485th Bombardment Group

Constituted as 485th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 14 Sep 1943 and activated on 10 Sep. Trained with B-24's. Moved to the Mediterranean theater, Mar-Apr 1944, with the air echelon receiving additional training in Tunisia before joining the ground echelon in Italy. Assigned to Fifteenth AF. Entered combat in May 1944 and engaged primarily in flying long-range missions to targets in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Rumania, and Yugoslavia, bombing marshalling yards, oil refineries, airdrome installations, heavy industry, and other strategic objectives.

Received a DUC for combating intense fighter opposition and attacking an oil refinery at Vienna on 26 Jun 1944. Also carried out some support and interdiction operations. Struck bridges, harbors, and troop concentrations in Aug 1944 to aid the invasion of Southern France. Hit communications lines and other targets during Mar and Apr 1945 to support the advance of British Eighth Army in northern Italy. Returned to the US in May 1945. Redesignated 485th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) in Aug 1945. Equipped with B-29's. Assigned to Strategic Air Command on 21 Mar 1946. Inactivated on 4 Aug 1946.

Squadrons

828th: 1943-1946
829th: 1943-1946
830th: 1943-1946
831st: 1943-1945

Stations

Fairmont AAFld, Neb, 20 Sep 1943-11 Mar 1944
Venosa, Italy, Apr 1944-15 May 1945
Sioux Falls AAFld, SD, 30 May 1945
Sioux City AAB, Iowa, 24 Jul 1945
Smoky Hill AAFld, Kan, 8 Sep 1945-4 Aug 1946

Commanders

Col Walter E Arnold Jr, 27 Sep 1943
Col John P Tomhave, c. 29 Aug 1944
Col John B Cornett, 17 Feb 1945
Lt Col Douglas M Cairns, 23 Mar 1945
Lt Col Richard T Lively, 6 Aug 1945
Col John W White, 15 Sep 1945

Campaigns

American Theater
Air Combat, EAME Theater
Air Offensive, Europe
Rome-Arno
Normandy
Northern France
Southern France
North Apennines
Rhineland
Central Europe
Po Valley

Decorations

Distinguished Unit Citation: Vienna, Austria, 16 Jun 1944

Missing Air Crew Reports

Missing Air Crew Reports also known as MACRs are reports of US aircraft that went down, via enemy action or mechanical issues, behind enemy lines. These reports detailed the aircraft and crew along with their disposition; there were statements and eyewitness reports if available describing what they saw. The majority of these reports were completed in the years following the conclusion of World War II. This was so that the survivors who had become prisoners of war could provide statements of the events of that day. These reports differ from accident reports in that those documented aircraft that crashed on take off or landing; these events happened on allied lines.

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