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.[7] 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.[8][note 3] The group's air echelon moved to Pueblo Army Air Base, Colorado to complete its training with the 471st Bombardment Group.[6] Key personnel of the unit departed the United States on 11 April, while the crews began ferrying the squadron's B-24s via the southern ferry route on 21 April.[8]
In August 1944, the 492d Bombardment Group was taken off normal operations and moved on paper to replace the 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional) on Operation Carpetbagger operations. As a result, the 491st Group moved to the 492d's base at RAF North Pickenham.[11] 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.[2]
The group was occasionally diverted from the strategic bombing campaign. it supported ground forces during Operation Cobra the breakout at Saint Lo; dropped supplies to beleaguered paratroopers during Operation Market Garden, the attempt to seize a bridgehead across the Rhine River; and attacked supply lines and fortifications during the Battle of the Bulge. It supported Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine and Allied forces driving across Germany.[2] The squadron's final combat mission was flown on 25 April 1945.[8]
Return to the United States and inactivation
During its combat tour, the 491st flew 187 missions, comprising over 5,000 sorties, the highest operational rate for Liberator units in Eighth Air Force. It lost 47 aircraft,[note 5] 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 RMS Queen Mary on 6 July, arriving in New York City five days later.[8] The 491st reassembled at McChord Field, Washington later that month and was inactivated there on 8 September.[2]
Lineage
Constituted as the 491st Bombardment Group, Heavy on 14 September 1943
^The squadron's assigned target was obscured by cloud cover and it returned to base without bombing. Blue, p. 85.
^Fifteen of these were lost on the Misburg raid. Freeman, p. 182.
^Ketteringham Hall and North Pickenham were apparently only nominal bases. Ketteringham Hall was station headquarters for the 2d Bombardment Division. Ground personnel for the 491st Group were actually located at the four stations of the division's groups. Although North Pickenham was selected to be the 491st Group's initial station in England, this choice was revoked and the squadron ground echelons did not move until April, when they gathered at Metfield. Freeman, p. 261.
Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force in World War II. Vol. I (VIII) Bomber Command. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN978-0-7643-1987-7.
