491st Bombardment Squadron
| 491st Bombardment Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1917–1919; 1925–1937; 1942–1945; 1947–1949; 1958–1961 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch |
 United States Air Force
|
| Role | Bombardment |
| Part of | Strategic Air Command |
| Engagements | China-Burma-India Theater |
| Insignia | |
| Patch with 491st Bombardment Squadron emblem |  |
The 491st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 341st Bombardment Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas where it was inactivated on 25 June 1961.
The squadron was first activated during World War I as the 79th Aero Squadron. It deployed to France in 1917 and was redesignated the 491st Aero Squadron. It served as a construction unit before returning to the United States, where it was demobilized in 1919. It was consolidated with the 491st Bombardment Squadron in 1936.
The 491st Bombardment Squadron was constituted as an Organized Reserve unit in 1924. It was activated in 1925, at Sand Point Airport, Washington, but was only nominally manned. The squadron was consolidated with the 491st Aero Squadron in 1936, but inactivated the following year. it was disbanded in May 1942, as were all the other Organized Reserve units in the Air Corps.
The 491st Bombardment Squadron (Medium) was constituted and activated in India during World War II. It participated in combat in the China-Burma-India Theater until the end of the war, when it returned to the United States and was inactivated.
The squadron was activated in the Air Force Reserves in 1947, but was discontinued when Continental Air Command reorganized its reserve units under the wing base organization plan. In 1958, it was consolidated with the first 491st Bombardment Squadron and activated at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas when Strategic Air Command expanded its Boeing B-47 Stratojet wings to four squadrons. The squadron was inactivated at Dyess in 1961.
The first predecessor of the squadron was organized as the 79th Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas in August 1917. It deployed to the Aviation Concentration Center in Garden City, New York in November for shipment to France. It arrived in France the following month and moved to Saint-Nazaire, where it was redesignated the 491st Aero Squadron (Construction) and constructed and maintained facilities from February until December 1918. It returned to the United States in January 1919 and was demobilized. It was reconstituted c. 16 October 1936 and consolidated with the 491st Bombardment Squadron.
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