22nd Bombardment Group

The 22nd Bombardment Group was created on the U.S. East Coast just after the start of the Second World War, training with a mix of B-18 Bolos and B-26 Marauders.

In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the 22nd Bombardment Group was transferred to the West Coast, flying anti-submarine patrols from Muroc, California from December 1941 to the end of January 1942.

It was then assigned to the Fifth Air Force, originally based on the Philippines. By the time the 22nd arrived in the theatre the situation on the Philippines was desperate, and the group was based in Australia. From there it attacked Japanese targets on New Guinea and New Britain.

In October 1943 the B-26 Marauders were joined by B-25 Mitchells, and for the rest of the year the group continued to operate in support of Allied troops on New Guinea.

In February 1944 the unit was redesignated as a Heavy Bombardment Group, and was given Consolidated B-24 Liberators. With its new heavy bombers the group attacked targets on Borneo, Ceram and Halmahera, amongst them the crucial oil field of the Dutch East Indies.

In September 1944 the group moved its attention to the Philippines, attacking targets on Leyte. It moved onto Leyte on 15 November 1944. From then until August 1945 it flew against targets on Luzon, as well as supporting the campaign on Borneo and even ranging out as far as China.

Finally, on 15 August 1945 the unit moved to Okinawa, from where it flew a number of armed reconnaissance missions over southern Japan to make sure the surrender terms were being obeyed.

Books

B-24 Liberator Units of the Pacific War, Robert F. Dorr. The B-24 played a major part in the war in the Pacific, serving as the main heavy bomber for the USAAF in the Pacific from the start of the war until the late arrival of the B-29. The Pacific campaign was fought on a vast scale, over theatres as varied as the jungles of Burma and the icy Aleutian islands. Dorr splits this volume into five parts - one looking at the early period of the war, when small numbers of B-24s took part in desperate attempts to stop the Japanese advance, one chapter each for the Fifth, Seventh and Thirteenth Air Forces, and a final chapter for the combined Far East Air Force.

Aircraft

Timeline

Commanders (with date of appointment)

Lt. Colonel Ross F. Cole: February 1940
Lt. Colonel John L Moore: 1940
Major Lewis M Merrick: 20 February 1941
Major Mark L Lewis Jr: October 1941
Lt. Colonel Millard L Haskin: 10 December 1941
Lt. Colonel Dwight D. Divine II: 19 May 1942
Lt. Colonel George R Anderson: March 1943
Lt. Colonel Roger E. Phelan: June 1943
Colonel Richard W. Robinson: February 1944
Colonel Leonard T. Nicholson: 21 January 1945
Lt. Colonel James E. Sweeney: 24 September 1945

Main Bases

Mitchel Field, NY: 1 February 1940
Langley Field, Va.: 14 November 1940
Muroc, California: 9 December 1941-31 January 1942
Brisbane, Australia: 25 February 1942
Ipswich, Australia: 8 March 1942
Townsville, Australia: 7 April 1942
Woodstock, Australia: 5 July 1942
Iron Range, Australia: 29 September 1942
Woodstock, Australia: 4 February 1943
Dobodura, New Guinea: October 1943
Nadzab, New Guinea: January 1944
Owi, Schouten Islands: 17 August 1944
Leyte: 15 November 1944
Anguar: 26 November 1944
Samar: 21 January 1945
Clark Field, Luzon: March 1945
Okinawa: 15 August 1945

Component Units

2nd Bombardment Squadron: 1940-1952
19th Bombardment Squadron: 1940-1952
33rd Bombardment Squadron: 1940-1952
408th Bombardment Squadron: 1942-1952

Assigned To

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (20 December 2007), 22nd Bombardment Group, http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/USAAF/22nd_Bombardment_Group.html

22 December 1939	Constituted as 22nd Bombardment Group (Medium)
1 February 1940	Activated
February 1942	To Australia with Fifth Air Force
February 1944	Redesignated 22nd Bombardment Group (Heavy)