489th Bomb Group | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Active | 1943–1945; 2015–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Part of | Air Force Reserve Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Dyess Air Force Base |
| Mottos | Ex Tenebris Lux Veritatis (Latin for 'Out of Darkness, the Light of Truth')[1] |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Col. Christopher G. Hawn[2] (as of 13 July 2019) |
| Insignia | |
| 489th Bomb Group emblem[b][3] |  |
| 489th Bombardment Group emblem(World War II)[1][c] |  |
| Eighth Air Force tail code[1][d] | Circle W |
The489th Bomb Group is a unit of theUnited States Air Force within theAir Force Reserve Command. It is assigned to the307th Bomb Wing, and is stationed atDyess Air Force Base, Texas. The group is a reserve associate unit of the7th Bomb Wing at Dyess.
DuringWorld War II, the489th Bombardment Group was aConsolidated B-24 Liberator unit. After training in the United States, it moved to England as an element ofEighth Air Force, stationed atRAF Halesworth, England. Lieutenant ColonelLeon Vance of the group was awarded theMedal of Honor for his bravery and actions on the day beforeD-Day overWimereux, France. It was the only Medal of Honor awarded to a B-24 crewman for a mission flown from England.[4][e] The group returned to the United States in November 1944 and converted to aBoeing B-29 Superfortress group, but the war ended before the group could deploy to the Pacific.
In October 2015, the group was reactivated in theAir Force Reserve.
Media related to489th Bombardment Group (United States Army Air Forces) at Wikimedia Commons
The489th Bombardment Group, Heavy was activated as aConsolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombergroup on 1 October 1943 atWendover Field, Utah.[5] Its original squadrons were the844th,845th,846th and847th Bombardment Squadrons.[6][7][8] Shortly after organizing, key personnel left for training with theArmy Air Forces School of Applied Tactics in Florida, where it flew simulated combat missions in company with the491st Bombardment Group leadership, which was at a similar point in its training.[9] The group completed combat training and departed Wendover on 3 April 1944.[5] The air echelon flew to the UK via the southern ferry route along the northern coastline of South America and across the Atlantic to Africa before heading North to England.[4] The ground echelon sailed from Boston on board theUSS Wakefield on 13 April 1944, reachingLiverpool on 21 April.[10] The group moved toRAF Halesworth, England in May 1944, where it became part ofEighth Air Force.[5]
The group entered combat on 30 May 1944 with an attack onOldenburg, Germany.[10] It then concentrated on targets striking in France to prepare forOperation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. In an attack againstcoastal defenses nearWimereux, France on 5 June, the group's lead plane was seriously crippled by enemy fire, its pilot was killed, and the deputy group commander,Lt ColLeon Vance, who was commanding the formation, was severely wounded. Although his right foot was practically severed, Vance took control of the plane and led the group to a successful bombing of the target. He flew the damaged Liberator near the English coastline where he ordered the crew to bail out. Under the belief that one wounded crewmember could not jump, Vance ditched the plane in theEnglish Channel and was rescued. For his action during this mission, Vance was awarded theMedal of Honor.[5][g]
The group supported the landings inNormandy the following day, and afterward bombed coastal defenses, airfields, bridges, railroads, andV-1 flying bomb andV-2 rocket launch sites (Operation Crossbow) in the campaign for France. It participated in the saturation bombing of German lines just beforeOperation Cobra, the breakthrough atSaint-Lô in July. The group dropped food to liberated French and to Allied forces in France during August and September, and carried food and ammunition to theNetherlands later in September.[5] For these missions, a loadmaster fromIX Troop Carrier Command directed the drops from the bombers.[11] On other missions, group aircraft flew intoOrleans/Bricy Airfield to deliver supplies.[12]
The 489th began flying strategic bombing missions to Germany in July, and engaged primarily in bombing strategic targets such as factories,oil refineries and storage areas,marshalling yards, andairfields inLudwigshafen,Magdeburg,Brunswick,Saarbrücken, and other cities until November 1944.[5] At that time it was the first group in Eighth Air Force selected for redeployment to the Pacific theater and became non-operational on 14 November 1944 and most of its B-24s were assigned to other groups in England. It was relieved of assignment to the theater on 29 November 1944, and returned to the United States.[4][10]
The 489th Bomb Group returned toBradley Field Connecticut at the end of December 1944, where most returning personnel were reassigned to other units[4] while the group moved toLincoln Army Air Field, Nebraska. At Lincoln it again became part ofSecond Air Force on 22 January 1945, they were informed that previous plans for refresher training had been cancelled and instead the group and its associated 369th Air Service Group were retrained asBoeing B-29 Superfortress combat and support units. However Second Air Force did not receive redesignation orders for the group until 17 March, until which time they were compelled to maintain duplicate rosters and tables of organization, one for a heavy bombardment group of four squadrons, and one for a very heavy bombardment group of three squadrons. The readiness date for the group air echelon was set back from 1 March to 1 August 1945.[citation needed] The group moved toGreat Bend Army Air Field, Kansas in mid-February to re-equip with the B-29,[4] and was redesignated the489th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy in March.[5]
The group was alerted for movement overseas in the summer of 1945, but with theJapanese surrender, the group was inactivated on 17 October 1945.[5]
The Air Force reactivated the group as theAir Force Reserve Command's489th Bomb Group on 17 October 2015, exactly 70 years after it was inactivated.[3] The 489th operates fromDyess Air Force Base near Abilene, Texas, flyingRockwell B-1 Lancers and is an associate unit of the Regular Air Force's7th Bomb Wing, operating the same aircraft. The 489th is assigned to the307th Bomb Wing, aBoeing B-52 Stratofortress unit atBarksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Both the 489th and the 307th are "operationally-gained" byAir Force Global Strike Command whenmobilized.[13]
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| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Europe | c. 1 May 1943 – 5 June 1944 | 489th Bombardment Group[5] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 489th Bombardment Group[5] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 489th Bombardment Group[5] |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944-November 1944 | 489th Bombardment Group[5] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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