867th Bomb Squadron, 494th Group.Australian-made on felt. First version.
The 494th was allocated to the Seventh Air Force, fighting in the Pacific. Towards the end of 1944 the group moved to Angaur, officially arriving on 30 September 1944, although the last members of the group did not reach the island until December. The group entered combat with a series of attacks on Japanese held islands in the Palau group, and the first of a long series of attacks on the Philippines.The Philippines became the group's main target during its first six months in the Pacific. The group carried out a large number of attacks on targets on Luzon, as well as taking part in the bombardment of Corregidor, and carrying out a series of raids over Mindanao.On 24 June 1945 the group moved to Okinawa. Its aircraft began to arrive on 1 July, and on 5 July forty eight aircraft from the 494th became the first Liberator bombers to attack the Japanese home islands from Okinawa. Their targets were Japanese airfields, starting with Omura Airfield and facilities around the Omura-Nagasaki area. During the last two months of the war the group attacked targets on the home islands and in Japanese occupied China. The group was in the air when the first of the Atom bombs exploded.
