• Molly Brandenburg

Life in The 492nd Bomb Group

Updated: May 15, 2019

Life in the service during World War 2 wasn't for the faint of heart. Getting through it took guts, sweat, smarts and a lot of damn good luck. Bud and "The Koltun Crew" survived a tour of service with one of the unluckiest bombing units of the Second World War, and lived to tell the tale.

The men who served during WW2 didn't have a choice as to what unit they would be assigned to, so they took their orders as they came, crossed their fingers and headed into whatever fate had in store. The men assigned to the 492nd Bomb Group had little idea they'd signed up for a tour of duty with a bombing unit which was to have one of the highest casualty rates of any group in the Allied Forces.

This original unit stayed together for only 89 days until it was disbanded under orders from the US government. The unit flew during daytime, and the planes had not been painted, and thus their silver bodies made for an easy target for the German Luftwaffe.

For the rest of their term of service, anyone who learned that the men of the Koltun had served with "the bloody 492nd" shook their heads and wondered "how it was they were still alive."

For more on the history of the 492nd Bomb Group, please visit www.492ndBombGroup.com

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