Air Force Combat Units of WWII

AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS-GROUPS 3211951; I955-. 706th: 1943-1945; 194%1949; 1955-. 707th: 1943-1945; 1948-19490STATIONS. Davis-Monthan Field, Ariz,I Apr 1943; Lowry Field, Colo, c. 8 Jun-Oct 1943; Flixton, England, c. 4 Nov1943-c. Jul 1945; Sioux Falls AAFld, SD,c. Jul-28 Aug 1945. Carswell AFB, Tex,26 Mar 1948-25 Jun 1951. Ellington AFB,Tex, 25 May 1g55-.COMMANDERS. Lt Col Arthur Y Snell,25 Apr 1943; Col Jacob J Brogger, 28 Sep1943; Col Troy W Crawford, 23 Sep 1944;Lt Col William A Schmidt, 4 Apr 1945-unkn. Unkn, I May-25 Jun 1951.CAMPAIGNS. Air Offensive, Europe ;Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland;Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe.DECORATIONS. None.INSIGNE. None.447th BOMBARDMENT GROUPConstituted as 447th BombardmentGroup (Heavy) on 6 Apr 1943. Activatedon I May 1943. Trained for combatwith B-17's. Moved to England inNov 1943 and assigned to Eighth AF.Entered combat in Dec 1943 and operatedchiefly as a strategic bombardment organization.From Dec 1943 to May 1944,helped to prepare for the invasion of theContinent by attacking submarine pens,naval installations, and cities in Germany ;ports and missile sites in France; and airfieldsand marshalling yards in France,Belgium, and Germany. During BigWeek, 20-25 Feb 1944, took part in theintensive campaign of heavy bombersagainst the German aircraft industry.Supported the invasion of Normandy inJun 1944 by bombing airfields and othertargets near the beachhead. Aided thebreakthrough at St Lo in Jul and the effortto take Brest in Sep. Pounded enemypositions to assist the airborne invasionof Holland in Sep. Also dropped suppliestb Free French forces during thesummer of 1944. Turned to strategic targetsin Germany in Oct 1944, placing emphasison sources of oil production untilmid-Dec. 2d Lt Robert E Femoyer, navigator,won the Medal of Honor for actionon 2 Nov 1944: while on a mission overGermany, his B-17 was damaged by flakand Femoyer was severly wounded byshell fragments; determined to navigatethe plane out of danger and save the crew,he refused a sedative and, for more thantwo hours, directed the navigation of thebomber so effectively that it returned tobase without further damage; Femoyerdied shortly after being removed from theplane. During the Battle of the Bulge,Dec 1g44-Jan 1945, the group assaultedmarshalling yards, railroad bridges, andcommunications centers in the combatzone. Then resumed operations againsttargets in Germany, attacking oil, transportation,communications, and other objectivesuntil the war ended. During thisperiod, also supported the airborne assaultacross the Rhine (Mar 1945). Returnedto the US in Aug 1945. Znactivated on 7Nov 1945.