493rd Combat Missions | 493rd Bomb Group

Mission Number	Target	Date (June 1944)	Flying Time	Target Type
1	Flying B-24s, “Liberators” Lisieux, France	06 (D-Day)	6:35
2	Tours, France	07	3:45	Airfield
3	Nantes, France	08	2:40
4	Flers, France	11	5:55
5	Beauvais-Tille, France	12	6:05	Airfield
6	Laon-Athes, France	14	6:30
7	Toussus-le-Noble, France	15	6:35	Airfield
8	Laval, France	17	7:10
9	Misburg, Germany	20	7:15	Oil refinery
10	La Haye, France	20	5:10
11	Etampes-Mondesir, France	22	7:25
12	Coulommiers, France	23	6:35
13	Orleans-Bracy, France	24	6:00
14	St. Avold, France	25	7:05
15	Romilly-Sur-Seine, France	25	7:15
16	Melun, France	28	5:10
17	Fallersleben, Germany	29	7:20
18	Evreux-Fauville, France	30	5:30

Mission Number	Target	Date (July 1944)	Flying Time	Target Type
19	Flying B-24s, “Liberators” L’Isle Adam, France	06	4:50
20	Le Grande Valle, France	08	5:35
21	Mont Gournay, France	12	5:00	V-1 [flying bomb] site
22	Foret de St. Saens, France	12	5:30
23	Montdidier, France	14	6:25
24	Coulanges-sur-Yonne	17	8:10
25	Caen area, France	18	5:15
26	Saarbrucken, Germany	19	6:00
27	Russelsheim, Germany	20	6:20	V-1 [flying bomb] factory
28	Kempten (Duren), Germany	21	6:15
29	Le Mesnil Eury	24	6:25	Ground support
30	St. Lo area, France	25	6:25	Ground support
31	St. Cicily-Wissant	27	4:20
32	Brussels, Belgium	28	5:20	Oil storage
33	Juvincourt, France	29	6:00	Airfield
34	Creil, France	31	6:40

Mission Number	Target	Date (August 1944)	Flying Time	Target Type
35	Flying B-24s, “Liberators” Quincampoix, France	01	6:00	V-1 (Flying Bomb) Site
36	Mont Cauvaire, France	02	6:00
36a	St. Gorges-sur-Fontaine, France	02	6:00
37	Ghent, Belgium Brussels, Belgium	03	4:40
38	Hemingstedt, Germany	04	6:10	Oil refinery
39	Halberstadt, Germany	05	6:50
40	Mont Cauvaire, France	06	5:45
41	Andenne/Givet, Belgium	07	5:40
42	St. Gorges-sur-Fontaine, France	08	6:00
43	St. Florentin, France	10	7:00	Oil storage
44	Toussus-le-Noble, France	11	6:00
45	Seine River area, France	13	6:00
46	Angouleme, France	14	7:00	Railroad yard
47	Florennes, Belgium	15	4:40
48	Halberstadt, Germany	16	6:40
49	Roye/Amy, France	18	6:10
50	Kiel, Germany	24	5:45

Mission Number	Target	Date (September 1944)	Flying Time	Target Type
51	Flying B-17s, “Flying Fortresses” Mainz, Germany	08	7:10
52	Dusseldorf, Germany	09	7:00
53	Furth-Darmstadt, Germany	10	7:40
54	Fulda, Germany	11	8:10
55	Magdeburg, Germany	12	7:15	Ordnance factory
56	Ludwigshafen, Germany	13	7:10
57	Rotterdam, Netherlands	17	5:20
58	Darmstadt-Limburg, Germany	19	7:20
59	Kassel, Germany	22	6:45
60	Strasbourg, France	25	6:35
61	Bremen, Germany	26	7:25	Tank factory
62	Ludwigshafen, Germany	27	7:10
63	Bielfeld, Germany	30	6:30

Mission Number	Target	Date (October 1944)	Flying Time	Target Type
64	Flying B-17s, “Flying Fortresses” Kassel, Germany	02	7:40
65	Nuremberg, Germany	03	8:20	Ordnance factory
66	Munster, Germany	05	5:45
67	Merseburg, Germany	07	8:00
68	Gustavsburg, Germany	09	6:30
69	Cologne, Germany	14	7:00
70	Cologne, Germany	15	6:50
71	Cologne, Germany	17	6:30	Railroad yard
72	Kassel, Germany	18	7:00
73	Mannheim, Germany	19	6:40
74	Munster, Germany	22	5:50
75	Hamburg. Germany	25	7:30
76	Merseburg, Germany	30	4:00	Recalled

Mission Number	Target	Date (November 1944)	Flying Time	Target Type
77	Flying B-17s, “Flying Fortresses” Merseburg, Germany	02	7:25
78	Hamburg, Germany	04	7:35	Oil refinery
79	Ludwigshafen, Germany	05	7:00
80	Neumunster, Germany	06	7:15	Railroad yard
81	Koblenz, Germany	11	6:20
82	Duren, Germany	16	6:50	Ground support
83	Koblenz, Germany	20	4:50	Recalled
84	Merseburg, Germany	21	6:30
85	Merseburg, Germany	25	8:15
86	Paderborn, Germany	26	5:55	Railroad yard
87	Hamm, Germany	29	5:55
88	Merseburg, Germany	30	8:00

Mission Number	Target	Date (December 1944)	Flying Time	Target Type
89	Flying B-17s, “Flying Fortresses” Giessen, Germany	04	7:15
90	Merseburg, Germany	06	7:30	Oil refinery
91	Giessen, Germany	11	6:50
92	Darmstadt, Germany	12	7:10
93	Hannover, Germany	15	6:30
94	Hamburg, Germany	23	6:05	Oil refinery
95	Frankfort, Germany	24	8:40
95	Darmstadt, Germany	24	8:40
96	Ahrweiler, Germany	25	5:20	Railroad tunnel
97	Irlich (Koblenz), Germany	27	5:50
98	Neuwied, Germany	28	6:15
99	Frankfort, Germany	29	7:10
100	Kassel, Germany	30	7:00	Railroad yard
100a	Misburg, Germany	31	7:50

Mission Number	Target	Date (January 1945)	Flying Time	Target Type
100b	Flying B-17s, “Flying Fortresses” Bad Kreuznach, Germany	02	7:40	Railroad yard
100c	Paderborn, Germany	07	6:15
100d	Cologne, Germany	10	6:20	Railroad bridge
101	Bischofsheim, Germany	13	6:25	Railroad yard
102	Derben, Germany	14	8:05
103	Augsburg, Germany	15	8:25
104	Bitterfeld, Germany	16	9:10
105	Mannheim, Germany	21	7:40
106	Neuss, Germany	23	5:00
107	Hohenbudberg, Germany	28	5:30
108	Kassel, Germany	29	6:20

Mission Number	Target	Date (February 1945)	Flying Time
109	Flying B-17s, “Flying Fortresses” Berlin, Germany	03	8:05
110	Chemnitz, Germany	06	8:40
111	Munster, Germany	09	7:00
112	Chemnitz, Germany	14	8:10
This begins my Dad’s First Combat Mission.
113	Cottbus, Germany	15	8:40
114	Rheine, Germany	19	5:15
115	Nuremberg, Germany	20	8:25
116	Nuremberg, Germany	21	7:50
117	Bamburg, Germany	22	9:20
118	Kitzingen, Germany	23	8:10
119	Munich, Germany	25	8:25
120	Berlin, Germany	26	8:20
121	Leipzig, Germany	27	8:00
122	Kassel, Germany	28	6:50

Mission Number	Target	Date (March 1945)	Flying Time	Target Type
124	Flying B-17s, “Flying Fortresses” Steinhagen, Germany	03	7:00
125	Nuremberg, Germany	04	6:20	Recalled
126	Datteln, Germany	07	7:15
127	Dortmund, Germany	08	7:35
128	Soest, Germany	10	6:50
129	Hamburg, Germany	11	6:40
130	Siegen, Germany	12	6:35
131	Misburg, Germany	14	6:45
132	Oranienburg, Germany	15	7:30
133	Bitterfeld, Germany	17	9:10
134	Berlin, Germany	18	7:30
135	Jena-Fulda, Germany	19	8:45
136	Bad Zwischenan, Germany	21	5:50
137	Dusseldorf, Germany	22	5:50
138	Giesecke, Germany	23	6:30
139	Varel, Germany	24	6:00
140	Hannover, Germany	28	7:15
141	Hamburg, Germany	30	6:50
142	Brandenburg, Germany	31	8:25

Mission Number	Target	Date (April 1945)	Flying Time
143	Flying B-17s, “Flying Fortresses” Kiel, Germany	03	6:50
144	Kiel, Germany	04	6:50
145	Unterschlauerbach, Germany	05	7:50
146	Gustrow, Germany	07	8:10
147	Grafenwohr, Germany	08	8:30
148	Schleissein, Germany	09	8:15
149	Neuruppin, Germany	10	7:55
150	Ingolstadt, Germany	11	8:00
151	Royan, France	14	7:45
152	Royan, France	15	8:30
153	Rochefort, France	16	6:55
154	Roudnice, Czechoslovakia	17	8:45
155	Kolin, Czechoslovakia	18	9:40
156	Auszig, Czechoslovakia	19	8:45
157	Nauen, Germany	20	7:30

493rd Group Food Missions to the Netherlands – May 1945

Mission Number	Target	Date (May 1945)	Flying Time
38	Rotterdam	01	3:45
40	Haarlem	02	3:30
38	Amsterdam	03	2:45
40	Amsterdam	05	3:00
40	Amsterdam	06	2:55
39	Amsterdam	07	3:05

NOTES: The list of combat missions of the 493rd Bomb Group was compiled by John F. Conway in August 1993 and reprinted with modifications in the Autumn 1994 issue of the 493rd Bombardment Group Memorial Association’s Briefing Notes (vol. 6, no. 3). The spelling of geographic names of targets has been standardized, where feasible, according to American atlas usage.

Missions shown as “Recalled” (because of weather over England) were credited combat sorties, because the Group had crossed enemy lines and were subjected to antiaircraft fire.

As General Arnold observed, the concerns of a combat airman are apt to be “personal”. For mission 86 “Paderborn” replaces the official “Bielfeld” as the target, because according to notes made at the time, that is where our squadron went. The descriptions of the target types are also from 1944-45 notes.

The 493rd’s nickname is said to be “Helton’s Hellcats”, a name I never heard overseas. Most likely the name was first applied to the Group’s baseball or football team. No disrespect is meant to our first commanding officer, Colonel (later Major General) Elbert Helton, but I’d not describe myself as one of his “hellcats”. Bombing from B-17s and B-24s seldom called for the hellcat type of airman.