The first predecessor of the wing, the 472d Bombardment Group, was activated on 1 September 1943 at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas.
 The 808th, 809th, 810th and 811th Bombardment Squadrons were simultaneously activated and assigned to the group.
 Although the 472d's mission was to train aircrews on the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the squadrons also flew Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses.
The group was assigned to the 58th Bombardment Wing, which returned to Smoky Hill from Marietta Army Air Field in the middle of the month.
 The 472nd Bombardment Group was to be the initial group to receive the prototype YB-29 and first production B-29 Superfortresses.

President Roosevelt wanted B-29 bombing raids against Japan to start by January 1944.
However, delays in the B-29 program forced General Arnold to admit to the president that the bombing campaign against Japan could not begin until May 1944 at the earliest.
The crews of the B-29 needed a degree of specialist training that was not required for crews of other, less complex aircraft.
It usually took 27 weeks to train a pilot, 15 to train a navigator, and 12 to train a gunner.
The complexity of the B-29 was such that a lengthy process of crew integration had to take place before combat deployment could begin.
By the end of December 1943, only 73 pilots had qualified for the B-29 and very few crews had been brought together as a complete team.

After the initial groups of the 58th Wing completed conversion training on the B-29, the 472d and its squadrons moved to Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico about 7 December 1943 to begin training follow-on B-29 crews.
However the group also was involved in secret testing of the B-29 for suitability in carrying Atomic Bombs, which were being developed at Los Alamos, New Mexico.

However, the Army Air Forces was findig that standard military units like the 472d, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were not well adapted to the training mission.
 Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit including both operational and support elements.
The group was disbanded, and its elements were combined with support units at Clovis to form the 234th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training School, Bombardment, Very Heavy).
The first predecessor of the wing, the 472d Bombardment Group, was activated on 1 September 1943 at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas.  The 808th, 809th, 810th and 811th Bombardment Squadrons were simultaneously activated and assigned to the group.  Although the 472d's mission was to train aircrews on the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the squadrons also flew Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. The group was assigned to the 58th Bombardment Wing, which returned to Smoky Hill from Marietta Army Air Field in the middle of the month.  The 472nd Bombardment Group was to be the initial group to receive the prototype YB-29 and first production B-29 Superfortresses.
President Roosevelt wanted B-29 bombing raids against Japan to start by January 1944. However, delays in the B-29 program forced General Arnold to admit to the president that the bombing campaign against Japan could not begin until May 1944 at the earliest. The crews of the B-29 needed a degree of specialist training that was not required for crews of other, less complex aircraft. It usually took 27 weeks to train a pilot, 15 to train a navigator, and 12 to train a gunner. The complexity of the B-29 was such that a lengthy process of crew integration had to take place before combat deployment could begin. By the end of December 1943, only 73 pilots had qualified for the B-29 and very few crews had been brought together as a complete team.
After the initial groups of the 58th Wing completed conversion training on the B-29, the 472d and its squadrons moved to Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico about 7 December 1943 to begin training follow-on B-29 crews. However the group also was involved in secret testing of the B-29 for suitability in carrying Atomic Bombs, which were being developed at Los Alamos, New Mexico.
However, the Army Air Forces was findig that standard military units like the 472d, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were not well adapted to the training mission.  Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit including both operational and support elements. The group was disbanded, and its elements were combined with support units at Clovis to form the 234th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training School, Bombardment, Very Heavy).
582d Air Resupply and Communications Wing