The 856th Bombardment Squadron was a United States Army Air Forces unit. it was first activated in October 1943 as one of the original Consolidated B-24 Liberator squadrons of the 492d Bombardment Group. After deploying to England, the 492d entered the strategic bombing campaign against Germany, but in three months of combat, the 492d Group suffered the most severe losses of an Eighth Air Force bomber group. The 492d Group was withdrawn from combat in August 1944, and the 856th moved on paper to replace the 36th Bombardment Squadron, which was engaged in Operation Carpetbagger, dropping agents and supplies behind German lines, primarily in France. As American forces advanced in France, this special operations mission diminished. The squadron briefly transported fuel to mechanized units in France, then returned to special operations in Scandinavia and Germany under the operational control of Eighth Air Force until the end of hostilities in Europe. It returned to the United States for conversion to Boeing B-29 Superfortresses, but was inactivated in October 1945.
