This unit covers the history of the 445^th Bomb Group from it's initial formation at Gowen Field, outside Boise, Idaho until it's break-up in September, 1945.  Over a seventeen month period, they flew 280 combat missions and several "trolley" missions (planeloads of ground personnel to let them see the destruction the Army Air Force brought to Germany).

It's broken up into sections to allow the viewer an opportunity to "read a little - think a little".  It starts with the formation of the unit and initial stages of organization at Gowen Army Air Field in March, 1943.  The unit moved to various fields for different phases of training, starting with Wendover Field, Utah and ending with implementation of the overseas movement of the air and ground echelons.

This information comes from various sources:
 
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, MD

Air War Europa by Eric Hammel
 
AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1961, ISBN 0-912799-02-1
 
COMBAT SQUADRONS OF THE AIR FORCE, WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1982
 
THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by the Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1973
 
THE MIGHTY EIGHTH WAR DIARY by Roger A. Freeman, ISBN 1-85409-071-2

History of the 445th Bomb Group (Heavy) - Unofficial   by Capt. Rudolph Birsic, 1947 & 1950

History of the 445th Bomb Group (Heavy) - Unofficial - Revised Edition  by Capt. Michael & Deborah Simpson, 2010

Missing Air Crew Reports  obtained from NARA via FootNote.com
 

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