497th Air Expeditionary Group | |
|---|---|
 B-29 Superfortress 42-63526 of the 497th Bombardment Group nearRangoon, Burma | |
| Active | 1943–1946; 1962–1964; After 2000 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Provisional Unit |
| Role | Exercise Control |
| Motto | Parati StamusLatin We Stand Ready |
| Engagements | Pacific Theater of Operations |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| 497th Air Refueling Wing emblem(approved 7 February 1963)[1] |  |
| Emblem used by the 497th Bombardment Group[note 1] |  |
| Twentieth Air Force Tail Marking | Square A |
The497th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisionalUnited States Air Force unit. It is assigned toPacific Air Forces to activate or inactivate as needed.
The unit was first activated in theUnited States Army Air Forces as the497th Bombardment Group which was part ofTwentieth Air Force duringWorld War II. The 497th engaged in very heavy (B-29 Superfortress) bombardment operations against Japan and earned twoDistinguished Unit Citations for its combat actions. Its aircraft were identified by an "A" and a square painted on the tail.
The unit was again active as the497th Air Refueling Wing, which was an element ofStrategic Air Command. It absorbed the personnel equipment, and mission of the 4108th Air Refueling Wing atPlattsburgh Air Force Base, New York in January 1963 and was inactivated in September 1964.
In 1985 the497th Bombardment Group and the497th Air Refueling Wing were consolidated into a single unit. The unit was converted to provisional status and assigned to Pacific Air Forces which activated it to control exercises atPaya Lebar Airfield, Singapore various times between 2000 and 2006.
The unit was established in late 1943 as the497th Bombardment Group atEl Paso Army Air Base, Texas, aBoeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment group. The unit's original operational squadrons were the869th,[2]870th,[3]871st,[4] and872d Bombardment Squadrons.[5] It was also assigned four bombardment maintenance squadrons (one paired with each of its operational squadrons) and a photographic laboratory. Thegroup's initialcadre was drawn from the491st Bombardment Group.[6]
In December the group moved on paper toClovis Army Air Field, New Mexico,[note 2] although its ground personnel moved toPratt Army Air Field, Kansas, where they were attached to the40th Bombardment Group to begin training. At Clovis, the group began to man its air echelon by January 1944. The 497th drew heavily onaircrews of the480th Antisubmarine Group who were returning to the United States from duty in England and Africa to fill out its flying squadrons. Aircrew training at Clovis was limited to ground training, although some flying inBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress andConsolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft assigned to the73d Bombardment Wing was accomplished. Key personnel trained with theArmy Air Forces School of Applied Tactics atOrlando Army Air Base, Florida.[7]
In April 1944, the group air and ground echelons united at Pratt. Here the 497th finally received newly manufacturedBoeing B-29 Superfortresses the following month, although it continued to fly B-17s as well due to continuing engine problems with the B-29s.[8] In May theUnited States Army Air Forces reorganized its very heavy bombardment units. The 872d Bombardment Squadron and the bombardment maintenance squadrons were inactivated and their personnel absorbed into the remaining three squadrons.[5][9][10]
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The 497th deployed toPacific Theater of Operations, with the ground echelon sailing on 30 July on the SSFairisle, passing throughHonolulu andEniwetok before arriving atSaipan on 20 September.[11] Upon arrival, the group's personnel were engaged in construction. By mid-October most personnel were able to move intoQuonset huts from the tents which they were assigned on arrival. The aircrews began departing Kansas on 6 October, ferrying their aircraft to Saipan via a 6500 nautical mile route, with the last B-29 arriving on 30 October. The headquarters and staff elements flew to Saipan aboardAir Transport CommandDouglas C-54 Skymaster aircraft.[12] At Saipan, the group became part of theXXI Bomber Command atIsely Field.[13]
The group began operations on 28 October 1944, with a night attack against thesubmarine pens atTruk Island and attacks againstIwo Jima in early November.[14] The group took part in the first attack on Japan by AAF planes based in theMarianas.[13] On 24 November 1944 Major Robert Morgan led the first mission of theXXI Bomber Command to bomb Japan, with wing commanderBrigadier Gen. Emmett O'Donnell, Jr. as co-pilot. 110 aircraft of the 73rd Bombardment Wing bombed Tokyo on this mission. The group also suffered its first combat loss on this mission, when a B-29 of the 870th squadron was shot down over the target area. However, this was not the first flight by a 497th aircraft to Japan. Major Morgan and his crew had flown a solo mission on 10 November usingradio countermeasures equipment to obtain information on the disposition of Japaneseearly warning andgun controlradars.[15] During December four group aircraft were destroyed in Japanese bombing raids against Isely Field.[16] The 497th flew missions against strategic objectives in Japan, originally in daylight and from high altitude.[13] It was also tasked with "Weather Strike" missions which were single-ship flights flown nightly to obtain weather information for target areas in Japan while also making incendiary attacks on various targets.[17]
The group received aDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for a mission on 27 January 1945. Although weather conditions prevented the group from bombing its primary objective, the unescorted B-29s withstood severe enemy attacks to strike an alternate target, the industrial area ofHamamatsu. It was awarded a second DUC for attacking strategic centers in Japan during July and August 1945. The group assisted theassault on Okinawa in April 1945 by bombing enemy airfields to cut down air attacks against the invasion force. Beginning on 19 March and continuing until the end of the war the group made incendiary raids against Japan, flying at night and at low altitudes to bomb area targets.[13] The group released propaganda leaflets over the Japanese home islands,[18] continuing strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until theJapanese surrender in August 1945.[13]
AfterV-J Day, the 497th dropped supplies to Allied prisoners.[19] In November 1945 the unit returned to the United States[13] where it was initially assigned toContinental Air Forces's (CAF)Fourth Air Force atMarch Field, California. In March, the513th Bombardment Squadron, a formerFifteenth Air ForceB-24 Liberator squadron, joined the group. The 513th was undergoing B-29 very heavy bomber upgrade training. In January 1945, the 497th was reassigned to the CAFThird Air Force atMacDill Field, Florida. In March 1946 CAF became Strategic Air Command (SAC), and the group was one of SAC's first bombardment groups. Demobilization, however, was in full swing and the group turned in its aircraft and was inactivated on 31 March.[13]
In January 1961, SAC separated the twoair refueling squadrons of the380th Bombardment Wing atPlattsburgh AFB, New York into a separate wing, the 4108th Air Refueling Wing. In addition to the26th and380th Air Refueling Squadrons, flyingBoeing KC-97 Stratofreighters, the wing was assigned three maintenance squadrons.[20] It was assigned to the Eighth Air Force's820th Air Division (later the 820th Strategic Aerospace Division).[21]
However, SAC Major Command controlled (MAJCON) could not carry a permanent history or lineage.[22] and SAC looked for a way to make these wings permanent.In 1962, in order to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustriousWorld War II records, SAC received authority from the USAF to discontinue its MAJCON wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate Air Force-controlled (AFCON) units, most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history.[23]
As a result, the 4108th was replaced by the newly constituted497th Air Refueling Wing,[1] which assumed its mission, personnel, and equipment on 1 January 1963.[note 4] The 26th and 380th Air Refueling Squadrons were reassigned to the 497th. Component support units were replaced by units with the numerical designation of the newly established wing.[20]
The wing supported global air refueling missions of SAC and other USAF needs, as required, earning anAir Force Outstanding Unit Award for its performance of the mission. In June 1964 the 380th Air Refueling Squadron became non-operational[1] while it began to convert to newerBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers. The 497th was discontinued and inactivated on 15 September 1964. Its subordinate units were also inactivated with the exception of the 380th Air Refueling Squadron, which was reassigned to the 380th Bombardment Wing.[24]
In 1984 the497th Bombardment Group and the497th Air Refueling Wing were consolidated into a single unit,[25]
In 2000, the consolidated unit was converted to provisional status and assigned toPacific Air Forces to activate or inactivate as needed. It was redesignated as the497th Air Expeditionary Group. Between 2000 and 2006 the group was periodically activated for Commando Slingexercises, using the497th Combat Training Squadron as its cadre, augmented by deployed personnel and equipment from Pacific Air Forces fighter squadrons.[26]
497th Bombardment Group
497th Air Refueling Wing
Activations[26]
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Operational Squadrons
Maintenance Squadrons
Other
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 27 January 1945 | Japan, 497th Bombardment Group[13] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 26 July 1945 – 2 August 1945 | Japan, 497th Bombardment Group[13] |
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 January 1963 – 30 June 1963 | 497th Air Refueling Wing[1][note 5] |
Manual campaign table
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Japan | 497th Bombardment Group[13] | |
| Eastern Mandates | 497th Bombardment Group[13] | |
| Western Pacific | 497th Bombardment Group[13] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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