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492nd Special Operations Wing
The 492nd Special Operations Wing is a United States Air Forces unit stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It was activated in May 2017 to replace the Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center.
During World War II the unit entered combat in May 1944, and sustained the heaviest losses of any Consolidated B-24 Liberator group for a three-month period. The group was withdrawn from combat with its personnel and equipment being reassigned to other units. The 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional) was replaced by the 492nd Bombardment Group, and the group performed special operations missions throughout the remainder of the war in Europe. It was inactivated on 17 October 1945.
In June 2017 official USAF descriptions said that the wing organized, trained and equipped forces to conduct special operations missions. It led Major Command irregular warfare activities and executes special operations test and evaluation programs. It also developed doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures for United States Air Force special operations forces.
The group was established in October 1943 at Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber unit, drawing its cadre from the 859th Bombardment Squadron, a former antisubmarine squadron located at Blythe Army Air Base, California. Its other original squadrons were the 856th, 857th and 858th Bombardment Squadrons. In December, the 859th moved from Blythe to join group headquarters and the other three squadrons. The 492nd was one of seven heavy bombardment groups activated in the autumn of 1943. These were to be the last Army Air Forces heavy bomb groups established.[citation needed]
The group air echelon trained for combat at Alamogordo until April 1944, although the ground echelons of its four squadrons were withdrawn to form other bomber units. New ground elements were organized from other groups of the 2nd Bombardment Division already in theater. The group's air echelon departed for England on 1 April, flying the South Atlantic ferrying route through South America and Africa. Only about 120 members of the group's ground echelon shipped overseas, however, leaving New Mexico on 11 April and sailing on the RMS Queen Elizabeth on 20 April.
The group was the first in VIII Bomber Command group to arrive with aircraft in natural metal finish on all their aircraft.[citation needed] On 14 April, the ground echelon that had been formed in England arrived at RAF North Pickenham The air echelon began arriving on 18 April.
The 492nd entered combat on 11 May 1944, operating primarily against industrial targets in central Germany. During the first week in June, the group was diverted from strategic targets to support Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by attacking airfields and V-weapon launching sites in France. On D-Day it bombed coastal defenses in Normandy and attacked bridges, railroads, and other interdiction targets in France until the middle of the month. The group resumed bombardment of strategic targets in Germany and, except for support of the infantry during Operation Cobra the Saint-Lô breakthrough on 25 July 1944, and continued these operations until August 1944. However, during its three months of strategic operations the 492nd Group suffered the heaviest losses of any Eighth Air Force group. The group's heavy losses had begun with one of the group's earliest missions, an attack on Braunschweig, in which it lost eight Liberators to enemy interceptors. When the 492nd Group returned to strategic operation, on 20 June Luftwaffe fighters, primarily Messerschmitt Bf 110s, using air to air rockets shot down fourteen of the 492nd Group's B-24s, the equivalent of losing an entire squadron on one raid. Heavy losses, this time to fighters from Jagdgeschwader 3, were again suffered on 29 June. After only 89 days of combat, the 492nd had lost 52 aircraft to enemy action, with 588 men killed or missing. In the words of one veteran, "the whole group was wiped out".[citation needed] On 5 August, the decision was made to withdraw the 492nd Group from combat. Rather than try to rebuild the shattered group, the group was stood down and the surviving members were reassigned to other units in theater.[citation needed]
Subsequently, the 492nd was transferred without personnel or equipment, to RAF Harrington on 5 August 1944 and assumed the personnel, equipment, and the Carpetbagger special operations mission of the 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional) that was discontinued. With black-painted aircraft configured with engine flame dampers and optimized for night operations, the group operated chiefly over southern France with B-24's and C-47's, transporting agents, supplies, and propaganda leaflets to patriots. The liberation of most of France and Belgium brought an effective end to these missions on 16 September 1944.<ref.Warren, p. 63/> The group's aircraft were used to transport fuel and other supplies to the US Third Army in France, whose advance had outpaced its supply base. This operation resulted in the aircraft carrying 80 octane fuel in their wing fuel tanks, and having it pumped out to waiting storage tanks and tanker trucks at the advanced airfields in France. Unfortunately, the 80 octane fuel resulted in the wing tanks being chemically degraded so that they could no longer carry aviation fuel. This drastically decreased the range of the aircraft. It being too expensive to change out the wing tanks, the aircraft were flown to a depot area and the entire group was issued new B-24 aircraft.[citation needed] In December 1944, the 859th Squadron was detached to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it supported guerilla operations.
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492nd Special Operations Wing
The 492nd Special Operations Wing is a United States Air Forces unit stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It was activated in May 2017 to replace the Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center.
During World War II the unit entered combat in May 1944, and sustained the heaviest losses of any Consolidated B-24 Liberator group for a three-month period. The group was withdrawn from combat with its personnel and equipment being reassigned to other units. The 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional) was replaced by the 492nd Bombardment Group, and the group performed special operations missions throughout the remainder of the war in Europe. It was inactivated on 17 October 1945.
In June 2017 official USAF descriptions said that the wing organized, trained and equipped forces to conduct special operations missions. It led Major Command irregular warfare activities and executes special operations test and evaluation programs. It also developed doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures for United States Air Force special operations forces.
The group was established in October 1943 at Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber unit, drawing its cadre from the 859th Bombardment Squadron, a former antisubmarine squadron located at Blythe Army Air Base, California. Its other original squadrons were the 856th, 857th and 858th Bombardment Squadrons. In December, the 859th moved from Blythe to join group headquarters and the other three squadrons. The 492nd was one of seven heavy bombardment groups activated in the autumn of 1943. These were to be the last Army Air Forces heavy bomb groups established.[citation needed]
The group air echelon trained for combat at Alamogordo until April 1944, although the ground echelons of its four squadrons were withdrawn to form other bomber units. New ground elements were organized from other groups of the 2nd Bombardment Division already in theater. The group's air echelon departed for England on 1 April, flying the South Atlantic ferrying route through South America and Africa. Only about 120 members of the group's ground echelon shipped overseas, however, leaving New Mexico on 11 April and sailing on the RMS Queen Elizabeth on 20 April.
The group was the first in VIII Bomber Command group to arrive with aircraft in natural metal finish on all their aircraft.[citation needed] On 14 April, the ground echelon that had been formed in England arrived at RAF North Pickenham The air echelon began arriving on 18 April.
The 492nd entered combat on 11 May 1944, operating primarily against industrial targets in central Germany. During the first week in June, the group was diverted from strategic targets to support Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by attacking airfields and V-weapon launching sites in France. On D-Day it bombed coastal defenses in Normandy and attacked bridges, railroads, and other interdiction targets in France until the middle of the month. The group resumed bombardment of strategic targets in Germany and, except for support of the infantry during Operation Cobra the Saint-Lô breakthrough on 25 July 1944, and continued these operations until August 1944. However, during its three months of strategic operations the 492nd Group suffered the heaviest losses of any Eighth Air Force group. The group's heavy losses had begun with one of the group's earliest missions, an attack on Braunschweig, in which it lost eight Liberators to enemy interceptors. When the 492nd Group returned to strategic operation, on 20 June Luftwaffe fighters, primarily Messerschmitt Bf 110s, using air to air rockets shot down fourteen of the 492nd Group's B-24s, the equivalent of losing an entire squadron on one raid. Heavy losses, this time to fighters from Jagdgeschwader 3, were again suffered on 29 June. After only 89 days of combat, the 492nd had lost 52 aircraft to enemy action, with 588 men killed or missing. In the words of one veteran, "the whole group was wiped out".[citation needed] On 5 August, the decision was made to withdraw the 492nd Group from combat. Rather than try to rebuild the shattered group, the group was stood down and the surviving members were reassigned to other units in theater.[citation needed]
Subsequently, the 492nd was transferred without personnel or equipment, to RAF Harrington on 5 August 1944 and assumed the personnel, equipment, and the Carpetbagger special operations mission of the 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional) that was discontinued. With black-painted aircraft configured with engine flame dampers and optimized for night operations, the group operated chiefly over southern France with B-24's and C-47's, transporting agents, supplies, and propaganda leaflets to patriots. The liberation of most of France and Belgium brought an effective end to these missions on 16 September 1944.<ref.Warren, p. 63/> The group's aircraft were used to transport fuel and other supplies to the US Third Army in France, whose advance had outpaced its supply base. This operation resulted in the aircraft carrying 80 octane fuel in their wing fuel tanks, and having it pumped out to waiting storage tanks and tanker trucks at the advanced airfields in France. Unfortunately, the 80 octane fuel resulted in the wing tanks being chemically degraded so that they could no longer carry aviation fuel. This drastically decreased the range of the aircraft. It being too expensive to change out the wing tanks, the aircraft were flown to a depot area and the entire group was issued new B-24 aircraft.[citation needed] In December 1944, the 859th Squadron was detached to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it supported guerilla operations.
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