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Constituted as 501st Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) on 25 May 1944. Activated on 1 Jun 1944. Moved to Guam, Mar-Apr 1945, and assigned to Twentieth AF. Entered combat on 19 Jun 1945 when its B-29's bombed Japanese fortifications in the Truk Islands. Flew its first mission against Japan on 27 Jun 1945, and afterward operated principally against the enemy's petroleum industry on Honshu. Received a DUC for attacks on the Maruzen oil refinery at Shimotsu, the Utsubo oil refinery at Yokkaichi, and the petroleum center at Kawasaki, in Jul 1945. After the war, dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners in Japan, China, Korea, and Manchuria. Inactivated on Guam on 10 Jun 1946.
Squadrons. 21st: 1944-1946. 41st: 1944-1946. 485th: 1944-1946.
Stations. Dalhart AAFld, Tex, 1 Jun 1944; Harvard AAFld, Neb, 22 Aug 1944-7 Mar 1945; Northwest Field, Guam, 14 Apr 1945-10 Jun 1946.
Commanders. Capt Harry L Young, c. 27 Jun 1944; Lt Col Arch G Campbell Jr, 6 Jul 1944; Col Boyd Hubbard Jr, 11 Aug 1944; Col Vincent M Miles Jr, 15 Apr-20 May 1946.
Campaigns. Air Offensive, Japan; Eastern Mandates; Western Pacific.
Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citation: Japan, 6-13 Jul 1945.
Data from Air Force Combat Units of World War II By Maurer, Maurer, Published 1986
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Historical Artifacts: We are looking for photos, documents and other types of artifacts including uniforms, medals, insignia, gear, manuals, and training material. We accept electronic/scans or originals of pictures and paper records. A General Order could be an award document that contains information on many servicemen. Special Orders may contain transfers or other information. Flight records, accident reports, maintenance logs, after action reports, pilot encounter reports, diaries and biorgraphies; all of these types of documents help us support or mission: preserving your history! Contact us today for instructions on sending us this material. Contact Today
Are you an AAC, AAF or USAF Veteran, family member, historian or WW2 enthusiast? We Need YOU! Contact us today to see how you can help the Army Air Corps Library and Museum, a Texas Not-For-Profit Corporation. We need your help! We are looking for volunteers that can help us with the following tasks. Typing and Transcriptionists: One of our big projects is extracting data from the thousands of documents we have and putting this data into a database where we can display the information on a website such as this one. We also need assistance with retyping unit history documents.
