USAAF 41-31739 Martin B-26B-20-MA Marauder

USAAF serial number S/N: 41-31739 Martin B-26B-20-MA Marauder

1941031739, 41-31739 Martin B-26B-20-MA Marauder Fate: Unit: 322BG452BS Remarks: 322BG452BS Nye's Annihilators Code:DR-P named: The Old Vet, Disposal:

322d Bombardment Group

Constituted as 322d Bombardment Group (Medium) on 19 Jun 1942. Activated on 17 Jul 1942. Trained with B-26 aircraft. Part of the group moved overseas, Nov-Dec 1942; planes and crews followed, Mar-Apr 1943. Operated with Eighth AF until assignment to Ninth in Oct 1943. Served in combat, May 1943-Apr 1945, operating from England, France, and Belgium. Began combat on 14 May when it dispatched 12 planes for a minimum-level attack on a power plant in Holland. Sent 11 planes on a similar mission three days later: one returned early; the others, with 60 crewmen, were lost to flak and interceptors. Trained for medium-altitude operations for several weeks and resumed combat on 17 Jul 1943. Received a DUC for the period 14 May 1943-24 Jul 1944, during which its combat performance helped to prove the effectiveness of the medium bombers. Enemy airfields in France, Belgium, and Holland provided the principal targets from Jul 1943 through Feb 1944, but the group also attacked power stations, shipyards, construction works, marshalling yards, and other targets. Beginning in Mar the 322d bombed railroad and highway bridges, oil tanks, and missile sites in preparation for the invasion of Normandy; on 6 Jun 1944 it hit coastal defenses and gun batteries; afterward, during the Normandy campaign, it pounded fuel and ammunition dumps, bridges, and road junctions. Supported the Allied offensive at Caen and the breakthrough at St Lo in Jul. Aided the drive of Third Army across France in Aug and Sep. Bombed bridges, road junctions, defended villages, and ordnance depots in the assault on the Siegfried Line, Oct-Dec 1944. Flew a number of missions against railroad bridges during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945. Then concentrated on communications, marshalling yards, bridges, and fuel dumps until its last mission on 24 Apr 1945. Moved to Germany in Jun 1945. Engaged in inventorying and disassembling German Air Force equipment and facilities. Returned to the US, Nov-Dec 1945. Inactivated on 15 Dec 1945.

Redesignated 322d Bombardment Group (Light). Allotted to the reserve. Activated on 9 Aug 1947. Inactivated on 27 Jun 1949.

Redesignated 322d Fighter-Day Group. Activated on 1 Jul 1954. Assigned to Tactical Air Command. Equipped first with F-86 and later with F-100 aircraft.

35th Bombardment Squadron 35BS

Squadrons. 35th: 1947-1949.

449th Bombardment Squadron 449BS

449th: 1942-1945; 1947-1949.

450th Bombardment Squadron 450BS

450th: 1942-1945; 1947-1949; 1954-.

451st Bombardment Squadron 451BS

451st: 1942-1945; 1947-1949; 1954-.

452nd Bombardment Squadron 452BS

452d: 1942-1945; 1947-1949; 1954-.

Stations. MacDill Field, Fla, 17 Jul 1942; Drane Field, Fla, 22 Sep-Nov 1942; Rougham, England, c. 1 Dec 1942; Great Saling, England, Jan 1943; Beauvais/Tille, France, Sep 1944; Le Culot, Belgium, Mar 1945; Fritzlar, Germany, Jun-Sep 1945; Camp Kilmer, NJ, c. 14-15 Dec 1945. Reading AAFld, Pa, 9 Aug 1947-27 Jun 1949. Foster AFB, Tex, 1 Jul 1954-.

Commanders. Lt Col Jacob Brogger, c. 8 Aug 1942; Col Robert R Selway Jr, c. 21 Oct 1942; Lt Col John F Batjer, c. 22 Feb 1943; Lt Col Robert M Stillman, c. 17 Mar 1943; Col Glenn C Nye, c. 19 May 1943; Col John S Samuel, Jul 1944; Maj John L Egan, c. 12 Jul 1945-unkn. Col Carlos M Talbott, 1 Jul 1954-.

Campaigns. Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe.

Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citation: ETO, 14 May 1943-24 Jul 1944.

Insigne. Shield: Tierce per fess azure and or, five piles, three conjoined between two transposed counterchanged. Motto: Recto Faciendo Neminen Timeo - I Fear None in Doing Right. (Approved 9 Jan 1943.)