Army Air Forces in Europe

world war II

489th Bomber Group

8th Air Force 489th BG


Squadrons of the 489th BG

844th Bombardment Squadron - Heavy
845th Bombardment Squadron - Heavy
846th Bombardment Squadron -Heavy
847th Bombardment Squadron - Heavy

Assigned 8th AAF: April 1944

Wing/Command Assignment

2 BD, 95 CBW 5 Mar 1944
2 AD, 20 CBW 14 Aug 1944

Combat Aircraft:

B-24H
B-24J

Stations

HALESWORTH 22 April 1944 - 29 November 1944.

Group COs

Col Ezekiel W. Napier: 20 October 1943 to 29 November 1944.

First Mission: 30 May 1944
Last Mission: 10 Nov 1944
Missions: 106
Total Sorties: 2,998
Total Bomb Tonnage: 6,951 Tons
Aircraft MIA: 29
Other Op Loses: 12

Major Awards:
Medal of Honor: Lt Col Leon R. Vance: 5 June 1944

Claims to Fame

Only Medal of Honor awarded to a B-24 crewman for an action flown from UK.

Early History:

Activated 1 October 1943 at Wendover Fd, Utah. Completed unit formation and training of the Group took place at this base. Left Wendover on the 3rd April 1944. The aircraft flew to the UK via the southern ferry route. The ground unit sailed from Boston on USS Wakefield on the 13 April 1944.

Subsequent History:

Selected for redeployment to the Pacific theatre and became non operational on the 14th November 1944. Relieved of assignment on the 29 November 1944, and returned to the US. The aircraft were reassigned to depots or other units in the UK. The Group was established at Bradley Fd, Conn. pn the 12 December 1944, and was shortly thereafter transferred to Lincoln AFB, Neb. to train as a B-29 unit. Equipped with this aircraft at Great Bend AAFd, Kan. from March 1945. The unit was alerted for movement to the Pacific late in the summer of 1945, but with termination of hostilities remained in US and was inactivated on the 17 October

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