Country United States | Part of Air Combat Command | |
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Branch United States Air Force | ||
The 321st Air Expeditionary Group (321 AEG) is a provisional United States Air Force Air Combat Command unit. It now appears to be the 321st Air Expeditionary Training Group at COB Speicher, Iraq, supervising Iraqi Air Force training.
Contents
- Components
- History
- World War II
- Strategic Missile Group
- Air Expeditionary Group
- Lineage
- Assignments
- Commanders
- Campaigns
- Aircraft and missiles assigned
- References
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 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 lineageWorld War II
Media related to United States Army Air Forces 321st Bombardment Group at Wikimedia Commons
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.