494th Air Expeditionary Group

494th Air Expeditionary Group
Consolidated B-24J of the 864th Bombardment Squadron c. 1945.
Active	1943–1946, 1963–1966, 2002-unknown
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Part of	Air Mobility Command
Insignia
494th Bombardment Wing Emblem (approved 11 February 1964)

The 494th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force assigned to Air Mobility Command (AMC) to activate or inactivate as needed. Although no unclassified sources indicate that AMC has activated the group, a patch published at USAF Patches.com implies that the group was active in Spain during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The group was originally activated in 1943 as the 494th Bombardment Group. It was the last B-24 Liberator group formed by the United States Army Air Forces. The unit served primarily in Western Pacific, taking part in numerous campaigns. It earned the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the liberation of the Philippines.

It was then active during the Cold War as the 494th Bombardment Wing a Strategic Air Command unit, flying Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas from 1962 1966.

The group was established in late 1943 as the 494th Bombardment Group, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombardment group, and activated on 1 December at Wendover Field, Utah. Its initial squadrons were the 864th,865th,866th, and 867th Bombardment Squadrons (BS). The 494th was the last of seven heavy bombardment Groups – 488th through 494th – activated in the autumn of 1943, as B-29 Superfortress production was beginning in large numbers. The 494th was subsequently the last heavy bomb group formed and trained by the Army Air Forces.