Finisterre, Spain, and as far west as a thousand nautical miles from Port Lyautey. Much of the time, the Liberators flew convoy coverage for ships sailing from or approaching the Straits of Gibraltar. Its antisubmarine activity reached a peak in July 1943 when enemy U-boats concentrated off the coast of Portugal to intercept convoys bound for the Mediterranean. The group destroyed and damaged several submarines during the month which aided in protecting supply lines to forces involved in the campaign for Sicily. At the time, the group was under the command of Colonel Jack Roberts and assigned to the Northwest African Coastal Air Force under the command of Air Vice-Marshal Hugh Lloyd, but they operated under the control of USN FAW-15 at Port Lyautey, French Morocco, now Kenitra, Morocco. The group also covered convoys and engaged numerous Luftwaffe aircraft in combat. In September, part of the group deployed to Protville Tunisia located between Tunis, on the east coast and Bizerte, on the north coast about thirty-five miles northwest of Tunis. For the first fourteen days, the 1st Squadron operated under the Northwest African Coastal Air Force. On 4 September, the B-24s began searching for enemy submarines and shipping between Sicily and Naples. the squadron covered this area twenty-four hours a day until the landing of the United States Fifth Army at Salerno, Italy, on 9 September, when it extended antisubmarine patrols to cover the sea west of Sardinia and Corsica. One B-24 destroyed three German flying boats northwest of Sardinia. In addition to the antisubmarine patrols, the 1st Squadron flew escort for several Allied convoys and covered the escape of Italian naval vessels from Genoa and Spezia to Malta following Italy's surrender. After returning to Port Lyautey on 18 September, the 1st Squadron operated in the Moroccan Sea Frontier until it moved to Langley Field Virginia in November. That return to the United States marked the final stage in the Air Force's withdrawal from its antisubmarine mission. The 480th was disbanded on 29 January 1944. The 480th Antisubmarine Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation in 1944 for its actions from 10 November 1942 to 28 October 1943 that contributed to the winning of the Battle of the Atlantic. 580th Air Resupply and Communications Wing The 580th Air Resupply and Communications Wing (ARCW) was activated at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, in April 1951. First-year activities for the 580th was devoted