The 482nd Group was unique among Eighth Air Force units in that it was the only one to be officially activated in the UK from scratch. The 482nd BG provided pathfinder (PFF) lead aircraft for other bomb groups throughout the winter of 1943/44. As lead aircraft, 482BG B-17s and B-24s usually flew missions from stations of other groups with some key personnel of the host group flying in the pathfinder aircraft.
In March 1944, the 482nd BG was taken off combat operations and became a training and development unit for various radar devices, but continued to undertake special operations, notably D-Day when 18 crews were provided to lead bomb groups.The 482nd BG was transferred to Composite Command in February 1944 when emphasis shifted to training radar operators. The 482nd began an H2X training school on February 21, 1944, graduating a class of 36 radar navigators each month, as the PFF force was decentralized first to the air divisions and eventually to all the combat groups, with training initially conducted by RAF instructors. Training and experimentation remained its chief role for the remainder of war.
From August 1944 to April 1945 the 482nd BG conducted 202 radar scope and 'pickling' sorties over hostile territory without loss, dropping 45 tons of bombs in Nazi controlled territory. In November, 1944, the group was re-designated as the 482nd Bomb Group, Heavy.
