World War Photos

B-24J 42-50561 of the 486th Bomb Group, 833rd BS code 4N-K, dropping bombs

486th Bombardment Group (Heavy):

Overview and Command Assignments

• Assigned to Eighth Air Force: March 1944 – August 1945
• Wing & Command Assignments:
  • 3rd Bombardment Division (BD), 92nd Combat Bomb Wing (CBW): March 1944
  • 3rd BD, 4th Bomb Wing (P): 22 November 1944
  • 3rd Air Division (AD), 4th Bomb Wing (P): 1 January 1945
  • 3rd AD, 4th CBW: Approximately 16 February 1945

Component Squadrons

• 832nd Bombardment Squadron (H)
• 833rd Bombardment Squadron (H)
• 834th Bombardment Squadron (H)
• 835th Bombardment Squadron (H)

Combat Aircraft

• B-24H Liberator: From block 15, used until 19 July 1944.
• B-24J Liberator: Used until 19 July 1944.
• B-17G Flying Fortress: From block 75-BO, in combat from 1 August 1944.

Station

• Sudbury, England: Late March 1944 – approximately 25 August 1945

Group Commanding Officers (CO)

• Col Glendon P. Overing: 20 September 1943 – approximately 13 April 1945
• Col William B. Kieffer: Approximately 13 April 1945 – July 1945

Mission Details

• First Mission: 7 May 1944
• Last Mission: 21 April 1945
• Total Missions: 188 (46 with B-24s)
• Total Credit Sorties: 6,173
• Total Bomb Tonnage: 14,517 tons (including 4.6 tons of leaflets, etc.)
• Aircraft Missing in Action (MIA): 33
• Other Operational Losses: 24
• Enemy Aircraft Claims: 85 destroyed, 6 probably destroyed

History

• Activated: 20 September 1943 at McCook Army Air Field, Nebraska.
• Training:
  • Moved to Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, on 9 November 1943, completing training by early March 1944.
  • Air echelon moved overseas in early March 1944 via the southern ferry route.
• Redeployment to the USA:
  • Aircraft left Sudbury during the first week of July 1945.
  • Ground echelon sailed from Southampton on the Queen Elizabeth on 25 August 1945, arriving in New York on 31 August 1945.
  • Personnel had 30 days R&R.
  • The group was established at Drew Field, Florida, on 3 September 1945 and was inactivated there on 7 November 1945.

Aircraft Markings and Color Schemes

B-24 Liberators (April – July 1944)

• Original Paint Scheme:

  • Dark Olive Drab and Neutral Gray factory finish.
  • Square A Group Marking:
    • Vertical Tail: 48-inch white square with a 36-inch high black “O” in the center.
    • Wing: 60-inch white square with a 48-inch black “O.”
    • Call-Letter: Painted in yellow, 24 inches high, below the tail number. Each squadron used letters from A in alphabetical order, excluding I.

• Squadron Codes:

  • Codes were 40 inches high in light grey on both sides of the fuselage, and squadron codes (same size and color) were painted on the rear fuselage aft of the waist gun windows:
    • 832nd Bomb Squadron: 3R
    • 833rd Bomb Squadron: 4N
    • 834th Bomb Squadron: 2S
    • 835th Bomb Squadron: H8

• Natural Metal-Finish Aircraft:

  • Replaced some camouflaged aircraft.
  • Codes and call-letters were in black, with the group marking as a white letter on a black square.

B-17 Flying Fortresses (July 1944 – August 1945)

• Paint Scheme:

  • Natural Metal Finish.
  • Square W Group Marking (to avoid confusion with the 100th Bomb Group’s Square D):
    • Vertical Tail: 48-inch black square with a 36-inch white “W.”
    • Wing: 72-inch square with a 57-inch chord, in the same colors as the tail.
    • Tail Call-Letters: Black, 24 inches high.
    • Fuselage Code Letters: Black, 48 inches high, with variable positioning; common layout had the squadron code aft of the waist gun position on the left side and the call-letter forward of the national insignia. On the right side, the positions were reversed.

• December 1944 Markings:

  • The 4th Combat Bomb Wing chevron marking was painted on the upper surface of the right wing and the lower surface of the left.
    • Chevron Colors: Inner arm red, outer arm blue.
  • This chevron obscured most of the Square W device on the right wing and was not repainted or removed.

• January 1945 Markings:

  • Yellow Markings: Introduced on wing tips, tail surfaces, and three 24-inch wide yellow stripes with a 12-inch separation around the fuselage aft of the waist gun positions.
  • Squadron Call-Letters: Painted in a squadron color (36 inches high) forward of the national insignia on both sides of the fuselage.
    • 832nd Bomb Squadron: Yellow (with some letters outlined in black)
    • 833rd Bomb Squadron: Blue
    • 834th Bomb Squadron: Red
    • 835th Bomb Squadron: Bright Green

• Mid-May 1945 Markings:

  • Squadron codes and call-letters were painted under the left wing, 48 inches high, in black.