493d Bombardment Group

The 493d Bombardment Group was a heavy-bomber formation of the United States Army Air Forces created for service in the European theater during World War II. Constituted on 14 September 1943 and activated on 1 November 1943 at McCook Army Air Field, Nebraska, it comprised the 860th, 861st, 862d, and 863d Bombardment Squadrons. Its organization was complicated by personnel and administrative problems during the formation period. Some personnel were initially directed to the wrong installation, while the group’s ground and air elements followed separate paths as the Eighth Air Force prepared the unit for deployment to Britain. The group was assigned to the Eighth Air Force and eventually established its operational base at RAF Debach in Suffolk, England. It became operational on D-Day, 6 June 1944, making it the last bombardment group assigned to the Eighth Air Force to begin combat operations. The group initially flew Consolidated B-24 Liberators. Its early missions supported the Allied invasion of Normandy and included attacks on German military positions, airfields, bridges, communications facilities, and other tactical objectives. In late August 1944, the group was withdrawn from combat to convert to Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. It returned to operations on 8 September 1944 and thereafter conducted a mixture of strategic and tactical missions. Strategic targets included German industrial plants, ordnance facilities, synthetic-fuel production sites, railroad infrastructure, marshalling yards, and other transportation networks. Tactical assignments supported major Allied operations including the Normandy campaign, the breakout from Saint-Lô, the airborne offensive in the Netherlands known as Operation Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge, and Operation Varsity, the Allied airborne assault across the Rhine. The group’s final bombing mission was flown on 20 April 1945 against marshalling yards near Nauen. During the final weeks of the war it also conducted humanitarian food-dropping missions, delivering more than 450 tons of supplies. Across its combat service, the unit flew 47 missions with the B-24 and 110 with the B-17. It claimed 11 enemy aircraft destroyed but lost 41 aircraft in combat. The air echelon left England on 30 June 1945, while the ground echelon departed aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth on 6 August. The group reassembled at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, and was inactivated on 28 August 1945. In 2002, the former group was redesignated the 493d Air Expeditionary Group and converted to provisional status under Air Mobility Command. This designation allowed the Air Force to activate or inactivate the unit for contingency operations when required. Unclassified reference material does not establish a subsequent operational activation, so the modern provisional designation is best understood as an administrative lineage continuation rather than evidence of continuous activity.

The 493d Bombardment Group was constituted as a heavy bombardment group on 14 September 1943 and activated at McCook Army Air Field, Nebraska, on 1 November of that year. The group was assigned four bombardment squadrons: the 860th, 861st, 862d, and 863d. The 863d had previously served in an antisubmarine role, but became available after the United States Navy assumed that mission. It provided much of the initial cadre for the new group and its subordinate squadrons. The unit’s American formation was disrupted by an administrative error that sent some personnel to Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, rather than McCook. The personnel situation was not fully resolved until January 1944. By then, the group had been transferred on paper to the European theater. Its ground personnel in the United States were used in the formation of B-29 Superfortress organizations, while the group’s air element remained at McCook to train with Consolidated B-24 Liberators. In Britain, the Eighth Air Force assembled a replacement ground echelon from other formations in the 3d Bombardment Division. Additional officers and enlisted personnel came primarily from the 34th Bombardment Group’s training establishment at Blythe Army Air Base, California. The ground echelon reached the group’s station at RAF Debach in April 1944. The air echelon departed the United States on 1 May using the northern ferry route, and a smaller ground contingent sailed from Boston on the SS Brazil on 12 May. The group was established at Debach by the middle of that month and flew its first combat mission on 6 June 1944, the day Allied forces landed in Normandy. This made it the final bombardment group assigned to the Eighth Air Force to become operational. The group flew B-24 missions through 24 August 1944. It was then taken out of combat to convert to B-17 Flying Fortresses, as the Eighth Air Force concentrated its remaining Liberator formations in the 2d Bombardment Division. The 493d resumed combat operations on 8 September. Its strategic attacks struck targets such as the ordnance depot at Magdeburg, industrial facilities near Frankfurt, and a synthetic-oil plant near Merseburg. It also attacked German transportation and communications infrastructure, including a railroad tunnel at Ahrweiler, bridges near Irlich, and marshalling yards in the Cologne area. Strategic bombing was only one part of the group’s wartime role. It was repeatedly diverted to support Allied ground operations. During the Normandy campaign it attacked artillery positions, airfields, and bridges. It later struck German forces south of Caen and targets associated with Operation Cobra, the Allied breakout near Saint-Lô. The group bombed defensive positions during Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and attacked communications during the Battle of the Bulge. In the final phase of the European war it supported Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine. The 862d Bombardment Squadron underwent a temporary organizational change in February 1945 when it replaced the 3d Scouting Force and its crews were distributed among the other squadrons. It returned to group control in May. The group’s last combat bombing mission took place on 20 April 1945 against railway marshalling yards near Nauen. In early May, after the end of major combat operations, its aircraft conducted food-dropping missions and delivered more than 450 tons of supplies. The 493d completed 47 combat missions with the B-24 and 110 with the B-17. It claimed 11 enemy aircraft destroyed, while 41 of its own aircraft were lost in combat. The air echelon left Debach on 30 June 1945. The ground echelon sailed for the United States aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth on 6 August. The group assembled at Sioux Falls Army Air Field in South Dakota in August and was inactivated there on 28 August 1945. The unit’s lineage was revived administratively on 12 June 2002, when it was redesignated the 493d Air Expeditionary Group and converted to provisional status. It was assigned to Air Mobility Command, which could activate or inactivate the formation for contingency operations. Available unclassified sources do not document an actual later activation, leaving the group inactive as an operational historical unit while retaining a provisional lineage designation.

• 2002

  Redesignated as a provisional air expeditionary group

  [1]493rd Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The lineage was redesignated the 493d Air Expeditionary Group and assigned to Air Mobility Command for possible contingency activation.

• 1945

  Completed European combat operations

  [1]493rd Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group flew its final bombing mission on 20 April 1945 and subsequently conducted food-dropping missions in early May.

• 1945

  Inactivated at Sioux Falls

  [1]493rd Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  After returning to the United States, the group was inactivated at Sioux Falls Army Air Field on 28 August 1945.

• 1944

  Became operational at RAF Debach

  [1]493rd Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group established itself at RAF Debach in England and flew its first combat mission on 6 June 1944, D-Day.

• 1944

  Converted from B-24 Liberators to B-17 Flying Fortresses

  [1]493rd Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  After flying Liberator missions through 24 August, the group underwent conversion and returned to combat with B-17s on 8 September.

• 1943

  Constituted as a heavy bombardment group

  [1]493rd Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 493d Bombardment Group, Heavy was constituted on 14 September 1943 for service with the United States Army Air Forces.

• 1943

  Activated at McCook Army Air Field

  [1]493rd Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group was activated on 1 November 1943 at McCook Army Air Field, Nebraska, with four bombardment squadrons.

A late-forming Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber group whose identity was defined by its transition from B-24 Liberators to B-17 Flying Fortresses and by its broad contribution to both strategic bombing and major Allied ground campaigns.

• Military aviation operations · 1944

  B-24 Liberator operations

  The group’s first combat aircraft was the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. It flew 47 combat missions with the type from its entry into operations on D-Day until the group was withdrawn for conversion in August 1944. Liberator missions supported the Normandy invasion and targeted German military, transportation, and communications facilities.

• Military aviation operations · 1944

  B-17 Flying Fortress operations

  Following its conversion in late summer 1944, the group operated Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses for the remainder of its European combat service. It flew 110 missions with the type against industrial, military, fuel-production, and transportation targets, while also supporting major Allied operations on the ground.

• 1945Operation Varsity

  Germany

  In the final major Allied campaign in the European theater, the group attacked targets in support of the airborne assault across the Rhine.

  Outcome. The operation helped establish Allied positions east of the Rhine during the final advance into Germany.

  Source
• 1944Normandy campaign and Operation Overlord

  Western Europe

  The group’s first combat mission took place on D-Day. It attacked artillery batteries, airfields, bridges, and other targets supporting the Allied invasion of Normandy.

  Outcome. The group continued to provide air support during the Normandy campaign and the subsequent Allied advance.

  Source
• 1944Operation Cobra

  France

  The group attacked German ground forces south of Caen and targets connected with the Allied breakout near Saint-Lô.

  Outcome. Its missions contributed air support to the Allied breakout from the Normandy bridgehead.

  Source
• 1944Operation Market Garden

  Netherlands

  The group bombed German fortifications and other objectives supporting the Allied airborne operation intended to establish a route across the Rhine.

  Outcome. The operation did not secure all of its intended objectives, but the group fulfilled assigned bombing-support missions.

  Source
• 1944Battle of the Bulge

  Belgium · Luxembourg · Germany

  The group attacked communications and transportation targets during the German Ardennes offensive.

  Outcome. Its operations supported Allied efforts to disrupt German movement and sustain the defensive campaign.

  Source

• 2002

  Creation of a provisional air expeditionary lineageStrategy

  Background

  The Air Force retained the historic group’s lineage for potential use in contingency operations after the original World War II unit had long been inactive.

  Action taken

  The group was redesignated the 493d Air Expeditionary Group, converted to provisional status, and assigned to Air Mobility Command.

  Aftermath

  The designation enabled activation or inactivation as needed, although available unclassified sources do not document a later operational activation.

  Source

• 1944

  Conversion from B-24 Liberators to B-17 Flying FortressesGeneration change

  Background

  The Eighth Air Force reorganized its heavy-bomber forces and concentrated Liberator units in the 2d Bombardment Division, requiring the 493d and associated formations to change aircraft.

  Action taken

  The group suspended combat operations after 24 August 1944, converted to B-17 Flying Fortresses, and resumed missions on 8 September.

  Aftermath

  The conversion allowed the group to continue strategic and tactical bombing operations through the end of the European war.

  Source

1. 1493rd Bombardment Groupen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machinessearch.worldcat.org