Following V-E Day, the group returned to the United States and was inactivated at McChord Field, Washington in September 1945.

The following month, the group and its squadrons moved to El Paso Army Air Field, Texas and began training with Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.

[10] It initially attacked airfields, coastal defenses and lines of communication to support Operation Overlord, the invasion of France.

On one occasion, the squadron was tasked with attacking German General Staff headquarters at Zossen, south of Berlin.

It was attacked by large numbers of enemy interceptors, which shot down approximately half of the aircraft in the 491st Group formation.

[8] During its combat tour, the 491st flew 187 missions, comprising over 5,000 sorties, the highest operational rate for Liberator units in Eighth Air Force.

The ground echelon sailed on the RMS Queen Mary on 6 July, arriving in New York City five days later.