The 458th Bomb Group (H) entered combat with the 8th Air Force early in 1944. Based at Horsham St. Faith in England, the combat crews participated in the decisive Campaigns – ‘Big Week’, ‘Big B’, D-Day and the assault on Germany’s oil industry – waged by the USAAF up to VE-Day. The group also tested the operational use of ‘Azon’ radio-controlled bombs. The 458th flew a total of 240 missions, during which over 13,000 tons of ordnance was dropped, and was achieved at the cost of sixty-five crews MIA or involved in operational accidents. This is their complete history.
