| One
of the most important roles in the Mediterranean theater compaigns
was played in aerial warfare by the 57th Bomb Wing of the 12th Air
Force. A command composed of B-25
Mitchell medium bombers which were flown in part by the 488th
Bombardment Squadron, a division of the 340th Bombardment Group, was
activated on August 20th of 1942. They trained with these B-25's for
duty overseas, and arrived in the Mediterranean theater in March 1943.
Though originally assigned to the Ninth Air Force, in August of 1943
they became part of the Twelfth Air Force, and served in
combat from April 1943 to April 1945. |
Emblem of the
12th Air Force |
 |
This
group engaged chiefly in support and introductory missions, but
sometimes bombed strategic objectives. Some targets included airfields,
railroads, bridges, road junctions, supply depots, gun emplacements,
troop concentrations, marshaling yards and factories in Tunisia,
Sicily, Italy, France, Austria, Bulgaria, Albania, Yugoslavia, and
Greece. They were also known to have dropped propaganda leaflets
behind enemy lines.
To
the left is a Mitchell B-25 pilot's view of a valley running through
the mountains of Italy
|
From Sepember 1944 through April of 1945 they participated in the the
invasion of southern France and attacks on the Brenner Pass and other
German lines of communication in Northern Italy. A DUC (Distinguished
Unit Citation) was received for the period from April to August of 1943
when, although handicapped by difficult living conditions and unfavorable
weather, the group supported British Eighth Army in Tunisia and Allied
forces in Sicily. They received a second DUC for the destruction of a
cruiser in the heavily defended harbor of La Spezia on the 23rd of September
in 1944 before the ship could be used by the enemy to block the harbors
entrance. The 340th which consisted of four squadrons, the 486th, the
487th, the 488th, and the 489th, returned to the United States between,
July and August of 1945, and became Inactive on the 19th of August in
1949.
Many of these aircraft began their combat history
as early as the first landings in North Africa in November 1942. Since
that time, the B-25's have participated in every major campaign from Tunisia
to the Brennar Pass to the final drive.
More than 60,000 missions by B-25's were flown to
attacks in the eight campaigns they supported. Several groups, including
the 310th, the 321st, and the 340th, under the 57th Bomb Wing have accounted
for 2,774 missions, and dropped 71,934 tons of bombs on a great variety
of targets. During this time, the Mitchell B-25 bombers flew in excess
of 165,000 combat hours.
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