The 446th suffered its first combat loss even before arriving in England when the aircraft commanded by 2nd Lt.
Samuel E. Fowlkes strayed from the planned route and flew too close to the Brest Peninsula, where it was attacked by Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and Junkers Ju 88 fighters and anti-aircraft fire from the Luftwaffe and was shot down.
The remainder of the group safely arrived at its new base at RAF Flixton in the east of England.

The group arrived at its combat station, RAF Flixton in early November 1943 and flew its first mission on 16 December 1943 against shipping facilities in Bremen, Germany, losing one airplane that crashed just short of the field due to fuel exhaustion.
The group operated chiefly against strategic objectives.
 Its targets included Its targets included ball bearing factories at Berlin, marshalling yards at Koblenz, submarine pens at Kiel, aircraft plants at Munich, port facilities at Ludwigshafen and aircraft engine manufacturing plants at Rostock.
The group's 706th Bombardment Squadron flew 62 consecutive missions and 707th Bombardment Squadron had 68 missions without loss.

The group was occasionally diverted from strategic missions to carry out air support and interdiction missions.
 It supported Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by attacking transportation targets, including bridges, along with airfields and strong points in France.
On D Day, the squadron and the rest of the 446th Group led the first heavy bomber mission of the day.
The 446th aided ground forces at Caen and Saint-Lô during July by hitting bridges, gun batteries, and enemy troops.
 During Operation Market Garden, the attempt to seize a bridgehead across the Rhine in the Netherlands, the 704th dropped supplies to allied troops near Nijmegen.
 It struck lines of communications during the Battle of the Bulge.
 During Operation Varsity in March 1945, it supplied ground and airborne troops near Wesel.
 The squadron flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945 against Salzburg, Austria.
The group had flown 273 missions and had lost 58 aircraft during the war,
After V-E Day, the 446th flew transport missions to France, sometimes landing at fields that had been targets the previous year.
 It also flew "Trolley" missions, transporting support personnel for "sightseeing" trips over Germany to view the results of their efforts.
The group began to redeploy to the US in June 1945.
The first aircraft of the air echelon departed the United Kingdom in mid-June 1945 flying the northern route via Iceland.
One aircraft was lost over the Azores on the return flight.
The ground echelon sailed from Greenock on the Queen Mary on 6 July 1945 and arrived in New York on 11 July 1945.
Personnel were given 30 days leave.
 The ground and air echelons reassembled at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota in late July.
 Its personnel were transferred to other Second Air Force units or demobilized and the Group was inactivated on 28 August 1945.
The 446th suffered its first combat loss even before arriving in England when the aircraft commanded by 2nd Lt. Samuel E. Fowlkes strayed from the planned route and flew too close to the Brest Peninsula, where it was attacked by Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and Junkers Ju 88 fighters and anti-aircraft fire from the Luftwaffe and was shot down. The remainder of the group safely arrived at its new base at RAF Flixton in the east of England.
The group arrived at its combat station, RAF Flixton in early November 1943 and flew its first mission on 16 December 1943 against shipping facilities in Bremen, Germany, losing one airplane that crashed just short of the field due to fuel exhaustion. The group operated chiefly against strategic objectives.  Its targets included Its targets included ball bearing factories at Berlin, marshalling yards at Koblenz, submarine pens at Kiel, aircraft plants at Munich, port facilities at Ludwigshafen and aircraft engine manufacturing plants at Rostock. The group's 706th Bombardment Squadron flew 62 consecutive missions and 707th Bombardment Squadron had 68 missions without loss.
The group was occasionally diverted from strategic missions to carry out air support and interdiction missions.  It supported Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by attacking transportation targets, including bridges, along with airfields and strong points in France. On D Day, the squadron and the rest of the 446th Group led the first heavy bomber mission of the day. The 446th aided ground forces at Caen and Saint-Lô during July by hitting bridges, gun batteries, and enemy troops.  During Operation Market Garden, the attempt to seize a bridgehead across the Rhine in the Netherlands, the 704th dropped supplies to allied troops near Nijmegen.  It struck lines of communications during the Battle of the Bulge.  During Operation Varsity in March 1945, it supplied ground and airborne troops near Wesel.  The squadron flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945 against Salzburg, Austria. The group had flown 273 missions and had lost 58 aircraft during the war,
After V-E Day, the 446th flew transport missions to France, sometimes landing at fields that had been targets the previous year.  It also flew "Trolley" missions, transporting support personnel for "sightseeing" trips over Germany to view the results of their efforts. The group began to redeploy to the US in June 1945. The first aircraft of the air echelon departed the United Kingdom in mid-June 1945 flying the northern route via Iceland. One aircraft was lost over the Azores on the return flight. The ground echelon sailed from Greenock on the Queen Mary on 6 July 1945 and arrived in New York on 11 July 1945. Personnel were given 30 days leave.  The ground and air echelons reassembled at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota in late July.  Its personnel were transferred to other Second Air Force units or demobilized and the Group was inactivated on 28 August 1945.
446th Operations Group