| 418th Bombardment Group (later 418th Tactical Missile Wing) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1943–1944 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | light bomber training |
The 418th Bombardment Group is the designation held by two United States Army Air Forces advanced training units, briefly active during World War II. The two groups were consolidated in 1958 and redesignated the 418th Tactical Missile Wing in 1985, but the consolidated unit has never been active.
The first 418th Bombardment Group was activated in August 1943 at Lake Charles Army Air Field, Louisiana. It was apparently only minimally manned and never received aircraft before it was disbanded in September.[1]
The second 418th Bombardment Group was activated in March 1944 at Alamogordo Army Airfield, New Mexico as a Replacement Training Unit for Boeing B-29 Superfortress aircrews. However, even as the unit was being activated, the Army Air Forces (AAF) had determined that standard military units like the group, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization not well adapted to the training mission. The AAF had already determined to change to a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[2] The 418th was disbanded and bomber training activities at Alamogordo were assigned to the new 231st AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training Station, Bombardment, Heavy)[1][3]
The United States Air Force consolidated the two groups in April 1958.[1] In 1985, the consolidated unit was redesignated the 418th Tactical Missile Wing,[4] but has not been active since.
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