Constituted as 451st Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 6 Apr 1943. Activated on 1 May 1943. Prepared for combat with B-24's. Moved to the Mediterranean theater, Nov 1943-Jan 1944, with the air echelon training in Algeria for several weeks before joining the remainder of the group in Italy. Operated with Fifteenth AF, Jan 1944-May 1945, functioning primarily as a strategic bombardment organization. Attacked such targets as oil refineries, marshalling yards, aircraft factories, bridges, and airfields in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece. Col. Sanford "Sandy" Graves has hand signed this WWII 8x10 Photo with What a Beauty/USAF (ret) inscriptions. JSA Authentication #AC92832 & JSA Certificate of Authenticity