Kelompok Bombardemen 444

The 444th Bombardment Group was activated on 1 March 1943 at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona. Its original squadrons were the 676th, 677th, 678th, and 679th Bombardment Squadrons. After a period of organization at Davis-Monthan the group moved to Great Bend AAF, Kansas. for training, initially flying Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, Consolidated B-24 Liberators and Martin B-26 Marauders. After receiving its B-29s, the aircraft were ferried off to modification centers to correct design flaws. The 444th, under the command of Colonel Alva Harvey, was assigned to the first B-29 Superfortress wing, the 58th Bombardment Wing. After the planes were returned, the group engaged in training on the new aircraft and its mission of long range precision bombing. In November 1943 the 444th reorganized as a "Very Heavy" group and added four Bombardment Maintenance Squadrons and a Photographic Laboratory.