Posted By Fred Preller on May 21, 2005 at 21:58:22:
In Reply to: confusing terms posted by Cindy Hathaway on May 21, 2005 at 20:38:12:
: I'm trying to find out information about my father,
: Major Henry Bascom Williams who was with the 8th AF Headquarters, 1st Bombardment Wing.How is that "unit"
: related to the 1st Air Division and the 1st Bombardment
: Division? If the 1st Bombardment Division was formed in
: Aug.1943 at Brampton Grange,where was my father's unit
: based from Aug.1942-Sept.1943?? Thanks for any insights
Cindy,
It IS confusing! At the time your father served with the 1st Bomb Wing (1942-1943), front line combat units - Bomb Groups - reported to Wing, and Wings reported directly to VIII Bomber Command. This worked because there were few bomb groups, and few bomb groups assigned to the 1BW. In 1943, the number of Bomb Groups started to increase dramatically - and the number assigned to 1BW increased also - saturating the planning capability of the Wing organization, so an additional level of command structure was activated, called the Division. At first they were called Bombardment Divisions, but later (especially after responsibility for fighter operations was given to the divisions) they were called Air Divisions. So after September 1943, Wings were limited to three or in some cases four Bomb Groups.
In the case of the 1st Bomb Wing, in September 1943, it continued to provide planning support directly to Bomb Groups, but it was moved to Bassingbourn (if I remember that right). It was displaced from Brampton Grange by the 1st Bomb Division. I am unsure of exactly how personnel were re-allocated at that time - whether 1BW moved lock stock and teletypes to Bassingbourn and a whole new bunch of 1BD troops showed up at Brampton - the history is not real clear on that. If it was done the Army way, some went, some stayed, and some went elsewhere.
If you look at the Bomb Groups link on my Mighty 8th X-Ref website, you will see the intermediate view of the 8th Air Force structure, after Divisions were activated but before they were called Air Divisions.
I think it is important to note that the organization of the 8th Air Force evolved throughout the war, in a process that the Army does well - adapting the command structure to the forces at hand.
For a detailed view of these relationships, see Roger Freeman's "The Mighty Eighth, A History of the Units, Men and Machines of the US 8th Air Force". There is a section near the back that details the assignments of all the bomb groups. Also, you could look into the Air Force Historical Research Agency at http://www.au.af.mil/au/afhra/ - just click on the link for "Numbered USAF Historical Studies" - you should look into report number 140, "Air Force Combat Units of World War II" which gives all of the unit relationships throughout their history. It is a big document, so you will probably want to download it and save it to disk.
To get back to your specific questions, at first the 1st BW reported directly to VIII Bomber Command. Then, in September 1943, it reported to 1st Bomb Division.
I hope that helps - and I am pretty sure it is the truth.
I hope you get to visit Brampton soon - the Steigers will make you feel very welcome! After all, you provided them with the only picture they have of the men who served there during the war.
Cheers,
f3