Training in the United States

The 489th Bombardment Group, Heavy was activated as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber group on 1 October 1943 at Wendover Field, Utah.^[5] Its original squadrons were the 844th, 845th, 846th and 847th Bombardment Squadrons.^[6][7][8] Shortly after organizing, key personnel left for training with the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics in Florida, where it flew simulated combat missions in company with the 491st 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 the USS Wakefield on 13 April 1944, reaching Liverpool on 21 April.^[10] The group moved to RAF Halesworth, England in May 1944, where it became part of Eighth Air Force.^[5]

Combat in Europe

The group entered combat on 30 May 1944 with an attack on Oldenburg, Germany.^[10] It then concentrated on targets striking in France to prepare for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. In an attack against coastal defenses near Wimereux, 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 Col Leon 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 the English Channel and was rescued. For his action during this mission, Vance was awarded the Medal of Honor.^{[5][note 6]}

The group supported the landings in Normandy the following day, and afterward bombed coastal defenses, airfields, bridges, railroads, and V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket launch sites (Operation Crossbow) in the campaign for France. It participated in the saturation bombing of German lines just before Operation Cobra, the breakthrough at Saint-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 the Netherlands later in September.^[5] For these missions, a loadmaster from IX Troop Carrier Command directed the drops from the bombers.^[11] On other missions, group aircraft flew into Orleans/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, and airfields in Ludwigshafen, 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]

Redeployment for the Pacific

The 489th Bomb Group returned to Bradley Field Connecticut at the end of December 1944, where most returning personnel were reassigned to other units^[4] while the group moved to Lincoln Army Air Field, Nebraska. At Lincoln it again became part of Second 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 as Boeing 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. The group moved to Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas in mid-February to re-equip with the B-29,^[4] and was redesignated the 489th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy in March.^[5]

The group was alerted for movement overseas in the summer of 1945, but with the Japanese surrender, the group was inactivated on 17 October 1945.^[5]