Training in the United States The
491st Bombardment Group was activated 1 October 1943 at
Davis–Monthan Field, Arizona, along with three of its component
squadrons, the
852d,
853d and
854th Bombardment Squadrons. Its cadre was formed from the
17th Antisubmarine Squadron at
Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico, which was redesignated the 855th Bombardment Squadron and became the
group's fourth squadron. In late October, the group commander and key personnel went to
Pinecastle Army Air Field, Florida for special training with the
Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics, operating under simulated combat conditions. One crew was lost during this specialized training. The following month, the group and its squadrons moved to
El Paso Army Air Field, Texas and began training with
Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. In January, the air echelon moved to
Pueblo Army Air Base, Colorado, where it was joined by new crews soon after arrival and continued training, reaching full strength in early February. Meanwhile,
Eighth Air Force began organizing a new ground echelon for the group in England, directing each of the four groups assigned to its
2d Bombardment Division to form a squadron ground echelon. The group's air echelon moved to
Pueblo Army Air Base, Colorado to complete its training with the
471st Bombardment Group. It began operations starting on 2 June, with an attack on
Bretigny Airfield. It initially attacked
airfields,
coastal defenses and
lines of communication to support
Operation Overlord, the invasion of France. After the
D-Day landings, the squadron concentrated on the
strategic bombing missions. Its targets included
communications centers,
oil refineries,
shipyards, depots and other industrial targets. While targets included
Berlin,
Bielefeld,
Cologne,
Gelsenkirchen,
Hamburg,
Hanover,
Kassel and
Magdeburg. On one occasion, the squadron was tasked with attacking
German General Staff headquarters at
Zossen, south of Berlin. On 26 November 1944, the group raided an oil refinery at Misburg. It was attacked by large numbers of enemy
interceptors, which shot down approximately half of the aircraft in the 491st Group formation. The remaining aircraft fought off the enemy planes and successfully bombed the target, earning the unit a
Distinguished Unit Citation. while claiming 9 German planes destroyed. Following
V-E Day, the group began flying its aircraft back to the United States on 17 June 1945. The ground echelon sailed on the on 6 July, arriving in
New York City five days later. The 491st reassembled at
McChord Field, Washington later that month and was inactivated there on 8 September. ==Lineage==