B-29 5 of the 499th BG
The 499th Bombardment Group was one of the first B-29 groups to operate from Saipan and played a key role in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan from the fall of 1944 to the end of World War II. It was formed in November 1943 as part of the 73rd Bombardment Wing. Initially, the group was slated to accompany the 58th Bombardment Wing to India in April 1944, but those plans were changed, and instead, the wing was reassigned to the Mariana Islands.
Following the capture of Saipan during the battle from June 15 to July 9, 1944, the first elements of the 73rd Bombardment Wing arrived on August 24, with the 499th and 500th Bombardment Groups arriving shortly thereafter. The 499th officially settled into its new base on September 18, 1944.
On November 24, 1944, the wing participated in its first major mission: an attack on Tokyo, targeting the Musashi aircraft engine factory. This marked the beginning of the 499th Bomb Group’s involvement in the strategic bombing offensive against Japan, a campaign that would continue until the war’s conclusion in August 1945.