| 493d Bombardment Group (later 493d Air Expeditionary Group) | |
|---|---|
 493d Bombardment Group Boeing B-17G[note 1] | |
| Active | 1942–1945 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Nickname(s) | Helton's Hellcats[1][note 2] |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations |
| Insignia | |
| 493d Bombardment Group emblem[2] |  |
The493d Bombardment Group is a formerUnited States Army Air Forces unit that was assigned to the92d Bombardment Wing during World War II. It the last bombardmentgroup to be assigned toEighth Air Force. It flew combat missions in thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany until shortly beforeV-E Day, then returned to the United States for inactivation. In 2002, the group was converted to provisional status as the493d Air Expeditionary Group and assigned toAir Mobility Command to activate or inactivate as needed.
The493d Bombardment Group was first activated atMcCook Army Air Field, Nebraska, with the860th,861st,862d and863d Bombardment Squadrons assigned.[3][4][5][6][7] The 863d Squadron was a formerantisubmarine unit that had become surplus when theNavy assumed its mission, and was used to form thecadre for the group and its squadrons.[7] Thegroup's formation was delayed by an administrative error that caused some of the unit's personnel to report toDavis-Monthan Field, Arizona instead of to McCook. It was not until January that all personnel were at McCook. By this time, the group had transferred on paper toElveden Hall, England. The ground personnel of the group in the United States had been used to formBoeing B-29 Superfortress units being activated bySecond Air Force, while the group's air echelon remained in Nebraska to conduct training on their assignedConsolidated B-24 Liberators. Meanwhile,Eighth Air Force formed a new ground echelon for the group in England from other units assigned to the3d Bombardment Division. This ground echelon moved to the group's combat station,RAF Debach, in April 1944.[1] Additional officers and men, chiefly from the34th Bombardment Group training atBlythe Army Air Base, California, were assigned to the Group in February and March.[citation needed] The group's air echelon departed for England via the northern ferry route on 1 May, while a small ground component left McCook and sailed fromBoston, Massachusetts on theSS Brazil (1928) on 12 May 1944.[3][1]
The group was established at Debach by mid-May and flew its first combat mission onD-Day, 6 June 1944, making it the last in Eighth Air Force to become operational. It continued to fly Liberators until 24 August 1944, when it was withdrawn from combat to convert toBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, along with other units of the93d Bombardment Wing, as Eighth Air Force concentrated all its Liberators in the2d Bombardment Division. It resumed combat missions with the B-17 on 8 September 1944.[1] The squadron concentrated its attacks on military and industrial targets in Germany, attacking an ordnance depot inMagdeburg, factories nearFrankfurt, and asynthetic oil manufacturing plant atMerseburg. It also attackedlines of communications, including a railroad tunnel atAhrweiler, bridges atIrlich, andmarshalling yards nearCologne.[3]
The group was occasionally diverted from thestrategic bombing campaign to attack tactical targets. It supportedOperation Overlord, the Normandy invasion, strikingartillery batteries, airfields and bridges. It struck enemy ground forces south ofCaen and duringOperation Cobra, the breakout atSt Lo. It bombed Germanfortifications to supportOperation Market Garden, airborne attacks attempting to secure a bridgehead across theRhine in the Netherlands, and attacked communications during theBattle of the Bulge. Toward the end of the war, it also supportedOperation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine in Germany.[3]
In February 1945, the 862d Squadron replaced the3d Scouting Force, and its crews were distributed to the other squadrons of the group. The squadron returned to group control in May. The squadron flew its last combat mission against marshalling yards nearNauen on 20 April 1945, although it flew food-dropping missions in early May, dropping more than 450 tons of supplies. At war's end, the 493d had flown 47 Missions with the Liberator and 110 with the Flying Fortress. It claimed the destruction of 11 enemy aircraft, but lost 41 in combat.[1] The squadron air echelon departed Debach on 30 June, while the ground echelon sailed for home aboard theRMS Queen Elizabeth on 6 August 1945. In late August, the squadron assembled atSioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, where it was inactivated on 28 August 1945.[4][3]
In June 2002, the group was converted to provisional status as the493d Air Expeditionary Group and assigned toAir Mobility Command to activate or inactivate as needed for contingency operations.[8] There is no indication in unclassified sources that the unit has been active.
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Combat, EAME Theater | 1 January 1944 – 11 May 1945 | 493d Bombardment Group[3] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 493d Bombardment Group[3] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 493d Bombardment Group[3] |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 493d Bombardment Group[3] |
| Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 493d Bombardment Group[3] |
| Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 493d Bombardment Group[3] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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