491st Bombardment Group

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 491st Bombardment Group
"Ringmasters"


caption= Emblem of the 491st Bombardment Group
dates= 1943 - 1945
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Army Air Forces
type=
role= Bomber
size=
command_structure= Eighth Air Force
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=
anniversaries=The 491st Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. It served primarily in the European theatre of World War II.

History

Operational Units

* 8852d Bomb Squadron (3Q)
* 853d Bomb Squadron (T8)
* 854th Bomb Squadron (6X)
* 855th Bomb Squadron (V2)

Aircraft Flown

* Consolodaed B-24 Liberator

Stations Assigned

* Davis-Monthan Field, AZ 1 Oct 1943 - 11 Nov 1943
* El Paso, TX 11 Nov 1943 - Feb 1944
* RAF North Pickenham, England Feb 1944 - 17 July 1945
* McChord Field, WA 17 Jul-8 Sep 1945

Operational History

Constituted as 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 14 Sep 1943. Activated on 1 Oct 1943. Trained for combat with B-24's. On 1 Jan 1944 the group, less the air echelon, was transferred without personnel and equipment to England, where personnel were assigned later. The air echelon continued to train in the US until it joined the group in England in May 1944. Served in combat with Eighth Air Force. The 491st was assigned to the 14th Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Circle-Z".

The 491st Bomb Group, less the air echelon, was transferred without personnel and equipment to North Pickenham initially in February 1944 briefly before being transferred to RAF Metfeld in March. With the withdrawal of the 492d Bomb Group from operational missions in August the group was transferred back to North Pickenham .

Upon its return, the 491st concentrated its attacks on strategic objectives in Germany, striking communications centers, oil refineries, storage depots, industrial areas, shipyards, and other targets in such places as Berlin, Hamburg, Kassel, Cologne, Gelsenkirchen, Bielefeld, Hannover, and Magdeburg; on one occasion attacked the headquarters of the German General Staff at Zossen, Germany.

While on a mission to bomb an oil refinery at Misburg on 26 November 1944, the group was attacked by large numbers of enemy fighters; although about one-half of its planes were destroyed, the remainder fought off the interceptors, successfully bombed the target, and won for the group a Distinguished Unit Citation.

Although engaged primarily in strategic bombardment, the group also supported ground forces at St Lo in July 1944; assaulted V-weapon sites and communications lines in France during the summer of 1944; dropped supplies to paratroops on 18 September 1944 during the airborne attack in Holland; bombed German supply lines and fortifications during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945; supported Allied forces in the airborne drop across the Rhine in March 1945; and interdicted enemy communications during the Allied drive across Germany in April 1945.

The 491st Bomb Group returned to McChord AAF Washington on 17 July 1945 and was inactivated on 8 September 1945.

See also

* Eighth Air Force

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.

External links

* [http://www.491st.org/ 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) Website]