PLEASE SUPPORT THE 8AF.ORG PROJECT! [MORE]
Constituted as 489th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 14 Sep 1943. Activated on 1 Oct 1943. Trained with B-24's. Moved to England, Apr-May 1944, and assigned to Eighth AF. Entered combat on 30 May 1944, and during the next few days concentrated on targets in France in preparation for the Normandy invasion. In an attack against coastal defenses near Wimereaux on 5 Jun 1944, the group's lead plane was seriously crippled by enemy fire, its pilot was killed, and the deputy group commander, Lt Col Leon R Vance Jr, who was commanding the formation, was severely wounded; although his right foot was practically severed, Vance took control of the plane, led the group to a successful bombing of the target, and managed to fly the damaged aircraft to the coast of England, where he ordered the crew to bail out; believing a wounded man had been unable to jump, he ditched the plane in the Channel and was rescued. For his action during this mission, Vance was awarded the Medal of Honor. The group supported the landings in Normandy on 6 Jun 1944, and afterward bombed coastal defenses, airfields, bridges, railroads, and V-weapon sites in the campaign for France. Began flying missions into Germany in Jul, and engaged primarily in bombing strategic targets such as factories, oil refineries and storage plants, marshalling yards, and airfields in Ludwigshafen, Magdeburg, Brunswick, Saarbrucken, and other cities until Nov 1944. Other operations included participating in the saturation bombing of German lines just before the breakthrough at St Lo in Jul, dropping food to the liberated French and to Allied forces in France during Aug and Sep, and carrying food and ammunition to Holland later in Sep. Returned to the US, Nov-Dec 1944, to prepare for redeployment to the Pacific theater. Redesignated 489th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) in Mar 1945. Equipped with B-29's. Alerted for movement overseas in the summer of 1945, but war with Japan ended before the group left the US. Inactivated on 17 Oct 1945.
Squadrons. 844th: 1943-1945. 845th: 1943-1945. 846th: 1943-1945. 847th: 1943-1945.
Stations. Wendover Field, Utah, 1 Oct 1943-3 Apr 1944; Halesworth, England, c. 1 May-Nov 1944; Bradley Field, Conn, 12 Dec 1944; Lincoln AAFld, Neb, c. 17 Dec 1944; Great Bend AAFld, Kan, c. 18 Feb 1945; Davis-Monthan Field, Ariz, 3 Apr 1945; Fairmont AAFld, Neb, c. 13 Jul 1945; Ft Lawton, Wash, 23 Aug 1945; March Field, Calif, 2 Sep-17 Oct 1945.
Commanders. Col Ezekiel W Napier, 20 Oct 1943; Lt Col Robert E Kollimer, 5 Feb 1945; Col Paul C Ashworth, 11 Apr 1945-unkn.
Campaigns. American Theater; Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland.
Decorations. None.
Data from Air Force Combat Units of World War II By Maurer, Maurer, Published 1986
2ND AIR DIVISION MEMORIAL HISTORY
489TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP (H)
I. Group Commander:
Colonel E.W. Napier, from Group Activation 22 September 1943 to Departure from 2 AD to ZOI 30 Nov’44
II. Narrative:
1. The 489th Bombardment Group was activated as per G.O.#135, 22 September 1944, Hq. 2nd Air Force, with Colonel E.W. Napier as Commanding Officer. Soon after activation a cadre of men was chosen to attend the AAF Tactical Air Center at Orlando, Florida, where applied and theoretical problems were studied. Upon completion of a four weeks’ course, the cadre was sent to Wendover Field, Utah arriving on 13 December 1943. the 489th Group, using the new streamlined plan of instruction was the first operational unit to complete all three phases of its training in one place, Wendover Field. The 489th set a remarkably fine record for flying-safety while in training, losing only two men, both of which were co-pilots killed in crash landings.
2. On 10 April 1944, the air echelon left Wendover Field, Utah for the flight overseas to the British Isles, with Colonel Napier piloting the lead aircraft. At the time of departure from Ellington Field, Kansas, a blizzard set in and grounded the rest of the group so that it was not until Fortabeza, Brazil that they were able to catch up with Colonel Napier and his crew. The lead aircraft arrived at Halesworth, Suffolk County, England, 1 May 1944, while the remainder of the air echelon continued to arrive up to and including 16 May 1944.
3. The ground echelon, upon completion of third and final phase of training, departed Wendover Field, Utah, 2 April 1944, arriving at Camp Miles Standish, Massachusetts, 7 April 1944. Here they underwent final preparations for their journey overseas to the British Isles. On 13 April 1944, they sailed from Boston, Mass. Port of Embarkation, abord the liner USS Wakefield, landing at Liverpool, England, where disembarkation took place 21 April 1944.
4. The ground echelon arrived at their final destination, AAF Station 364, 22 April 1944. Station 365 was located at Halesworth, Suffolk County, England. this was the 489th’s home during its entire stay in the European Theatre of Operations.
5. On 30 May 1944, the efficiency, coolness under fire and bravery of the 489th Group was tried, tested and found not wanting for it was on this day that they completed their first combat mission over enemy territory with good results. The target -- an airfield at Oldenburg, Germany.
6. In all, the 489th flew 106 combat missions in the period 30 May 1944 to 10 November 1944. During this period the Group dropped 7,056 tons of bombs and was officially credited with destroying one German plane.
7. Missions flown by Campaigns: No. of DATES Missions
Air Offensive Europe 4 July ’42 - 5 Jun ’44 5
Normandy Campaign 6 Jun ’44 - 24 July ‘44 44
Northern France Campaign 25 July ’44 - 14 Sept ‘44 27
Germany Campaign 15 Sept’44 - 8 May ‘45 30
TOTAL 106
III. Station Arms and Services: (Following Arms and Services served under this Station Command:)
2982nd Finance Detachment (ADO) (Prov)
263d Medical Dispensary (Avn) (RS)
474th Sub Depot C1.1.
Det “A” 867th Cml. Co. AO
983rd MP Co. (Avn)
1235th QM Co. Serv. Gp. (RS)
1800th Ordnance S & M Co.
2106th Engineer Avn F/F Platoon C.E.
Det “365” 18th Weather Squadron
B-24 Mobile Training Unit No. 27.
489th BOMBARDMENT GROUP (H)
The 489th Bombardment Group (H) was activated 22 September 1944.
Colonel E.W. Napier commanded the Group throughout its training
period in the United States and its combat career in the European Theater
of Operations.
Training was accomplished at Army Air Force School of Applied
Tactics, Orlando, Florida, and Wendover Field, Utah.
On 2 April 1944 the Ground Echelon left Wendover Field for Camp
Miles Standish, Massachusetts, then to the Boston Port of Embarkation
where they sailed for England in the U.S.S. WAKEFIELD, 13 April.
Meanwhile, the Air Echelon flew their B-24 LIBERATORS across the
Atlantic by way of Brazil and Africa. By 16 May 1944 the Group was
reunited at Army Air Force Station 365, Halesworth, Suffolk, England.
The first operational mission was flown 30 May 1944 and its final
mission on 10 November 1944. During this period the Group flew 3259
sorties on 106 operational missions, dropping 6,951 tons of bombs on
enemy installations in Germany and German-occupied Europe. One enemy
fighter was destroyed while 41 of the Group’s B-24’s were lost on
operational flights.
The 489th Bombardment Group (H) participated in the following
campaigns:
Air Offensive Europe 30 May 1944 - 5 June 1944
Normandy Campaign 6 June 1944 - 24 July 1944
Northern France Campaign 25 July 1944 - 14 September 1944
Rhineland Campaign 15 Sept 1944 - 10 November 1944
The Congressional Medal of Honor (posthumous) was awarded to Lt.
Colonel Leon R. Vance for heroism displayed on the mission of 5 June
1944.
While at Halesworth the 489th Bombardment Group (H) was
composed of:
Headquarter 489th Bombardment Group (H)
844th Bombardment Squadron
845th Bombardment Squadron
846th Bombardment Squadron
328th Station Complement Squadron (attached)
474th Sub-Depot (attached)
2982nd Finance Detachment (attached)
263rd Medical Dispensary (attached)
867th Chemical Company, Detachment A (attached)
983rd Military Police Company (attached)
1235th Quartermaster Company (attached)
1800th Ordnance Company (attached)
2106th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighter Platoon (attached)
18th Water Squadron, Detachment 365 (attached)
B-24 Mobile Training Unit No. 27 (attached)
The following members of the 489th Bombardment Group (H) gave their lives for their country in the Air War over Europe, 1944.
Do you have WWII memorabilia that you are not sure what to do with it? The children don't want it? Then let us help you preserve this history by donating these items to the Army Air Corps Library and Museum. We are accepting donations in the form of uniforms, medals, ribbons, patches, photos, memorabilia, papers, gear and equipment. We also accept monetary donations to support our operations and long term plans. This website is part of the Army Air Corps Library and Museum, and as a 501(c)(3) Non-profit, your qualifying donations are tax deductible.
Historical Artifacts: We are looking for photos, documents and other types of artifacts including uniforms and gear of the 8th Air Force in World War II as well as other units and commands. We accept electronic/scans or originals of pictures and paper records. A General Order could be an award document that contains information on many servicemen. Special Orders may contain transfers or other information. Flight records, accident reports, maintenance logs, after action reports, pilot encounter reports, diaries and biorgraphies; all of these types of documents help us support or mission: preserving your history! Contact us today for instructions on sending us this material.
Are you an AAC, AAF or USAF Veteran, family member, historian or WW2 enthusiast? We Need YOU! Contact us today to see how you can help the Army Air Corps Library and Museum, a Texas Not-For-Profit Corporation. We need your help! We are looking for volunteers that can help us with the following tasks. Typing and Transcriptionists: One of our big projects is extracting data from the thousands of documents we have and putting this data into a database where we can display the information on a website such as this one.