387th Bombardment Group: 16 October 1943 – November 1945 (B-26 Marauder) 394th Bombardment Group: 11 March 1944 – September 1945 (B-26 Marauder) 397th Bombardment Group: 15 April 1944 – November 1945 (B-26 Marauder) 99th Bombardment Wing (Formerly 44th Bombardment Wing): 16 October 1943 – 4 October 1945 322d Bombardment Group: 16 October 1943 – 15 September 1945 (B-26 Marauder) 344th Bombardment Group: 16 October 1943 – 15 September 1945 (B-26 Marauder) 386th Bombardment Group: 16 October 1943 – 27 July 1945 (B-26 Marauder) 391st Bombardment Group: 25 January 1944 – 27 July 1945 (B-26 Marauder) In the United Kingdom, and later on the continent after D-Day, IX Bomber Command became the medium bomber component of Ninth Air Force. Its initial mission was attack to German Atlantic Wall defenses along the English Channel coast of France. After D-Day, its primary mission was changed to fly tactical bombardment missions supporting Allied ground forces as they advanced from the Normandy Beaches across France into Germany. In addition, it attacked enemy airfields in Nazi-occupied areas in support of Eighth Air Force strategic bombing missions as well as operations against German V-weapon sites. Additional missions involved attacks on rail marshaling yards, railroads, airfields, industrial plants, military installations, and other enemy targets in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It was redesignated as the 9th Bombardment Division, Medium on 30 August 1944. The last combat missions was flown on 3 May 1945 by the 386th, 391st, 409th & 410th Bomb Groups. Air Force Reserve Redesignated as the 19th Bombardment Wing, it served another brief period with the reserve from 1946 to 1949, carrying out routine training activities. Strategic Air Command It was redesignated again and activated at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas in February 1951 as the 19th Air Division, part of Strategic Air Command (SAC). It commanded the two Convair B-36 Peacemaker wings at Carswell, the 7th and 11th Bombardment Wings. By September 1952, the B-36s assigned to the 7th and 11th Wings comprised two thirds of SAC's intercontinental bomber force. These same units were later equipped with B-52 Stratofortress and KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft training in global strategic-bombardment and air-refueling operations. On 1 September 1952, what was then thought to be a tornado rolled across the Carswell flight line, with winds over 90 miles per hour recorded at the control tower. By the time it had passed "the flight line was a tangle of airplanes, equipment