PLEASE SUPPORT THE 8AF.ORG PROJECT! [MORE]
Constituted as 493d Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 14 Sep 1943. Activated on 1 Nov 1943. On 1 Jan 1944 transferred, less the air echelon and without personnel and equipment, to England where personnel were assigned. Joined by the air echelon in May 1944. Served in combat with Eighth AF, May 1944-Apr 1945, using B-14's until they were replaced with B-17's in Sep 1944. Operated chiefly against industrial and military installations in Germany, attacking an ordnance depot at Magdeburg, marshalling yards at Cologne, synthetic oil plants at Merseburg, a railroad tunnel at Ahrweiler, bridges at Irlich, factories at Frankfurt, and other strategic objectives. Additional operations included striking airfields, bridges, and gun batteries prior to and during the invasion of Normandy in Jun 1944; hitting enemy positions to assist ground forces south of Caen and at St Lo in Jul 1944; bombing German fortifications to cover the airborne attack on Holland in Sep 1944; attacking enemy communications during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945; and assisting the airborne assault across the Rhine in Mar 1945. Flew last combat mission, an attack on marshalling yards at Nauen, on 20 Apr 1945. Returned to the US in Aug. Inactivated on 28 Aug 1945.
Squadrons. 860th: 1943-1945. 861st: 1943-1945. 862d: 1943-1945. 863d: 1943-1945.
Stations. McCook AAFld, Neb, 1 Nov 1943; Elveden Hall, England, 1 Jan 1944; Debach, England, Apr 1944-6 Aug 1945; Sioux Falls AAFld, SD, 12-28 Aug 1945.
Commanders. Col Elbert Helton, 1 Nov 1943; Col Robert B Landry, 16 Feb 1945; Lt Col Shepler W Fitzgerald Jr, 5 Jun-28 Aug 1945.
Campaigns. Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe.
Decorations. None.
Data from Air Force Combat Units of World War II By Maurer, Maurer, Published 1986
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.