457th Air Expeditionary Group The United States Air Force ' s 457th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command . The 457 AEG may be activated or inactivated at any time . Its last assignment was to the United States Central Command Air Forces , being stationed at RAF Fairford , England , for duty during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 . It was inactivated sometime after the active combat phase of the operation ended . During World War II , its predecessor unit , the 457th Bombardment Group ( Heavy ) was an Eighth Air Force B - 17 Flying Fortress unit stationed in England . Assigned to RAF Glatton in early 1944 , the group carried out 236 combat missions over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany . Total number of sorties was 7 , 086 with nearly 17 , 000 tons of bombs and 142 tons of leaflets being dropped . History . Operational history . World War II . Constituted as the 457th Bombardment Group ( Heavy ) on 19 May 1943 . Activated on 1 July 1943 . Trained for combat with B - 17 ' s . Moved to RAF Glatton England , January – February 1944 , and assigned to Eighth Air Force . The group was assigned to the 94th Combat Bombardment Wing of the 1st Bombardment Division . Its tail code was Triangle - U . The 457th Bomb Group consisted of the following operational squadrons : The 457th Bomb Group flew its first mission on 21 February 1944 during Big Week , taking part in the concentrated attacks of heavy bombers on the German aircraft industry . Until June 1944 , the Group engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic targets , such as ball - bearing plants , aircraft factories , and oil refineries in Germany . The Group bombed targets in France during the first week of June 1944 in preparation for the Normandy invasion , and attacked coastal defenses along the Cherbourg peninsula on D - Day . Struck airfields , railroads , fuel depots , and other interdictory targets behind the invasion beaches throughout the remainder of the month . Beginning in July 1944 , the 457th resumed bombardment of strategic objectives and engaged chiefly in such operations until April 1945 . Sometimes flew support and interdictory missions , aiding the advance of ground forces during the Saint - Lô breakthrough in July 1944 and the landing of British 1st Airborne Division during the airborne attack on Holland in September 1944 ; and participating in the Battle of the Bulge , December 1944 – January 1945 , and the assault across the Rhine in March 1945 . The Group flew its last combat mission , number 236 , on 20 April 1945 . After V - E Day , the 457th transported prisoners of war from Austria to France , and returned to Sioux Falls Army Airfield , South Dakota , during June 1945 . The 457th was inactivated on 18 August 1945 . Empire State Building . On Saturday , 28 July , Lieutenant Colonel William F . Smith lost his way while ferrying a B - 25 Mitchell bomber from Bedford , Massachusetts , to Sioux Falls AAF via Newark Airport . Emerging from low cloud at about the 457th pilot found himself among the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan . The aircraft crashed headlong into the 79th floor level of the Empire State Building , killing Lieutenant Colonel Smith , two passengers and eleven office workers . The B - 25 exploded on impact spraying burning fuel into 34th Street below , one of the engines completely passing through the building and out the other side . Modern era . During 1 July 1993 – 1 October 1994 , the 457th Operations Group was an operational component of the 19th Air Refueling Wing , with its headquarters at Altus AFB , Oklahoma . The 457th operated the 11th Air Refueling Squadron and 306th Air Refueling Squadron , flying KC - 135R Stratotanker s in Southwest Asia from Aviano Air Base , Italy , and Incirlik Air Base , Turkey , supporting Operation Northern and Operation Southern Watch duties as the lead tanker unit . War on Terrorism . The 457th Air Expeditionary Group was activated as a combat unit as part of the Global War on Terrorism , to support Operation Iraqi Freedom . It is known that the group supported B - 52 Stratofortresses operations , using B - 52Hs attached from the 23d Bomb Squadron , Minot AFB , North Dakota , and USAF Reserve 917th Wing , Barksdale AFB , Louisiana . The B - 52s operated from a " forward deployed location " , which was RAF Fairford , England . The unit inactivated sometime after Operation Iraqi Freedom ended active combat operations .