Boeing B-29 from the 497th BG: A square 15 and A square 6
The 497th Bomb Group was formed as a four-squadron unit due to a shortage of aircraft that prevented the creation of a fifth squadron. Deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations in September 1944, the group was assigned to the XXI Bomber Command under the 73rd Bombardment Wing, stationed at Isley Field, Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. Upon arrival, the group’s personnel were initially housed in tents and spent time constructing Quonset huts, which they were able to move into by mid-October.
The 497th Bomb Group began its combat operations in October 1944, targeting Iwo Jima and the Truk Islands. On November 24, 1944, they participated in the first attack on the Japanese home islands by USAAF aircraft based in the Marianas. As their experience grew, the group carried out multiple strategic bombing missions over Japan, using both high explosive and incendiary bombs in daylight, high-altitude raids.
The group earned its first Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) on January 27, 1945, when, despite adverse weather that prevented them from hitting their primary target, the unescorted B-29s withstood intense enemy attacks to strike the industrial area of Hamamatsu as an alternate target. A second DUC was awarded for their continued efforts during July and August 1945, when they bombed key strategic centers in Japan.
In April 1945, during the Okinawa campaign, the 497th supported the invasion by bombing enemy airfields to reduce air assaults against the invasion forces. From March 19, 1945, until the end of the war, the group focused on low-altitude incendiary raids over Japan, targeting cities at night. In addition to bombing missions, the group also dropped propaganda leaflets over Japan during July and August 1945, continuing their strategic raids and incendiary attacks until Japan’s surrender in August 1945.