447th Air Expeditionary Group
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit assigned to the Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
United States Air Forces Central.The unit presently is stationed at Sather Air Base
Sather Air Base
Sather Air Base or Camp Sather is a United States Air Force base on the west side of Baghdad International Airport.Camp Sather is named in memory of Staff Sergeant Scott Sather, the first enlisted Airman to give his life in Operation Iraqi Freedom...
on Baghdad International Airport
Baghdad International Airport
Baghdad International Airport, originally Saddam International Airport, , BIAP is Iraq's largest airport, located in a suburb about west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate...
in Iraq.
During World War II, its predecessor unit, the 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was a Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
B-17 Flying Fortress unit in England, stationed at RAF Rattlesden
RAF Rattlesden
RAF Rattlesden is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 9 miles SE of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.-USAAF use:Rattlesden airfield was built in 1942 as a Class A bomber airfield. The airfield had three intersecting concrete runways, perimeter track and, for USAAF use,...
. During Big Week
Big Week
Between February 20–25, 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign, the United States Strategic Air Forces launched Operation Argument, a series of missions against the Third Reich that became known as Big Week. The planners intended to lure the Luftwaffe into a decisive battle by...
, 20–25 February 1944, the 447th took part in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry.
2d Lieutenant Robert E. Femoyer
Robert Edward Femoyer
Robert Edward Femoyer is one of only eight known Eagle Scouts who also received the Medal of Honor; the others are Aquilla J. Dyess, Eugene B. Fluckey, Charles P. Murray, Jr., Mitchell Paige, Ben L. Salomon, Leo K. Thorsness and Jay Zeamer, Jr. He served in the U.S...
was awarded the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his heroic actions during a mission over Merseburg, Germany, on 2 November 1944.
Overview
The 447th AEG provides aerial port, command and control of the military runway, aerial control, base operating support, combat Airmen and combat medical support. The group also supports U.S. and coalition forces with airlift, supplies and delivery of these forces and materials within the Baghdad area. The 447th operates a true joint environment, with Air Force aerial port Airmen working next to U.S. Army Soldiers. The airfield is a joint civilian-military airport, with a military ramp on the west side and a civilian runway and terminal on the other that is used for international civilian flight operations.Squadrons assigned
The 447th Air Expeditionary Group’s forces are organized under seven squadrons:- 447th Expeditionary Communications Squadron (447 ECS)
- 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron (447 ECES)
- 447th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron (447 EFSS)
- 447th Expeditionary Logistics Rediness Squadron (447 ELRS)
- 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron (447 EMEDS)
- 447th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron (447 EOSS)
- 447th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron (447 ESFS)
History
'World War II
The 447th AEG traces its lineage back to the 447th Bombardment Group, which was established on 6 April 1943, and activated on 1 May 1943 at Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington. The group consisted of four squadrons: the 708th, 709th, 710th and 711th Bombardment Squadrons.The mission of the 447th was to form a heavy bombardment group and begin training in the B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft. After six months of training, first at Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, in June 1943 and then at Harvard Army Air Field, Nebraska, in August 1943, the first 42 of the group's B-17s began its move from the United States to the European theater of operations in November 1943.The unit sailed on the Queen Elizabeth on 23 November 1943 and arrived Clyde on 29 November 1943. The Air echelon moved overseas via southern ferry route in early November 1943.
The group was stationed at RAF Rattlesden, England, from 25 Nov. 1943 to 1 Aug. 1945. The group flew its first combat mission on 24 December 1943 against a V-1 missile site in Northern France. Between its first mission and it last on 21 April 1945, the 447th engaged chiefly in strategic bombardment. The group flew 257 combat missions over Europe, comprising 7,605 sorties. Only 15 percent of the aircraft launched on combat missions failed to reach their target.
From December 1943 to May 1944, the 447th helped prepare for the invasion of the European continent by attacking submarine pens, naval installations, and cities in Germany; missile sites and ports in France; and airfields and marshaling yards in France, Belgium and Germany. The group conducted heavy bombardment missions against German aircraft industry during Big Week, 20 to 25 Feb. 1944.
The group supported the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 by bombing airfields and other targets, and the group aided in the breakthrough at St. Lo, France, and the effort to take Brest, France, from July to September 1944. They bombed strategic targets from October to December 1944 and assaulted marshalling yards, railroad bridges and communication centers during the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 and January 1945. In March 1945 the group bombed an airfield in support of airborne assault across the Rhine.
Lt. Franklin Stanley flew an astonishing 35 missions, having waived rotation. The 447th was returned to the United States August 1945 and inactivated 7 November 1945.'
Cold War
Redeployed to the United states during June/August 1945. The air echelon departed the United Kingdom on 29/30 June 1945. Ground echelon sailed part on USAT Joseph T. Robinson and part on USAT Benjamin R. Milam from Liverpool on 1 and 3 August 1945 respectively. Ships arrived Boston on the 12 and 15 August 1945. Personnel had 30 days R&R. Group was established at Drew Field, Florida in August 1945, but apparently was unmanned, and inactivated on the 7 November 1945.Two years later, on 25 July 1947, the 447th was redesignated the 447th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy. It was activated in the Air Force Reserve on 12 Aug. 1947, at Bergstrom Field, Texas, and equipped with B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
.The group was redesignated as the 447th Bombardment Group, Medium as a result of the B-29 being designated as a "medium" bomber and reassigned to Castle Air Force Base
Castle Air Force Base
Castle Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced and about east southeast of San Francisco, California....
, California. The 447th was ordered to active service in May 1951 as a result of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.Personnel and equipment reassigned to units in Far East Air Force as replacements.Inactivated as a "paper unit" on 16 June 1951.
Modern era
The group was redesignated the 447th Air Expeditionary Group and converted to provisional status on 28 Jan. 2003. The 447th AEG was activated at Baghdad International AirportBaghdad International Airport
Baghdad International Airport, originally Saddam International Airport, , BIAP is Iraq's largest airport, located in a suburb about west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate...
in April 2003, after elements of the 3rd Infantry Division captured the airport 4 April of the same year. The base was named Sather Air Base
Sather Air Base
Sather Air Base or Camp Sather is a United States Air Force base on the west side of Baghdad International Airport.Camp Sather is named in memory of Staff Sergeant Scott Sather, the first enlisted Airman to give his life in Operation Iraqi Freedom...
on 8 April 2005 in honor of Air Force Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
Scott D. Sather, who was killed two years prior in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sergeant Sather, of Clio
Clio, Michigan
Clio is a city in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan.As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 2,483. Clio is home to Michigan's second tallest construction, the WEYI Tower...
, Michigan, was an Air Force Special Operations
Special operations
Special operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...
combat controller serving with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron
24th Special Tactics Squadron
The 24th Special Tactics Squadron is one of the Special Tactics units of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command .-Disposition:Based at Pope Air Force Base the 24th STS is among the premier Special Tactics Squadrons in the Air Force....
, Pope Air Force Base
Pope Air Force Base
Pope Field is a United States Army facility located 12 miles northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.-Units:...
, North Carolina.
Lineage
- Constituted as 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 6 April 1943
- Activated on 1 May 1943
- Inactivated on 7 November 1945.
- Redesignated 447th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) and activated in the reserve on 12 August 1947
- Redesignated 447th Bombardment Group (Medium) in June 1949
- Ordered to active duty on 1 May 1951
- Inactivated on 16 June 1951.
- Redesignated 447th Air Expeditionary Group, and converted to provisional status on 28 January 2003
- Activated in April 2003
Assignments
- II Bomber CommandII Bomber CommandThe II Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force, based at Fort George Wright, Washington. It was inactivated on 6 October 1943....
, 1 May 1943 - Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
, 6 October-11 November 1943 - 4th Combat Bombardment Wing, 29 November 1943 – 1 August 1945
- Third Air ForceThird Air ForceThe Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....
, 14 August-7 November 1945 - Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
, 12 August 1947 - Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air CommandThe Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
, 1 May – 15 June 1951 - Air Combat CommandAir Combat CommandAir Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
to activate or inactivate at any time after 28 January 2003.
Components
- 708th Bombardment Squadron (CQ): 1 May 1943 – 7 November 1945; 12 August 1947-15 June 1951
- 709th Bombardment Squadron (IE): 1 May 1943 – 7 November 1945; 10 November 1947-27 June 1949
- 710th Bombardment Squadron (IJ): 1 May 1943 – 7 November 1945
- 711th Bombardment Squadron (IR): 1 May 1943 – 7 November 1945
Stations
- Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington, 1 May 1943
- Rapid City Army Air Base, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, C. 1 July 1943 - Harvard Army AirfieldHarvard Army AirfieldHarvard State Airport , also known as Harvard State Airfield, is a public use airport located two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Harvard, a city in Clay County, Nebraska, United States. It is owned by the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics...
, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, August—11 November 1943 - RAF RattlesdenRAF RattlesdenRAF Rattlesden is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 9 miles SE of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.-USAAF use:Rattlesden airfield was built in 1942 as a Class A bomber airfield. The airfield had three intersecting concrete runways, perimeter track and, for USAAF use,...
(USAAF Station 126), England, c. 29 November 1943—c. 1 August 1945
- Drew Field, Florida, c. 14 August- 7 November 1945
- Bergstrom Field, Texas, 12 August 1947
- Castle AFB, California, 26 June 1949 – 16 June 1951.
- Sather AB, Iraq, April since 2003