58th Air Division
| 58th Air Division (Defense) | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Active | 1943–1944; 1945–1948; 1955–1959 |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Air Force
|
| Role | Command of air defense forces |
| Engagements | Pacific Theater of World War II |
| Insignia | |
| 58th Air Division (Defense) emblem (Approved 11 January 1956) |  |
The 58th Air Division (58th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, based at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. It was inactivated on 1 February 1959.
The 58th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Heavy) was constituted on 22 April and activated on 1 May 1943 at Smoky Hill AAF, Kansas. The wing's mission was to train the first Boeing B-29 Superfortress aircrews and help prepare the new aircraft for operational combat duty. On 1 June 1943 the wing was reassigned to the Boeing manufacturing plant at Marietta Army Air Field, Georgia in advance of delivery of the first YB-29 prototypes. By July, seven YB-29s had been delivered to the USAAF and were used to equip new training squadrons of the 472d Bombardment Group, the first operational group of the 58th Bomb Wing.
In August 1943, it was decided that 58th Bombardment Wing would be stationed in the China Burma India Theatre by the end of 1943 and would begin attacking Japanese home island targets by flying out of bases in China. It would be commanded by General Kenneth B. Wolfe and would consist of four operational groups of B-29s. It was envisaged that once sufficient numbers of B-29s were available, Japan could be forced out of the war within six months by the destruction of her war industries, making a costly seaborne invasion of the home islands unnecessary. It was projected that such a program could defeat Japan by mid-1945.
On 15 September 1943, the headquarters of the 58th BW was moved to Smoky Hill AAF, with some of its groups near the Wichita factory. The 58th Bomb Wing however, initially had 5 groups (the 40th, 444th, 462d, 468th, and 472d Bombardment Groups). The 40th was reassigned from Sixth Air Force in the Caribbean, the others were newly formed. The 472d Group was destined to remain at Smoky Hill Field as an operational training unit (OTU), and the others were to be deployed to India.
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