457th	458th	462nd

The 506th Fighter Group Constituted as 506th Fighter Group on 5 Oct 1944 and activated on 21 Oct. Equipped with P-51 aircraft. Moved to Asiatic-Pacific Theater, Feb - Apr 1945, the air echelon flying patrols from Tinian (Map)(Satellite View) before joining the rest of the group on Iwo Jima (Map)(Satellite View) . The group, assigned to the Twentieth AF, flew its first mission from Iwo on 18 May when it bombed and strafed an airfield in the Bonin Islands . Afterward attacked airfields, antiaircraft emplacements, shipping, barracks, radio & radar stations, railway cars, and other targets in the Bonin Islands or Japan. Also provided air defense for Iwo and escorted B-29 during bombardment missions from the Marianas (MAP) to Japan. Received a DUC for defending B-29's against attacks from fighter aircraft during the period 7-10 June 1945. Returned to the US in Dec 1945. Inactivated on 16 Dec 1945.