379th Expeditionary Operations Group The 379th Expeditionary Operations Group ( 379 EOG ) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces Central . It is presently the flying component of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing , stationed at Al Udeid AB , Qatar . During World War II , its predecessor unit , the 379th Bombardment Group was a VIII Bomber Command B - 17 Flying Fortress unit in England . Assigned to RAF Kimbolton in early 1943 , the group flew more sorties than any other bomb group in the Eighth Air Force , and dropped a greater bomb tonnage than any other group . The combat record of the 379th was the most successful of all the Eighth Air Force heavy bomber groups , receiving two Distinguished Unit Citation s . Overview . The 379th Air Expeditionary Operations Group is the flying component of the 379th AEW , with more than 90 combat and support attached aircraft , including eight coalition airframes . Aircraft come from every US service as well as the United Kingdom , and Australia . History . World War II . Activated 26 November 1942 at Gowen Field , Idaho . The Group assembled at Wendover Field Utah on 2 December 1942 . They trained there until 2 March 1943 . Then moved to Sioux City AAB Iowa on 3 February 1943 until their departure in 9 April 1943 . The ground unit moved for final processing at Camp Douglas , Wis , and then to Camp Shanks , New York . They sailed on the Aquitania on 10 May 1943 , and arrived at Clyde on 18 May 1943 . The Aircraft left Sioux City on 9 April 1943 for Bangor Me . via Kearney , Nebraska , and Selfridge , Michigan . They commenced overseas movement on 15 April 1943 by the North Atlantic ferry route from Presque Isle , Maine via Greenland , Iceland to Prestwick , Scotland . Arrived in England in May 1943 , assigned to VIII Bomber Command , 41st Combat Bombardment Wing . Stationed at RAF Kimbolton , assigned Triangle - K as its tail identification code . The 379th BG began operations with Eighth AF on 19 May 1943 , and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations over Europe from May 1943 through July 1944 . The group engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic targets such as industries , oil refineries , storage plants , submarine pens , airfields and communications centres in Germany , France , the Netherlands , Belgium , Norway and Poland . Specific targets included a chemical plant in Ludwigshafen , an aircraft assembly plant in Brunswick , ball - bearing plants at Schweinfurt and Leipzig , synthetic oil refineries at Merseburg and Gelsenkirchen , marshalling yards at Hamm and Reims and airfields in Mesnil au Val and Berlin . The Group received another DUC for flying without fighter protection into central Germany to attack vital aircraft factories on 11 January 1944 . On several occasions the Group attacked interdictory targets and operated in support of ground forces . It bombed V - weapon sites , airfields , radar stations and other installations before the Normandy invasion in June 1944 , bombed defended positions just ahead of the Allied landings on 6 June and struck airfields , rail choke points , and gun emplacements during the campaign that followed . During the Battle of France , the Group bombed enemy positions to assist ground troops at St Lo during the breakthrough , 24 – 25 July 1944 , attacked German communications and fortifications during the Battle of the Bulge , December 1944 – January 1945 , and bombed bridges and viaducts in France and Germany to aid the Allied assault across the Rhine , February – March 1945 . The combat record of the 379th was the most successful of all the Eighth Air Force heavy bomber groups . It held records as far as bomb tonnage dropped – 26 , 459 tons – more than any other unit including those operational before the 379th arrived in the UK . It also exceeded all other UK Bomb Groups in the total number of missions flown , carrying out 330 between May 1943 and 15 May 1945 . One B - 17G , " Ol Gappy " , itself completed 157 missions , probably more than any other Eighth Air Force bomber . Scheduled to transport US troops from Europe to Casablanca . The unit moved to Casablanca in early June with the last aircraft flown back to the States and the Group inactivated as Casablanca on the 25 July 1945 . Cold War On 1 Apr 1960 , jurisdiction of Wurtsmith was transferred from Air Defense Command to Strategic Air Command . The 379th Bombardment Wing became the Base Host Operating unit , being moved from Homestead AFB , Florida . The 379th and its subordinate units ' mission was to operate at full readiness , and support activities included aircraft and vehicle maintenance , bombing crew and unit training , and air refueling support . The wing did not deploy bomber aircraft to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War , as the B - 52H was dedicated to strategic deterrence . In 1977 , the 379th exchanged their B - 52Hs for the conventional bomb capable B - 52G . Wurtsmith AFB closed on 30 June 1993 as a result of the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure ( BRAC ) process , which determined that the development of new weapons and long - range satellite surveillance systems rendered many installations unnecessary . On the morning of 15 December 1992 , the last B - 52G , AF Serial No . 57 - 6492 , the " Old CrowExpress , " was flown to Davis - Monthan Air Force Base for storage . Modern era . Activated in 2003 as 379th Air Expeditionary Operations Group . Engaged in combat operations as part of Global War on Terrorism .