syscom3 said:
A survey of the islands that had the 30th bomb group showed they were operating out of the Ellice islands (now the nation of Tuvulu), Tarawa and Kwajelein.
I was incorrect about New Caledonia. The correct forward operating base was on Espiritu Santo island (New Hebrides, now Vanuatu).
Other islands where the B24's were based include the Admiralties, Biak and Middleburg.
All later in the war. We're still talking mid 1942, there wasn't many bases initally available until Guadalcanal was secured. B-24s weren't in numbers at Espiritu Santo until late 42, early 43, here's a nice little site:
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/provinces/vanuatu_espiritu.html
And I could tell you that B-24s didn't reach Kwajelein untill mid 1944. My wife's grandfather bombed it and then when it was taken back by the US he flew from there to other islands. Look at the history of the 819th Bomb Squadron....
http://www.sonofisaac.8m.com/page27.html#B-24 Memorial Site
"The 30th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at March Field in California on January 15, 1941. During its first six months of operation, the group was primarily concerned with recruiting and organizing air and ground crews. Gradually, it built up to a strength of 33 officers and 419 enlisted men. On June 7th the group was transferred to New Orleans where future pilots learned to fly B-18s, A-29s, and PT-17s. Returning to California on December 24, the group was stationed at Muroc Army Air Base (later Edwards AFB), for six weeks of operational and maintenance training on new B-24 "Liberators." On February 7, 1942, it proceeded to March Field for combat training.
Following the Japanese attack at Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands on June 7, six aircraft of the 30th Bombardment Group were dispatched to Alaska for combat sorties. The remaining aircraft were dispersed along the West Coast from San Diego, California, to McChord Field in Washington, patrolling against possible surprise attacks by the Japanese.
In September 1943, 134 officers and 1,270 enlisted men of the 30th Bombardment Group's ground echelon left March Field for duty overseas via Camp Stoneman, California. The first of the flight echelon arrived at Hickham Field, Oahu, Hawaii, on October 1, 1943. The remaining personnel and planes arrived in Hawaii by October 20. The group's 27th and 38th Squadrons were based at Kahuku, Oahu, while the 392d and 819th Squadrons were at Barking Sands on the Island of Kauai. The 819th Squadron was the newest addition to the Group. Previously designated the 3d Anti-Submarine Squadron, it was redesignated and assigned to the group as a replacement unit for the 21st Squadron that had been sent to Alaska. The 21st was subsequently dropped from the records of the group. While in Hawaii, the group was assigned to the 7th Army Air Force.
Movement to the Forward Line
Movement to the forward area began in early November 1943 when the 27th and 38th Bombardment Squadrons moved to Nanomea in the Ellice Islands, and the 392nd to Canton in the Phoenix Islands. The 819th Squadron remained at Wheeler Field, Oahu, where it processed new crews and airplanes that were later dispatched to the front line. When the Central Pacific drive began in the Gilbert Islands in November 1943, the 30th Bombardment Group mounted bombing raids against enemy installations on those islands. It also raided airfields in the Marshall Islands to help prevent the launching of Japanese planes against the amphibious assault on Tarawa.
Following the hard-fought victory in the Gilberts, American amphibious forces under a blanket air cover from bombers and fighters advanced into the Marshall Islands in January 1944. Staging through the recently captured Tarawa and Mankin Islands, bombers of the 30th Group attacked several atolls in the Marshalls, including Kwajalein.
Between November 14, 1943 and April 1, 1944, the group carried out 42 bombing missions over the Marshall Islands and participated in the actual invasion of Kwajalein in February 1944.
After capturing Kwajalein Atoll and nearby Majuro Atoll early in February, American forces seized Eniwetok Atoll at the western end of the Marshall chain. As the war moved closer to Japan, the 30th Bombardment Group joined with the 11th Bombardment Group of the Thirteenth Air Force in neutralizing Truk. The 30th also bombed Wake Island, Guam, Saipan, and harassed other islands in the Carolines and Marianas, bypassed by American amphibious forces. In August 1944, the 30th Bombardment Group moved to Saipan where it was joined by the 819th Squadron, bringing together all four squadrons for the first time since Hawaii. During the next six months, the group conducted intensive bombing strikes against airfields and shipping at Bonin and Volcano Islands, Iwo Jima, ChiChi Jima, and Yap. Its final bombing mission was at Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, the same day three Marine divisions invaded the island"
