Boeing B-29-5-BW Superfortress of the 40th Bomb Group 25th Bomb Squadron, s/n 42-6298
The 40th Bomb Group initially played a logistical role, transporting supplies over “the Hump” (the airlift route over the Himalayan mountains) to staging bases in China. Their combat operations began on June 5, 1944, with an attack on the railroad works at Bangkok, Thailand. On June 15, the group participated in the first USAAF strike on Japan since the Doolittle raid of 1942.
Operating from India and occasionally staging through China, the 40th Bomb Group bombed key transportation hubs, naval installations, ironworks, and aircraft factories across Burma, Thailand, China, Japan, Indonesia, and Formosa. In August 1944, from a staging field in Ceylon, the group successfully mined the waters near the port of Palembang, Sumatra.
In early 1945, the group relocated to Tinian between February and April, continuing their strategic bombing campaign against Japan. They carried out daylight high-altitude precision strikes on strategic targets, incendiary raids on urban areas, and mining operations in Japanese shipping lanes. The group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for its attacks on naval aircraft factories at Kure, oil storage facilities at Oshima, and the industrial area of Nagoya in May 1945.
A second DUC was awarded to the group for their July 1945 bombing of light metal industries in Osaka. After the war, the 40th Bomb Group dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners in Japan, Korea, and Formosa, and took part in show-of-force missions.