010433 - THE FIRST COMBAT BOMB WING IN WORLD WAR II

By Ron MacKay

This is a study of one of the 8th USAAF’s sub-units. The 1st Combat Bomb Wing (1CBW), created on 13 September 1943, was preceded first by the 1st Bomb Wing, and then the 101st Provisional Bomb Wing, which included the 91BG as an element. By then, the 91BG was joined by the 351BG and 381BG, with the 351BG later displaced by the 398BG. The operational experience of these units virtually spanned the entire 33 months of the “Mighty Eighth’s” existence and the often costly but finally successful campaign to deny Hitler’s Germany the means with which to pursue its warped dreams of conquest.