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VII Bomber Command

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VII Bomber Command
VII Bomber Command B-24 Liberator in the Marianas
Active1942–1946
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
RoleCommand of bomber units
Part ofSeventh Air Force
EngagementsChina-Burma-India Theater
Pacific Theater of Operations[1]

The VII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Seventh Air Force, based on Okinawa. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946.

It engaged in patrol operations from Hawaii from January 1942. On the night of 22-23 December 1942, twenty-six Consolidated B-24D Liberators of the 307th Bombardment Group staged through Midway Island for a strike on Wake Island with 135 500-pound general purpose bombs and 21 incendiaries. The attack may have taken the Japanese by surprise, as neither searchlights nor antiaircraft fire were encountered until after the bombing had begun. All planes returned safely, with only slight damage to two.[2]

After late 1943, VII Bomber Command served in combat in the Central and Western Pacific.

Lineage

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  • Constituted as the 7th Bomber Command on 23 January 1942[note 1]
Activated on 29 January 1942
  • Redesignated VII Bomber Command c. 18 September 1942
Inactivated on 31 March 1946
Disbanded on 8 October 1948[1]

Commanders

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Assignments

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Stations

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Bairiki (Mullinix) Airfield, January–March 1944[citation needed]

Components

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Groups
Squadrons

References

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Notes

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Explanatory notes
  1. ^ Maurer indicates that the unit was constituted as the "VII" Bomber Command. However, the unit was constituted and activated with an arabic number in its name. The use of roman numerals to designate Army Air Forces combat commands did not begin until September 1942. "Air Force Historical Research Agency Organizational Reconds: Types of USAF Organizations". Air Force History Index. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 444-445
  2. ^ Olson, p. 283.
  3. ^ Kane, Robert B. (6 July 2009). "Factsheet Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (PACAF) (USAFE)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  4. ^ Bailey, Carl E. (8 May 2018). "Factsheet 5 Operations Group (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  5. ^ Robertson, Patsy (27 June 2017). "Factsheet 30 Operations Group (AFSPC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  6. ^ Robertson, Patsy (27 May 2010). "Factsheet 90 Operations Group (AFSPC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  7. ^ Robertson, Patsy (24 May 2011). "Factsheet 307 Operations Group (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  8. ^ Ream, Margaret (25 January 2021). "Factsheet 319 Operations Group (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  9. ^ Bailey, Carl E., Lineage & Honors History of the 494 Air Expeditionary Group (AMC), 28 April 2003, Air Force Historical Research Agancy
  10. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 8-9
  11. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 363
  12. ^ Haulman, Daniel (2 November 2016). "Factsheet 623 Air Control Squadron (PACAF)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  13. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 541
  14. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 543
  15. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 544
  16. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 790

Bibliography

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Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

Olson, James C. (1950). "Target Rabaul, Chapter 9, The Giberts and Marshalls". In Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II (PDF). Vol. IV, The Pacific: Guadalcanal to Saipan: August 1942 to July 1944. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN 48003657. OCLC 704158. Retrieved 17 December 2016.