491st Bombardment Group
RAF Metfield - North Pickenham

Formation of the 491st Bombardment Group

The 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber unit assigned to the Eighth Air Force's Second Air Division during World War II. Although one of the last B-24 bombardment groups to arrive in England, the 491st quickly established an outstanding combat reputation while flying strategic bombing missions against Germany's industrial centers, transportation system, oil production facilities, and military infrastructure. Operating from RAF Metfield between 25 April and 15 August 1944 and later from RAF North Pickenham from 15 August 1944 until July 1945, the group participated in the final and decisive year of the Allied strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany.

The 491st Bombardment Group was activated on 1 April 1944 after completing its organization and training in the United States. It consisted of four operational bomb squadrons—the 852nd, 853rd, 854th, and 855th Bomb Squadrons. Aircrews underwent extensive instruction in long-range navigation, high-altitude formation flying, aerial gunnery, precision bombing, radio communications, and emergency procedures while ground personnel mastered the demanding maintenance requirements of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Following completion of its training, the group crossed the Atlantic and joined the growing force of heavy bomber units assigned to the Eighth Air Force.

Upon arrival in England during April 1944, the group occupied RAF Metfield (USAAF Station 114) in Suffolk. The airfield had been constructed for heavy bomber operations and featured three concrete runways, numerous dispersal hardstands, extensive technical facilities, ammunition storage areas, and accommodations for thousands of American personnel. Only a few months later, on 15 August 1944, the 491st relocated to RAF North Pickenham (USAAF Station 143), Norfolk, where it remained for the balance of the war. The move allowed the Second Air Division to reorganize its combat groups while expanding operations from North Pickenham.

Entering Combat

The group flew its first combat mission on 2 June 1944 against the marshalling yards at Amiens, France, one of the many transportation targets selected in preparation for the Allied invasion of Normandy. Entering combat only days before D-Day, the 491st immediately became involved in the massive Allied effort to isolate the invasion battlefield by destroying German railroads, bridges, highways, military airfields, and coastal defenses.

Following the successful landings in Normandy, the group expanded its operations from tactical targets in France to deep strategic bombing missions over Germany. The B-24 Liberators attacked communications centers, synthetic oil refineries, fuel storage depots, industrial districts, aircraft factories, shipyards, military installations, railroad marshalling yards, canals, bridges, and transportation networks throughout the German Reich.

Major objectives included Berlin, Hamburg, Kassel, Cologne, Gelsenkirchen, Bielefeld, Hannover, Magdeburg, and many other heavily defended industrial cities. On one notable mission, the group attacked the headquarters of the German General Staff at Zossen, south of Berlin, one of the most important military command installations in Germany.

The Strategic Bombing Campaign

Like other heavy bombardment groups of the Second Air Division, the 491st routinely flew missions lasting eight to ten hours at altitudes exceeding 20,000 feet. Crews endured freezing temperatures, oxygen equipment, severe weather, mechanical failures, intense anti-aircraft fire, and repeated attacks by German fighter aircraft while maintaining close defensive formations. Success depended upon precise navigation, disciplined formation flying, accurate bombing, and the combined defensive firepower of dozens of B-24 Liberators operating together.

The group's bombing operations formed an important part of the Combined Bomber Offensive, whose objective was the systematic destruction of Germany's ability to wage industrial warfare. Repeated attacks against oil production, transportation systems, aircraft factories, communications centers, and military installations steadily reduced Germany's capacity to sustain combat operations during the final year of the war.

The Metfield Bomb Dump Explosion

One of the most tragic non-combat disasters associated with the 491st Bombardment Group occurred on Saturday, 15 July 1944, at the bomb dump serving RAF Metfield. That afternoon, a convoy of seven loaded trucks from the 2218th Quartermaster Truck Company (Aviation), stationed at Station 545, arrived carrying approximately 500-pound bombs together with bomb fuses and tail fins destined for the airfield's bomb storage area.

When the convoy arrived, the regular bomb dump crews had temporarily left for their evening meal, requiring the truck drivers to wait until qualified personnel returned with the proper unloading equipment. The supervising sergeant instructed the drivers to leave the bombs on the vehicles until the bomb hoists could be brought into position. Several of the drivers, anxious to return to their own station before Saturday evening liberty, chose instead to unload the bombs themselves using an unauthorized and extremely dangerous procedure.

The method involved lowering the truck tailgate, accelerating rapidly in reverse to approximately 25 miles per hour, and then applying the brakes violently so that the bombs would roll off the rear of the vehicle under their own momentum. During the unloading attempt, one bomb struck another that had already rolled onto the ground. The resulting detonation triggered a catastrophic chain reaction throughout the bomb dump.

Within moments, approximately 700 tons of bombs either exploded or were rendered unusable out of nearly 1,200 tons stored at the site. Secondary explosions ignited numerous incendiary bombs that scattered throughout the dump, causing additional fires and detonations. The destruction was enormous. The force of the blast created a crater approximately 25 feet deep and 75 feet in diameter. One truck axle was hurled more than a mile into a nearby village, while the explosion shattered windows over forty miles away.

Buildings throughout RAF Metfield suffered severe structural damage. The doors of the eastern T-2 hangar were blown completely from their runners, walls collapsed, and numerous technical buildings were heavily damaged. Six B-24 Liberators were completely destroyed and six additional aircraft sustained extensive damage. The only survivor among the truck drivers was the driver carrying bomb fuses and tail assemblies. Having parked some distance away from the bomb unloading operation, he took cover in a drainage ditch immediately after hearing engines rev, brakes screech, and the first explosion. His testimony later helped investigators reconstruct the sequence of events that led to one of the largest accidental explosions at an American airbase in England during the war.

The Metfield bomb dump disaster remains one of the most significant accidental explosions suffered by the United States Army Air Forces in the European Theater and demonstrated the enormous hazards associated with handling the vast quantities of ammunition required to sustain the strategic bombing campaign.

To view "The Definitive Story of the Metfield Bomb Dump Explosion" by Riccard Parsonson, click here.

The Distinguished Unit Citation - Misburg

One of the most costly missions in the group's history occurred on 26 November 1944 during an attack against the synthetic oil refinery at Misburg, Germany. Oil production had become one of the highest priorities of the Allied strategic bombing campaign because Germany's military depended heavily upon synthetic fuel manufactured at installations such as Misburg.

As the bomber formation approached the target, large numbers of German fighter aircraft launched determined attacks against the B-24 Liberators. During the fierce aerial battle, sixteen aircraft from the 491st Bombardment Group were destroyed, representing one of the heaviest single-mission losses suffered by any Second Air Division group. Despite these devastating losses, the surviving crews maintained formation, continued to the target, and successfully bombed the refinery with remarkable accuracy.

For their extraordinary courage, determination, and devotion to duty while completing the mission under overwhelming opposition, the 491st Bombardment Group received the Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC). The award recognized one of the finest examples of combat leadership and discipline displayed by a heavy bombardment group during the European air war.

Supporting Allied Ground Forces

Although engaged primarily in strategic bombardment, the 491st also carried out numerous tactical support missions throughout the liberation of Western Europe. During 24 and 25 July 1944, the group attacked German defensive positions in support of the Allied breakthrough at Saint-Lô. Throughout the summer it bombed V-weapon launch sites, railroads, bridges, transportation centers, and communications facilities across occupied France to isolate the battlefield and hinder German reinforcement efforts.

On 18 September 1944, during Operation Market Garden, the group's Liberators temporarily exchanged bombs for supplies, delivering food, ammunition, medical equipment, and other essential supplies to Allied airborne troops fighting in the Netherlands. During the Battle of the Bulge between December 1944 and January 1945, the group attacked German supply lines, railroad centers, bridges, highways, and communications facilities supporting the Ardennes offensive.

In March 1945 the 491st again performed supply-dropping missions during Operation Varsity, supporting Allied airborne forces crossing the Rhine River near Wesel. During the final Allied advance into Germany, the group's bombers concentrated on transportation systems, communications centers, railroads, bridges, and industrial targets that further accelerated the collapse of the German war effort.

The group's final combat mission was flown on 25 April 1945 against the rail marshalling yards at Bad Reichenhall, Germany, only days before Germany's unconditional surrender.

Combat Record and Legacy

By the end of World War II, the 491st Bombardment Group had flown a total of 187 combat missions over occupied Europe and Germany. During these operations the group's defensive gunners destroyed 22 enemy aircraft while its B-24 Liberators inflicted extensive damage upon Germany's transportation network, oil industry, communications system, military infrastructure, and industrial capacity.

The cost of these accomplishments was considerable. The group lost 47 B-24 Liberators shot down in combat, together with an additional 10 aircraft destroyed through combat-related causes and numerous others damaged beyond repair. Many officers and enlisted men were killed, wounded, captured, or listed as missing in action during the campaign.

Despite entering combat relatively late in the European war, the 491st Bombardment Group established a distinguished combat record. From RAF Metfield and later RAF North Pickenham, the group participated in the Normandy invasion, the strategic bombing offensive against Germany, Operation Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge, Operation Varsity, and the final Allied drive into Germany. Its Distinguished Unit Citation for the Misburg mission, together with the courage and professionalism demonstrated by its aircrews and ground personnel, secured the 491st Bombardment Group a lasting place among the distinguished B-24 Liberator groups of the Eighth Air Force's Second Air Division.

Campaigns
The 491st Bombardment Group participated in the following campaigns: Air Offensive - Europe, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe.

Decorations
Distinguished Unit Citations (DUC): for action at Misburg, Germany 26 November 1944.

Oversea Burials   491st Bomb Group Oversea Burials

Airfield:   Metfield Airfield  |  North Pickenham Airfield

Group Web Site   No active website was found at this time.