468th Bombardment Group The 468th Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization . It was inactivated on 31 March 1946 . The unit served primarily in the Pacific Ocean theater and China Burma India Theater of World War II as part of Twentieth Air Force . The 468th Bomb Group ' s aircraft engaged in very heavy bombardment B - 29 Superfortress operations against Japan . After its reassignment to the Mariana Islands in 1945 , its aircraft were identified by a " I " and a triangle painted on the tail . History . The unit was established in May 1943 at Smoky Hill Army Airfield , Kansas as a B - 29 Superfortress Very Heavy bombardment Group . The 468th was one of the four initial operational groups of the 58th Bombardment Wing , the first operational B - 29 wing programmed for overseas deployment into combat . When established , the group was assigned four bomb squadrons ( 792d , 793d , 794th and 795th ) , all being newly - constituted . Initially assigned a mixture of eight B - 26 Marauder s , twelve B - 17 Flying Fortress es and four YB - 29 preproduction Superfortresses , for training . Initial production B - 29 aircraft received were in a constant state of being operationally ready or in a maintenance status for modification by Boeing technicians . Crews began to arrive in November 1943 , but very few bombers were ready to receive them . At that time , there was only one Superfortress for every twelve crews , and most crews had to train on the Martin B - 26 Marauders or Boeing B - 17 Fortresses . The program was seriously hampered by the need to work in the open air in inclement weather , by delays in acquiring the necessary tools and support equipment , and by the USAAF ' s general lack of experience with the B - 29 . A crash program was initiated by General Hap Arnold , head of the Army Air Forces to put things in order . The mechanics often had to work outdoors in freezing weather , since the hangars were not large enough to accommodate the B - 29s . As a result of superhuman efforts on the part of all concerned , 150 B - 29s had been handed over to the 58th Bomb Wing by 15 April 1944 . In March / April 1944 as each airplane was made combat - ready , its flight crew and crew chief departed for overseas ; their initial destination in the China - Burma - India ( CBI ) theater . One B - 29 passed through England in an attempt to confuse Axis intelligence about the intended theatre of action of the B - 29 , although the B - 29 was never intended for use in the European theatre . In India , the 58th Wing came under the XX Bomber Command , the 468th Bomb Group arriving at Kharagpur Airfield on 13 April . However overheated engines plagued the B - 29s in India . The entire B - 29 fleet had to be grounded en route until the cause was found . My mid - May the B - 29s were again ready . The initial mission of the 468th in India was to use their aircraft to haul bombs , fuel , ammunition and spare parts 1 , 200 miles to its advanced base at Field A - 7 , Pengshan , Szechwan Provience , China . Six round trips were necessary to deliver enough fuel for one airplane to mount a combat mission from China – an impractical logistics concept for an aerial campaign , particularly with an airplane plagued with an unreliable engine . On 5 June 1944 , the 468th flew its first operational mission from Kharagpur against railroad yards at Bangkok , Thailand . Ten days later , flying from field A - 7 , the 468th bombed the Imperial Iron & Steel Works , Yawata , Japan – the opening of the B - 29 phase of the Air Offensive against Japan . By late 1944 , it established the best operational record of the four B - 29 groups then in combat , for which Hq . XXth Bomber Command awarded it General Billy Mitchell ' s personal sailing burgee and authorized it to adopt the name " The General Billy Mitchell Group , " a name requiring outstanding performance of duty . Within a year , it participated in eight campaigns and earned three Distinguished Unit Citation s . From June 1944 until May 1945 , operating at maximum range , the 468th conducted aerial reconnaissance and bombardment operations from India and China against Japanese targets in Japan , Manchuria , China , Taiwan , Burma , the Malay Peninsula , Singapore and Sumatra . Sixteen - hour combat missions were common ; the longest 21 . Weather , terrain and the enemy were equally unforgiving . The B - 29 was still being " invented " and its operational tactics had to be proved while the airplane was being de - bugged in the face of the enemy . In July 1944 , United States Marines invaded the Mariana Islands and as soon as West Field , Tinian , was readied in May 1945 , the India - based B - 29s were again designated the 58th Bombardment Wing and flew to West Field and continued the Air Offensive against Japan ; operating as part of the new XXI Bomber Command . Upon arrival the group ' s personnel were engaged in Quonset hut construction . By the end of April most personnel were able to move into the huts from the initial tents which they were assigned on arrival . The group began operations in May 1944 against targets located in the Japanese Home Islands . The group flew many missions against strategic objectives in Japan ; on numerous raids , made its attacks in daylight and from high altitude . In October 1944 shortages in aircraft and equipment led to the 795th Bomb Squadron being inactivated , with its personnel being consolidated into other group squadrons . The 468th flew its last combat mission from Tinian on 15 August 1945 . It had played a vital role in the sudden , almost overnight development of Twentieth Air Force strength and had fought from beginning to end in the Pacific Air Offensive . After V - J Day , the 497th dropped supplies to Allied prisoners , participated in show - of - force missions , and flew over Japan to evaluate bombardment damage . On 2 September 1945 , Major General Curtis LeMay had the 468th lead the 20th Air Forces show of force over the USS " Missouri " during the Japanese surrender ceremonies . As part of the 20th Air Force , it has participated in the first use of air power to end a major conflict without having to fight one ' s way into the enemy homeland . In December 1945 the unit returned to the United States ; initially being assigned to Continental Air Forces ' s ( CAF ) Second Air Force at Fort Worth Army Airfield , Texas . At Fort Worth , the 512th Bombardment Squadron joined the group ; it previously being a Fifteenth Air Force B - 24 Liberator squadron based in Italy , having been returned to the United States in May and was undergoing B - 29 Very Heavy Bomber upgrade training in Nebraska when its former assigned group , the 376th Bombardment Group , was inactivated . In January 1946 , the group was reassigned the CAF Fourth Air Force at Roswell Army Airfield , New Mexico ; then being transferred to the new Strategic Air Command on 21 March 1946 , being one of SAC ' s initial bombardment groups . Demobilization , however , was in full swing and the group turned in its aircraft and was inactivated on 31 March .