squadrons.

The group trained for overseas duty with North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers at several Third Air Force training bases in the southeast. Was assigned and deployed to the Mediterranean theater in January 1943, arriving in Algeria in March. The 321st was assigned to Twelfth Air Force.

In North Africa, the 321st engaged primarily in support and interdictory operations, bombing marshalling yards, rail lines, highways, bridges, viaducts, troop concentrations, gun emplacements, shipping, harbors, and other objectives in North Africa. Later targets shifted to Southern France, Sicily, Italy, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Greece.

The 321st also engaged in psychological warfare missions, dropping propaganda leaflets behind enemy lines. Took part in the Allied operations against Axis forces in North Africa during March–May 1943, the reduction of Pantelleria and Lampedusain June, the invasion of Sicily in July, the landing at Salerno in September, the Allied advance toward Rome during January–June 1944, the invasion of Southern France in August 1944, and the Allied operations in northern Italy from September 1944 to April 1945.

The group received two DUC's: for completing a raid on an air drome near Athens, 8 October 1943, in spite of intense flak and attacks by numerous enemy interceptors; and for bombing a battleship, a cruiser, and a submarine in Toulon harbor on 18 August 1944 to assist the Allied invasion of Southern France.

The 321st Bombardment Group was inactivated near Pomigliano d'Arco, Italy on 12 September 1945. It was later briefly activated as part of the Air Force Reserve at Mansfield Airport, Ohio as the 321st Bombardment Group (Light) (June 1947 – June 1949) and equipped with A-26/B-26 Invaders, then inactivated.

Strategic Missile Group

In March 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission selected the 321st Strategic Missile Wing for inactivation. The wing was downgraded to group status in 1994, and the 321st Missile Group was given a dual mission: To operate, maintain and secure combat-ready ICBM forces for the National Command Authority and to safely and securely transfer its alert responsibilities to the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana.

The 321st Missile Group was inactivated in 1995.

Air Expeditionary Group

Converted to provisional status and activated as 321st Air Expeditionary Group in 2001.

Lineage

Constituted as 321st Bombardment Group (Medium) on 19 June 1942

Activated on 26 June 1942

Inactivated in Italy on 12 September 1945.

Redesignated 321st Bombardment Group (Light). Allotted to the reserve

Activated in the US on 29 June 1947

Inactivated on 27 June 1949

Activated as 321st Missile Group on 1 July 1994

Inactivated: 30 September 1998

Converted to provisional status and allocated to Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate any time after 1 October 2001.
Redesignated as 321st Air Expeditionary Group on 1 October 2001 and activated

Assignments

III Bomber Command, 26 June 1942 – 21 January 1943
47th Bombardment Wing, 12 March 1943
57th Bombardment Wing, 8 August 1943 – 12 September 1945
Tactical Air Command, 29 June 1947 – 27 June 1949
57th Air Division, 1 July 1994 – 30 September 1988
Air Combat Command, 1 October 2001–present

Probably attached to Air Forces Central

Components

445th Bombardment Squadron: 19 June 1942 – 12 September 1945; 29 June 1947-27 June 1949
446th Bombardment (later Missile) Squadron: 19 June 1942 – 12 September 1945; 29 June 1947-27 June 1949; 1 Sep 1991 – 30 Sep 1998
447th Bombardment (later Missile) Squadron: 19 June 1942 – 12 September 1945; 29 June 1947-27 June 1949; 1 Sep 1991 – 30 Sep 1998
449th Bombardment (later Missile) Squadron: 19 June 1942 – 12 September 1945; 29 June 1947-27 June 1949; 1 Sep 1991 – 30 Sep 1998

Commanders

Unknown, Jun-Aug 1942.
Col William C Mills, 3 Aug 1942.
Col Robert D. Knapp, Sep 1942.
Lt Col Charles T Olmsted, 5 Dec 1943.
Lt Col Peter H Remington, 18 Mar 1944.
Col Richard H Smith, 26 Mar 1944.
Lt Col Charles F Cassidy Jr, 28 Jan 1945-unknown.

Stations

Barksdale Field, Louisiana, 26 June 1942
Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina, c. 1 August 1942
Walterboro Army Airfield, South Carolina, September 1942
DeRidder Army Airbase, Louisiana, c. 1 December 1942 – 21 January 1943
Ain M'lila Airfield, Algeria, 12 March 1943
Souk-el-Arba Airfield, Tunisia, c. 1 June 1943
Soliman Airfield, Tunisia, 8 August 1943
Grottaglie Airfield, Italy, October 1943
Amendola Airfield, Italy, c. 20 November 1943

Vincenzo Airfield, Italy, 14 January 1944
Gaudo Airfield, Italy, February 1944
Corsica, 23 April 1944
Falconara Airfield, Italy, 1 April 1945
Pomigliano Airfield, Italy, c. September-12 September 1945
Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport, Ohio, 29 June 1947 – 27 June 1949
Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota, 1 July 1994 – 30 September 1998
Undisclosed locations, October 2001–present

Campaigns

Air Combat, European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME) Theater.
Tunisia.
Sicily.
Naples-Foggia.
Rome-Arno.
Southern France.
North Apennines.
Central Europe.
Po Valley.

Aircraft and missiles assigned

B-25 Mitchell, 1942–1945
LGM-30G Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), 1994–1998
Undisclosed, 2001–present

References

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
War on Terrorism forces