304th Wing, 15th Air Force, USAAF
Combat History, 1944
- Introduction: What is “the 459th?”: In short, the 459th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was a group of about 2000 men stationed in a complex of airfields in the boot-spur region of Italy executing daily B-24 and B-17 bombing missions to attack Nazi-controlled European targets during World War II in sustained effort to eliminate the Enemy’s ability to wage effective war against the US and her Allies.
- 459th: An AI-generated Overview (*AI): I asked ChatGPT to provide a summary of the 459th’s activities leading up to D-Day.
- Historical Context: What was happening in World War 2 during this time?
- Unit History and War Diaries: A partial transcription (I typed up some of what I could discern from a PDF of a scanned microfiche of a photograph of the carbon-copy of the original) narrative documents produced by staff of the 459th during their experience while in-theater. See more about these precious documents at: What are Unit Histories and War Diaries? (*AI)
- Index of original microfiche source from Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA), Maxwell AFB. For more about this resource, see WWII Military Unit Records at the National Archives
Source: wikimedia.org, from United States Army Air Force via National Archives. Permission: USGOV-PD
February – March 1944
- Unit History, 459th Group: Historical Records, brief Unit History, Head Count, Combat Operations, General/Special Orders, etc.
- Unit History: 756th Squadron
- Unit History: 757th Squadron
- Unit History: 758th Squadron
- Unit History: 759th Squadron
- War Diary, 459th Group: An informal record of life at Giulia Field
April 1944
- Unit History, 459th Group to be transcribed (TBT): Historical Records, brief Unit History, Head Count, Combat Operations, General/Special Orders, etc.
- Unit History: 756th Squadron (TBT)
- Unit History: 757th Squadron (TBT)
- Unit History: 758th Squadron (TBT)
- Unit History: 759th Squadron (TBT)
- War Diary: 459th Group
May 1944
- Unit History, 459th Group: Historical Records, brief Unit History, Head Count, Combat Operations, General/Special Orders, etc.
- Unit History: 756th Squadron
- Unit History: 757th Squadron
- Unit History: 758th Squadron
- Unit History: 759th Squadron
- War Diary: 459th Group
- 756th Squadron
- 757th Squadron
- 758th Squadron
- 759th Squadron
June 1944
- Unit History, 459th Group: Historical Records, brief Unit History, Head Count, Combat Operations, General/Special Orders, etc.
- Unit History: 756th Squadron
- Unit History: 757th Squadron
- Unit History: 758th Squadron
- Unit History: 759th Squadron
- 459th Group
July 1944
- Unit History, 459th Group
- Unit History: 756th Squadron
- Unit History: 757th Squadron
- Unit History: 758th Squadron
- Unit History: 759th Squadron
- War Diary: 459th Group
- War Diary: 756th Squadron
- War Diary: 757th Squadron
- War Diary: 758th Squadron
- War Diary: 759th Squadron
August 1944
- Unit History, 459th Group
- Unit History: 756th Squadron
- Unit History: 757th Squadron
- Unit History: 758th Squadron
- Unit History: 759th Squadron
- War Diary: 459th Group
- War Diary: 756th Squadron
- War Diary: 757th Squadron
- War Diary: 758th Squadron
- War Diary: 759th Squadron
September 1944
- Unit History, 459th Group
- Unit History: 756th Squadron
- Unit History: 757th Squadron
- Unit History: 758th Squadron
- Unit History: 759th Squadron
- War Diary: 459th Group
- War Diary: 756th Squadron
- War Diary: 757th Squadron
- War Diary: 758th Squadron
- War Diary: 759th Squadron
October 1944
- Unit History, 459th Group
- Unit History: 756th Squadron
- Unit History: 757th Squadron
- Unit History: 758th Squadron
- Unit History: 759th Squadron
- War Diary: 459th Group
- War Diary: 756th Squadron
- War Diary: 757th Squadron
- War Diary: 758th Squadron
- War Diary: 759th Squadron
November 1944
- Unit History, 459th Group
- Unit History: 756th Squadron
- Unit History: 757th Squadron
- Unit History: 758th Squadron
- Unit History: 759th Squadron
- War Diary: 459th Group
- War Diary: 756th Squadron
- War Diary: 757th Squadron
- War Diary: 758th Squadron
- War Diary: 759th Squadron
December 1944
- Unit History, 459th Group
- Unit History: 756th Squadron
- Unit History: 757th Squadron
- Unit History: 758th Squadron
- Unit History: 759th Squadron
- War Diary: 459th Group
- War Diary: 756th Squadron
- War Diary: 757th Squadron
- War Diary: 758th Squadron
- War Diary: 759th Squadron
William VanSickle 