494th Bombardment Wing

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 494th Bombardment Wing


caption= 494th Bombardment Wing (SAC) Insignia
dates= 1943 - 1946
1963-1966
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Air Force
type=
role= Bombardment
size=
command_structure= Strategic Air Command
current_commander=
garrison=
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colonel_of_the_regiment=
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anniversaries=The 494th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last station was at Sheppard AFB,Texas where it was assigned to Strategic Air Command. It was inactivated in 1966.

Its predecessor, the 494th Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces organization. It served primarily with the Seventh Air Force in the Pacific.

History

World War II operational units

* 864th Bomb Squadron
* 865th Bomb Squadron
* 866th Bomb Squadron
* 867th Bomb Squadron

Aircraft flown

* B-24 Liberator 1943-1946
* B-52 Stratofortress 1963-1966
* KC-135 Stratotanker 1963-1966

Stations assigned

* Wendover Field, UT 1 Dec 1943 - 15 Apr 1944
* Mountain Home AAFld, ID 15 Apr 1944 - 2 June 1944
* Barking Sands, TH 15 Jun 1944 - 30 Sep 1944
* Angaur 30 Sep 1944 - 24 Jun 1945
* Yontan, Okinawa 24 Jun 1945 - 8 Dec 1945
* Ft Lawton, WA 2-4 Jan 1946
* Sheppard AFB, TX 15 Nov 1963 - 1 Apr 1966

Operational history

World War II

Constituted as 494th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 14 Sep 1943. Activated on 1 Dec 1943. Trained for combat with B-24's. Moved to Hawaii in Jun 1944 for additional training. Assigned to Seventh Air Force and moved to Palau late in September.

Helped to construct a base of operations on Angaur, then entered combat on 3 Nov 1944 with attacks against Japanese airfields on Yap and Koror. Conducted strikes on other bypassed enemy installations in the Pacific and against the Japanese in the Philippines. Late in 1944 hit gun emplacements, personnel areas, ant storage depots on Corregidor and Caballo at the entrance to Manila Bay; bombed radio installations and power plants at Japanese bases in the Philippines; and attacked enemy-held airfields, including Clark Field on Luzon. Early in 1945 struck airfields on Mindanao and ammunition and supply dumps in the Davao Gulf and Illana Bay areas.

Moved to Okinawa in Jun 1945. Engaged primarily in attacks against enemy airfields on Kyūshū until V-J Day. Also participated in incendiary raids, dropped propaganda leaflets over urban areas of Kyūshū and struck airfields in China, in southern Korea, and around the Inland Sea of Japan.

Transported personnel and supplies from Manila to Tokyo after the war. Returned to the US in Dec 1945. Inactivated on 4 Jan 1946.

Cold War

Established as the 494th Bombardment Wing, Heavy and activated November 15, 1962. [Mixer, Ronald E., Genealogy of the STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND, Battermix Publishing Company, 1999 and Mixer, Ronald E., STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND, An Organizational History, Battermix Publishing Company, 2006.] Organized February 1, 1963 at Sheppard AFB, Texas and assigned to Strategic Air Command.

The 494th acquired the B-52D Stratofortress (864th BS) and KC-135 Stratotanker (900th ARS) which were previously assigned to the 4245th Strategic Wing.

*Reassigned to: Second Air Force, 816th Strategic Aerospace Division on 1 February 1963.
*Reassigned to: Second Air Force, 4th Air Division on 1 July 1963.
*Reassigned to: Second Air Force, 816th Strategic Aerospace Division on 1 July 1964.
*Reassigned to: Second Air Force, 819th Air Division on 1 July 1965.

The wing conducted strategic bombardment training and air refueling operations to meet operational commitments of Strategic Air Command.

Inactivated on April 1 or April 2, 1966.

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
* Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.

External links

* [http://kelleys_kobras.home.att.net 494th Bomb Group Associatino]