321st Air Expeditionary Group
Encyclopedia
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.
The group's World War II predecessor unit, the 321st Bombardment Group (Medium) flew B-25 Mitchell
s in combat with Twelfth Air Force in the North African
and Italian Campaigns
. In twenty months of combat operation, the Group maintained a record of destroying twenty enemy fighters for each of its bombers lost.
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.
is attached to the Group.
. 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 Lampedusa
in 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.
(BRAC) Commission selected the 321st Strategic Missile Wing for deactivation. 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.
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...
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 ....
unit. It now appears to be the 321st Air Expeditionary Training Group at COB Speicher
COB Speicher
COB Speicher formerly FOB Speicher is a US Army Contingency Operating Base captured from the Iraqi Army during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. It was reassigned from a Forward Operating Base to a COB because of its large size...
, Iraq, supervising Iraqi Air Force
Iraqi Air Force
The Iraqi Air Force or IQAF is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations...
training.
The group's World War II predecessor unit, the 321st Bombardment Group (Medium) flew B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
s in combat with Twelfth Air Force in the North African
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
and Italian Campaigns
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
. In twenty months of combat operation, the Group maintained a record of destroying twenty enemy fighters for each of its bombers lost.
From 2001, the unit was believed to operate RQ-1 Predator
RQ-1 Predator
The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator is an unmanned aerial vehicle used primarily by the United States Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency...
reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
as part of Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan (OEF-A). It was believed to be stationed at Jacobabad Airbase
Jacobabad Airbase
PAF Base Shahbaz is located at Jacobabad, in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is a military base, operated by the Pakistan Air Force, as well as a civilian airport....
, Pakistan.
Components
Currently it appears that the 52d Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron52d Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron
The 52d Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron is part of the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission - Air Force and is based at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Tikrit, Iraq. It operates T-6A aircraft conducting flight training for members of the Iraqi Air Force...
is attached to the Group.
World War II
Constituted as 321st Bombardment Group (Medium) on 19 June 1942 and activated on 26 June at Barksdale Field, LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. 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
Third Air Force
The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....
training bases in the southeast. Was assigned and deployed to the Mediterranean theater in January 1943, arriving in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
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
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Italy, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, 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
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
during March–May 1943, the reduction of Pantelleria
Operation Corkscrew
During World War II, Operation Corkscrew was the Allied invasion of the Italian island of Pantelleria on 10 June 1943. There had been an early plan to occupy the island in late 1940 , but this was aborted when the Luftwaffe strengthened the Axis air threat in the region.The Allied focus returned...
and Lampedusa
Lampedusa
Lampedusa is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The comune of Lampedusa e Linosa is part of the Sicilian province of Agrigento which also includes the smaller islands of Linosa and Lampione. It is the southernmost part of Italy. Tunisia, which is about ...
in June, the invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
in July, the landing at Salerno in September, the Allied advance toward Rome during January–June 1944, the invasion of Southern France
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
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
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, 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
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
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
Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport
Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport is a city-owned, joint civil-military, public-use airport located three miles north of the central business district of Mansfield, a city in Richland County, Ohio, United States....
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
as the 321st Bombardment group (Light) (June 1947 – June 1949) and equipped with A-26/B-26 Invaders
A-26 Invader
The Douglas A-26 Invader was a United States twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Douglas Aircraft Co. during World War II that also saw service during several of the Cold War's major conflicts...
, then inactivated.
Strategic Missile Group
In March 1993, the Base Realignment and ClosureBase Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...
(BRAC) Commission selected the 321st Strategic Missile Wing for deactivation. 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
341st Missile Wing
The United States Air Force's 341st Missile Wing is an intercontinental ballistic missile unit headquartered at Malmstrom AFB, Montana...
at Malmstrom Air Force Base
Malmstrom Air Force Base
Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place in Cascade County, Montana, United States. It was named in honor of World War II POW Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom...
, 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.Lineage
- Constituted as 321st Bombardment Group (Medium) on 19 June 1942
- Activated on 26 June 1942
- Inactivated in Italy on 12 September 1945.
- Redesignated 321st Bombardment Group (Light). Allotted to the reserve
- Activated in the US on 29 June 1947
- Inactivated on 27 June 1949
- Activated as 321st Missile Group on 1 July 1994
- Inactivated: 30 September 1998
- Converted to provisional status and allocated to Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate any time after 1 October 2001.
- Redesignated as 321st Air Expeditionary Group on 1 October 2001 and activated
Assignments
- III Bomber CommandIII Bomber CommandThe III Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946.-Lineage:...
, 26 June 1942 – 21 January 1943 - 47th Bombardment Wing, 12 March 1943
- 57th Bombardment Wing, 8 August 1943 – 12 September 1945
- Tactical Air CommandTactical Air CommandTactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
, 29 June 1947 – 27 June 1949 - 57th Air Division, 1 July 1994 – 30 September 1988
- 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 ....
, 1 October 2001–present
- Probably attached to Air Forces Central
Components
- 445th Bombardment Squadron445th Bombardment SquadronThe 445th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 321st Bombardment Wing, stationed at Pinecastle Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 25 October 1961.-History:...
: 19 June 1942 – 12 September 1945; 29 June 1947-27 June 1949 - 446th Bombardment (later Missile) Squadron: 19 June 1942 – 12 September 1945; 29 June 1947-27 June 1949; 1 Sep 1991 – 30 Sep 1998
- 447th Bombardment (later Missile) Squadron: 19 June 1942 – 12 September 1945; 29 June 1947-27 June 1949; 1 Sep 1991 – 30 Sep 1998
- 449th Bombardment (later Missile) Squadron: 19 June 1942 – 12 September 1945; 29 June 1947-27 June 1949; 1 Sep 1991 – 30 Sep 1998
Stations
- Barksdale Field, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, 26 June 1942 - Columbia Army Air Base, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, c. 1 August 1942 - Walterboro Army Airfield, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, September 1942 - DeRidder Army Airbase, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, c. 1 December 1942 – 21 January 1943 - Ain M'lila AirfieldAin M'lila AirfieldAin M'lila Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Algeria, located approximately 17 km north-northwest of Aïn Kercha in Oum el Bouaghi province, about 50 km south-southeast of Constantine...
, Algeria, 12 March 1943 - Souk-el-Arba AirfieldSouk-el-Arba AirfieldSouk-el-Arba Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia, located approximately 2.3 km southeast of Jendouba; 130 km west-southwest of Tunis...
, Tunisia, c. 1 June 1943 - Soliman AirfieldSoliman AirfieldSoliman Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia, located approximately 12 km west-northwest of Manzil Bū Zalafah, and 39 km southeast of Tunis. It was a temporary airfield, not designed for heavy bomber or long-term use. During the North African Campaign, it...
, Tunisia, 8 August 1943 - Grottaglie Airfield, Italy, October 1943
- Amendola Airfield, Italy, c. 20 November 1943
- Vincenzo Airfield, Italy, 14 January 1944
- Gaudo AirfieldGaudo AirfieldGaudo Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Southern Italy, approximately 3 km north of Paestum, where the neolithic necropolis belonging to the Gaudo Culture was discovered, about 70 km southeast of Naples. It was a temporary airfield built by the United States...
, Italy, February 1944 - CorsicaCorsicaCorsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
, 23 April 1944 - Falconara AirfieldFalconara AirportFalconara Airport is a joint-use civil airport and Italian Air Force facility in Italy, located approximately 3km west of Falconara Marittima in province of Ancona, about 200km north-northeast of Rome....
, Italy, 1 April 1945 - Pomigliano AirfieldPomigliano AirfieldPomigliano Airfield was a military airfield and base in Pomigliano d'Arco, southern Italy. It was attacked on several occasions by the United States Army Air Force...
, Italy, c. September-12 September 1945 - Mansfield Lahm Regional AirportMansfield Lahm Regional AirportMansfield Lahm Regional Airport is a city-owned, joint civil-military, public-use airport located three miles north of the central business district of Mansfield, a city in Richland County, Ohio, United States....
, OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, 29 June 1947 – 27 June 1949 - Grand Forks AFB, North DakotaNorth DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, 1 July 1994 – 30 September 1998 - Undisclosed locations, October 2001–present
Aircraft and missiles assigned
- B-25 MitchellB-25 MitchellThe North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
, 1942–1945 - LGM-30G Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), 1994–1998
- Undisclosed, 2001–present