378th Air Expeditionary Wing

The 378th Air Expeditionary Wing (378 AEW) is a provisional United States Air Forces Central Command unit assigned to Air Combat Command. As a provisional unit, it may be activated or inactivated at any time.

The 378th Bombardment Group was an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command at Langley Field, Virginia, where it was stationed from October to December 1942. The group participated in the Antisubmarine Campaign along the Atlantic coast of the United States until it was inactivated, when the Antisubmarine Command assigned all its squadrons directly to the command's two antisubmarine wings.

Structure

 * 378th Air Expeditionary Group
 * 378th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron
 * 378th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron

History
The group was activated at Langley Field, Virginia on 18 October 1942 with the 520th, 521st, and 523d Bombardment Squadrons assigned. Although designated a medium bombardment unit, it was equipped with Douglas O-46 and North American O-47 single-engine observation aircraft.

The group conducted its operations along the southeastern coast of the United States. Only the 523d Squadron was located with the group's headquarters at Langley. The 520th Squadron operated from Jacksonville Municipal Airport, Florida, while the 521st was stationed at Charleston Army Air Field, South Carolina.

In late November, Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command began a series of organizational actions to more nearly align it with United States Navy headquarters engaged in the antisubmarine campaign. On 20 November, the 522d Bombardment Squadron at Lantana Airport, Florida was assigned to the group, At the same time, the group's 520th Squadron was attached directly to the new 25th Antisubmarine Wing, which had been established to manage Army Air Forces antisubmarine units in the area of the Navy's Eastern Sea Frontier. The group's squadrons were redesignated as antisubmarine squadrons,    Finally, in December, after less than two months of operation, the group was inactivated and its component squadrons were reassigned to the 25th Antisubmarine Wing.

Lineage

 * Constituted as the 378th Bombardment Group (Medium) on 13 October 1942
 * Activated on 18 December 1942
 * Inactivated on 14 December 1942

The 378 BG is likely to have been redesignated as the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing and converted to provisional status, circa late 2019.

Assignments

 * Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, 13 October - 14 December 1942
 * Air Combat Command after redesignation & conversion 2019

Squadrons

 * 520th Bombardment Squadron (later 15th Antisubmarine Squadron): 18 October - 14 December 1942 (attached to 25th Antisubmarine Wing after 20 November)
 * 521st Bombardment Squadron (later 16th Antisubmarine Squadron): 18 October - 14 December 1942
 * 522d Bombardment Squadron (later 17th Antisubmarine Squadron): 20 November - 14 December 1942
 * 523d Bombardment Squadron (later 2d Antisubmarine Squadron), 18 October - 14 December 1942

Stations

 * Langley Field, Virginia, 18 October - 14 December 1942

Aircraft

 * Douglas O-46
 * North American O-47