490th Bombardment Group
Encyclopedia
III Bomber Command
The III Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946.-Lineage:...
, being stationed at Drew Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the group was a Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
heavy bombardment unit in England, stationed at RAF Eye
RAF Eye
RAF Eye is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 11 miles NE of Stowmarket in Suffolk.- USAAF use:Eye airfield was constructed by the 827th and 859th U S Army Engineer Battalions during 1943, with additional work by British contractors. It was completed early in 1944 and...
. The group flew 158 combat missions, its last mission on 20 April 1945, after 5,000 sorties. It lost 22 aircraft.
History
Activated 1 October 1943 at Salt Lake City Army Air Base, UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. Transferred to Mountain Home Army Air Field, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, where Group formed and trained from December – April 1944. Ground unit left for Camp Shanks
Camp Shanks
Camp Shanks, named after Major General David Carey Shanks was a United States Army installation in and around Orangeburg in the Town of Orangetown, New York. Situated near the juncture of the Erie Railroad and the Hudson River, it served as a point of embarkation for troops departing overseas...
, New York. 11 April 1944 and sailed on the SS Nieuw Amsterdam, 15 April 1944 arriving Clyde 25 April 1944. Aircraft started overseas movement on 12 April 1944 taking the southern ferry route, via Morrision Field, Florida, via Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, Brazil, Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
and Marrakesh to the UK. Moved to RAF Eye
RAF Eye
RAF Eye is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 11 miles NE of Stowmarket in Suffolk.- USAAF use:Eye airfield was constructed by the 827th and 859th U S Army Engineer Battalions during 1943, with additional work by British contractors. It was completed early in 1944 and...
, England in April 1944 for operations with VIII Bomber Command
VIII Bomber Command
The VIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit that is better known as the later appellation Eighth Air Force, as was popularized in post-World War II filmsand is frequently called the First Eighth Air Force by its veterans and successors in the services.The command was...
in the European Theater of Operations
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...
(ETO) and was assigned to the 93d Combat Bombardment Wing. The group tail code was a "Square-T".
The 490th BG combat in June 1944 with B-24's, bombing airfields and coastal defenses in France immediately preceding and during the invasion of Normandy
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
. Then struck bridges, rail lines, vehicles, road junctions, and troop concentrations in France. Supported ground forces near Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
in July and near Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
in September 1944.
The group converted to B-17's in October and operated primarily against strategic targets until the end of February 1945. The 490th mounted attacks against enemy oil plants, tank factories, marshalling yards, aircraft plants, and airfields in such cities as Berlin, Hamburg, Merseburg
Merseburg
Merseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
, Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
, Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, Hannover, and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. Interrupted strategic missions to attack supply lines and military installations during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, December 1944 – January 1945. Beginning in March 1945, attacked interdictory targets and supported advancing ground forces.
After V-E Day, carried food to flood-stricken areas of Holland and transported French, Spanish, and Belgian prisoners of war from Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
to Allied centers.
Redeployed US July 1945. Aircraft left Eye on the 6 July 1945. The ground unit sailed from Southampton on the RMS Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line. Plying with her running mate Queen Mary as a luxury liner between Southampton, UK and New York City, USA via Cherbourg, France, she was also contracted for over twenty years to carry the Royal Mail as the second half of the two...
on the 26 August 1945 arriving New York 1 September 1945. The group was established at Drew Field, Florida on 3 September 1945 and inactivated there on 7 November.
Lineage
- Constituted as 490th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 14 September 1943
- Activated on 1 October 1943
- Inactivated on 7 November 1945
Assignments
- II Bomber CommandII Bomber CommandThe II Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force, based at Fort George Wright, Washington. It was inactivated on 6 October 1943....
, 1 October 1943 - Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
, 6 October 1943 – April 1944 - 93d Combat Bombardment Wing, 7 April 1944 – 24 August 1945
- III Bomber CommandIII Bomber CommandThe III Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946.-Lineage:...
, 3 September-7 November 1945
Components
- 848th Bombardment Squadron (7W), 1 October 1943 – 7 November 1945
- 849th Bombardment Squadron (W8), 1 October 1943 – 7 November 1945
- 850th Bombardment Squadron (7Q) 1 October 1943 – 11 May 1944; 10 August 1944-7 November 1945
- 851st Bombardment Squadron (S3) 1 October 1943 – 7 November 1945
Stations
- Salt Lake City AABSalt Lake City International AirportSalt Lake City International Airport is a major public airport in Utah. A joint civil-military facility, it is located in western Salt Lake City, approximately four miles from the central business district...
, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, 1 October 1943 - Mountain Home AAF, IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, 4 December 1943 – April 1944 - RAF EyeRAF EyeRAF Eye is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 11 miles NE of Stowmarket in Suffolk.- USAAF use:Eye airfield was constructed by the 827th and 859th U S Army Engineer Battalions during 1943, with additional work by British contractors. It was completed early in 1944 and...
(AAF-138), England c. 1 May 1944 – August 1945 (Station 134) - Drew FieldTampa International AirportTampa International Airport is a major public airport located six nautical miles west of the central business district of Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. This airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority...
, Florida 3 September-7 November 1945
Aircraft
- Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1943–1944
- Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. 1944–1945