322d Air Expeditionary Group The 322d Air Expeditionary Group ( 322 AEG ) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe . As a provisional unit , it may be activated or inactivated at any time . The group appears to have been activated periodically on - order to provide support to U . S . / AU activities in Africa under USAFE ' s Seventeenth Air Force . In 2004 , elements of the Group assisted the AU deployment to Sudan . During World War II , the group ' s predecessor unit , the 322d Bombardment Group ( Medium ) was a B - 26 Marauder bombardment group assigned to the Eighth and later Ninth Air Force . History . 322d Bombardment Group ( Medium ) . Constituted as 322d Bombardment Group ( Medium ) on 19 June 1942 . Activated on 17 July 1942 . Trained with Martin B - 26 Marauder aircraft . Part of the group moved overseas to RAF Bury St Edmunds , England , November – December 1942 ; planes and crews followed , March – April 1943 . Initially assigned to the Eighth Air Force . The group was assigned to the 3d Bomb Wing . Ongoing construction at Bury St . Edmunds forced two of the group ' s squadrons to locate at RAF Rattlesden , and the group ' s aircraft did not arrive until late in March 1943 . Once operational , the 322d flew two low - level bombing operations from Bury St . Edmunds . The first , on 14 May when it dispatched 12 planes for a minimum - level attack on an electrical generating plant near Ijtnuiden . This was the first operational combat mission flown by B - 26s . The second was a disastrous mission to the Netherlands on Monday , 17 May , when the group sent 11 aircraft on a similar operation from which none of the aircraft penetrating the enemy coast , returned . 60 crewmen were lost to flak and interceptors . Group morale was not improved when , on 29 May , a B - 26 crashed onto the airfield killing the crew and damaging a hangar . After these missions , the group was re - equipped and trained for medium - altitude operations for several weeks before returning to combat operations . On 13 June , the 322d moved to RAF Andrews Field in Essex . In common with other Marauder units of the 3d Bomb Wing , the 322d was transferred to Ninth Air Force on 16 October 1943 . The group attacked enemy airfields in France , Belgium , and the Netherlands attacking the principal targets but the group also attacked secondary targets such as power stations , shipyards , construction works , and marshalling yards . On 11 December 1943 Andrews Field was attacked by the Luftwaffe but little damage was done and beginning in March 1944 the 322d bombed railway and highway bridges , oil tanks , and missile sites in preparation for the invasion of Normandy . On 8 May 1944 , one of the 322nd aircraft , nicknamed " Mild and Bitter " ( serial 41 - 31819 ) became the first B - 26 flying from England to complete 100 combat missions . Another B - 26 , " Flak Bait " ( 41 - 31773 ) survived to the end of hostilities with 202 missions to its credit , the only US bomber involved in combat over Europe to pass the 200 mark . On D - Day , 6 June 1944 the 322d Bomb Group attacked coastal defences and gun batteries . Afterwards , during the Normandy campaign , the 322d pounded fuel and ammunition dumps , bridges , and road junctions , supporting the Allied offensive at Caen and the breakthrough at Saint - Lô in July . From Andrews Field the 322d received a Distinguished Unit Citation for the period 14 May 1943 – 24 July 1944 . The group moved during September 1944 , transferring to Beauvais ( A - 61 ) Airfield in northern France , and aiding the drive of Third Army across France . The 322d flew its last mission on 24 April 1945 . After V - E Day , the group was assigned to occupation duty in Germany beginning in June 1945 , engaging in inventorying and disassembling German Air Force equipment and facilities . Returned to the Camp Kilmer in New Jersey in December 1945 , and was inactivated on 15 December . 322d Bombardment Group ( Light ) . During the Cold War , the 322d was redesignated the 322d Bombardment Group ( Light ) and assigned to the Air Force Reserve at Reading Army Airfield , Pennsylvania on 9 August 1947 . The 322d was equipped with four squadrons ( 35th , 449th , 450th , 451st and 452d ) Douglas A - 20 Havocs . It was inactivated on 27 June 1949 . 322d Tactical Fighter Group . The United States Air Force reactivated the unit as the 322d Fighter - Day Group at Foster AFB , Texas on 1 July 1954 . The 322d was assigned to Tactical Air Command as part of the 450th Fighter Day Group , initially as three squadron ( 450th , 451st , 452d ) F - 86 Sabre - equipped wing . In 1956 , the group was upgraded to the North American F - 100 Super Sabre and was redesignated as the 322d Tactical Fighter group . The 322d TFG was inactivated on 1 January 1959 along with the closure of Foster Air Force Base in a budgetary economy move . 322d Tactical Airlift Wing . The unit was again reactivated as the 322d Tactical Airlift Wing ( 322d TAW ) on 1 January 1970 at Rhein - Main Air Base West Germany , replacing the 7310th TAW . The 322d TAW used rotational Lockheed C - 130 Hercules squadrons for tactical airlift in Europe , North Africa , and the Middle East . In addition , the wing used C - 118s and C - 131s for aeromedical airlift until late 1972 , then shifted to C - 9As for this work , continuing aeromedical airlift operations through March 1975 . The wing utilized KC - 135 ( VIP equipped ) to provide transportation for CINCUSAFE until early 1973 , followed by KC - 135B until early 1974 and by C - 135C thereafter . Used VT - 29 aircraft to support Air Force North ( AFNORTH ) , a NATO component . In March 1973 , the wing gained the 7th Special Operations Squadron , equipped with C - 47 , UH - 1H , and C - 130E aircraft , which was reassigned from the 26th TRW at Ramstein AB when the 26th was reassigned to Zweibrücken AB . All but the C - 130s were transferred a few months later , to conduct unconventional warfare operations in Europe . The wing was inactivated in June 1975 when it was replaced by the 435th Tactical Airlift Wing . 322d Air Expeditionary Group . In 2004 the 322d Air Expeditionary Group was activated as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe as an Air Expeditionary unit . 28 October 2004