“Umbriago” B-24J Liberator serial 44-40068 code X4-P+ from 859th Bomb Squadron 492nd Bomb Group 8th Air Force
492nd Bomb Group (Heavy) – First Organization
Overview and Command Assignments
- Assigned to Eighth Air Force: April 1944
- Wing & Command Assignments:
- 2nd Bombardment Division (BD), 14th Combat Bomb Wing (CBW): 18 April 1944 – 12 August 1944
Component Squadrons
- 856th Bombardment Squadron (H)
- 857th Bombardment Squadron (H)
- 858th Bombardment Squadron (H) (Transferred personnel and aircraft on 19 June 1944)
- 859th Bombardment Squadron (H)
Combat Aircraft
- B-24H Liberator: From block 15-FO
- B-24J Liberator: From block 50-CO
Stations
- North Pickenham, Norfolk, England: 14 April 1944 – 12 August 1944 (Air echelon in from 18 April 1944)
Group Commanding Officer (CO)
- Col. Eugene H. Snavely: 26 January 1944 – 12 August 1944
Mission Details
- First Mission: 11 May 1944
- Last Mission: 7 August 1944
- Total Missions: 64
- Total Credit Sorties: 1,513
- Total Bomb Tonnage: 3,757 tons
- Aircraft Missing in Action (MIA): 51
- Other Operational Losses: 6
- Enemy Aircraft Claims: 21 destroyed, 0 probably destroyed, 3 damaged
Claims to Fame
- Heavy Losses: The 492nd Bomb Group suffered heavier losses than any other B-24 group over a three-month period, making it one of the most heavily impacted units in the Eighth Air Force.
History
- Activated: 1 October 1943 at Clovis Army Air Base, New Mexico.
- Training and Deployment:
- The group moved to Alamogordo Army Airfield, New Mexico, in November 1943 and trained there until the end of March 1944.
- A small part of the ground echelon (124 men) left Alamogordo on 11 April 1944, sailing on the Queen Elizabeth on 20 April 1944.
- The main body of the ground echelon came from four groups within the 2nd Bombardment Division already in the UK, each ordered to raise an additional squadron ground echelon.
- The air echelon began departing Alamogordo on 1 April 1944, following the southern ferry route through Florida, Trinidad, Brazil, Dakar, and Marrakesh.
- Withdrawal from Combat: The 492nd Bomb Group was withdrawn from combat by order on 5 August 1944, intended to assume a special operations role previously conducted by the 801st Bomb Group (Provisional) at Harrington. This was effectively a redesignation of the existing 801st Bomb Group and its squadrons.
- 856th Bomb Squadron personnel and aircraft were transferred to the 36th and 406th Bomb Squadrons on 11 August 1944.
- 857th Bomb Squadron crews and aircraft were reassigned to other units within the 2nd Bombardment Division, with ground personnel transferred to the 490th Bomb Group to form the 850th Bomb Squadron on 12 August 1944.
- 859th Bomb Squadron crews, aircraft, and ground personnel were transferred to the 467th Bomb Group to form the new 788th Bomb Squadron.
- The original 492nd Bomb Group organization was, in fact, disbanded.
Aircraft Markings and Color Schemes
B-24H/J Liberators (April-August 1944)
- Original Paint Scheme:
- Bare Metal Finish: The original B-24Js were in a bare metal finish. A few B-24Hs and Js in Dark Olive Drab and Neutral Gray factory finish were assigned before operations began.
- Circle U Markings:
- Initially painted on some vertical tails but were discontinued upon notification of revised tail markings.
- The new marking consisted of a 36-inch wide black diagonal band over the bare metal, with the high part toward the front of the fin.
- On some aircraft, where the 69-inch black disc had already been painted, this was not immediately removed, and the aircraft concerned flew with both markings.
- The Circle U painted on the upper surface of the right wing was a 78-inch diameter black disc with a white letter on bare metal, or a white disc with a black letter on camouflage.
- A white individual aircraft call letter was painted on the black stripe along with the appropriate squadron symbol:
- 856th Bomb Squadron: Used a letter without any symbol.
- 857th Bomb Squadron: Used a bar above the call letter.
- 858th Bomb Squadron: Used a bar below the letter.
- 859th Bomb Squadron: Used a plus sign after the letter.
- Squadron Codes: Painted on the rear fuselage, 48 inches high. The codes were black on bare metal and light grey on olive drab:
- 856th Bomb Squadron: 5Z
- 857th Bomb Squadron: 9H
- 858th Bomb Squadron: 9A
- 859th Bomb Squadron: X4
- These same codes were used by the second organization of the 492nd Bomb Group later in the war.