409th Air Expeditionary Group

409th Air Expeditionary Group
Airmen from the 409th Air Expeditionary Group at Camp Sarafovo, Bulgaria load humanitarian cargo onto a C-17 Globemaster III
Active	1943–1945; 2001-unknown; 2003; 2005; 2007; 2008; 2011-unknown
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Air Expeditionary Operations
Part of	United States Air Forces Europe
Engagements	European Theater of Operations
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
409th Air Expeditionary Group emblem
Group marking during World War II	Yellow band on trailing edge of rudder

The 409th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE), which may activate or inactivate the group as needed at any time.

The group was first activated in June 1943 during World War II as the 409th Bombardment Group. After moving to Europe, it served in combat with Ninth Air Force, flying Douglas A-20 Havoc, and later Douglas A-26 Invader light bombers Europe from the spring of 1944 through V-E Day. The group returned to the United States in the summer of 1945 and was inactivated in November 1945.

The 409th was reactivated in 2001 as an air expeditionary unit under USAFE in 2001 at Camp Sarafovo, Bulgaria as a support and air refueling unit in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom using six McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender aircraft deployed from McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey to help keep coalition aircraft fueled and flying on their air routes through Bulgaria and on to the theater of war. The group has subsequently been activated to support several humanitarian operations.

Air Force (magazine) notes in its 2012/13 annual survey of units that the group operated Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft from unspecified locations in the United States Air Forces Africa area of responsibility.

The group was constituted as the 409th Bombardment Group (Light) on 1 June 1943, activated the same day at Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma and assigned the 640th, 641st, 642d and 643d Bombardment Squadrons flying Douglas A-20 Havocs. However, it did not receive manning until 20 June and it was 3 August before the group had sufficient manning or equipment to begin training. The group trained with its A-20s until 10 February 1944 when it moved to RAF Little Walden, England, arriving on 7 March 1944, when it became part of Ninth Air Force. On 13 April, it flew its first combat mission against a target in France.