World War Photos

B-24H 42-51158 2U-S+ “Super Chief” of the 466th Bomb Group

466th Bomb Group (Heavy):

Overview and Command Assignments

• Assigned to Eighth Air Force: March 1944 – July 1945
• Wing & Command Assignments:
  • 2nd Bombardment Division (BD), 96th Combat Bomb Wing (CBW): 7 March 1944
  • 2nd Air Division (AD), 96th CBW: 1 January 1945

Component Squadrons

• 784th Bombardment Squadron (H)
• 785th Bombardment Squadron (H)
• 786th Bombardment Squadron (H)
• 787th Bombardment Squadron (H)

Combat Aircraft

• B-24H Liberator: From blocks 10-CF, 15-DT, and FO
• B-24J, B-24L, and B-24M Liberator

Station

• Attlebridge Airfield, England: 7 March 1944 – 6 July 1945
  • Air echelon arrived in the UK around 21 February 1944.

Group Commanding Officers (COs)

• Col Arthur J. Pierce: 17 December 1943 – 1 August 1944
• Col Luther J. Fairbanks: 1 August 1944 – 30 October 1944
• Col William H. Cleveland: 1 November 1944 – 17 February 1945
• Col Elvin S. Ligon: 17 February 1945 – July 1945

Mission Details

• First Mission: 22 March 1944
• Last Mission: 25 April 1945
• Total Missions: 232
• Total Credit Sorties: 5,762
• Total Bomb Tonnage: 12,914 tons
• Aircraft Missing in Action (MIA): 47
• Other Operational Losses: 24
• Enemy Aircraft Claims: 29 destroyed, 3 probably destroyed, 14 damaged

History

• Activated: 1 August 1943 at Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico.
• Training:
  • Began training at Kearns Field, Utah, at the end of August 1943.
  • Moved back to Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico, on 24 November 1943.
  • Transferred to Topeka Army Air Field, Kansas, early February 1944.
  • Ground echelon sailed from New York on the Queen Mary, 28 February 1944, and the air echelon flew to the UK by the southern ferry route.
• Redeployment to the USA:
  • Aircraft left Attlebridge around mid-June 1945.
  • The ground echelon sailed from Greenock on the Queen Mary, 6 July 1945, arriving in New York on 11 July 1945.
  • After 30 days of rest and recuperation (R&R), the group reassembled at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, on 25 July 1945.
  • The group was selected for B-29 training and established at Pueblo Army Air Base, Colorado, and then Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona.
  • With the end of hostilities in the Pacific, the group was run down and inactivated on 17 October 1945.

Aircraft Markings and Color Schemes

B-24 Liberators (February 1944 – July 1945)

• Original Paint Scheme:

  • Dark Olive Drab and Neutral Gray factory finish.
  • Circle L Group Insignia:
    • Vertical Tail: 69-inch diameter white disc with a 36-inch Insignia Blue letter “L.”
    • Wing: 78-inch diameter white disc with a 48-inch letter “L.”
    • Tail Number: Repainted in yellow below the Circle L.
    • Call-Letter: Yellow, 24-inch high, positioned below the tail number. Each squadron used letters in alphabetical order from A, excluding C.

• Squadron Codes:

  • Before operational status, squadron codes were painted in blue-grey, 48 inches high, on the rear fuselage aft of the waist gun positions.
    • 784th Bomb Squadron: T9
    • 785th Bomb Squadron: 2U
    • 786th Bomb Squadron: U8
    • 787th Bomb Squadron: 6L

• Natural Metal Finish Aircraft (Mid-April 1944 onwards):

  • Squadron codes and call-letters were painted in black, with the Group insignia as a white letter on a black disc.

• High-Visibility Tail Markings (Beginning of May 1944):

  • Replaced existing markings with a 36-inch wide white horizontal stripe across the outward-facing surfaces of the fin and rudder. The rest of the fin and rudder were painted red.
  • Call-letters were 24 inches high, painted in red on the center of the white stripe.
  • Distinguishing marks:
    • 785th Bomb Squadron: Plus sign following the call letter.
    • 786th Bomb Squadron: Bar above the call letter.
    • 787th Bomb Squadron: Bar below the call letter.
  • 784th Bomb Squadron: Did not use additional distinguishing signs.

• Engine Cowling Rings (January 1945):

  • Introduced squadron colors on the cowling rings:
    • 784th Bomb Squadron: Red
    • 785th Bomb Squadron: Blue
    • 786th Bomb Squadron: Yellow
    • 787th Bomb Squadron: White