during the invasion of Normandy. After D-Day, the unit concentrated its attacks on strategic objectives in Germany, striking communications centers, oil refineries, storage depots, industrial areas, shipyards, and other targets in such places as Berlin, Hamburg, Kassel, Cologne, Gelsenkirchen, Bielefeld, Hannover, and Magdeburg. On one occasion the 491st attacked the headquarters of the German General Staff at Zossen, Germany. On 15 August 1944, the 95th Combat wing was broken up and the 491st was moved to RAF North Pickenham. 1409th Army Air Force Base Unit After the 491st moved, a small number of B-24's were still assigned to Metfield, under the command of the European Division of Air Transport, United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF). These aircraft were used by the 1409th Army Air Force Base Unit, a classified unit engaged in clandestine transport operations to Sweden, flying out special materials and ferrying personnel. The 1409th operated from Metfield until the end of the war operating the B-24s, as well as Douglas C-47 Skytrains and Douglas C-54 Skymasters. The unit also used RAF Leuchars in Scotland as an advanced base. On 4 March 1945 during "Operation Gisela" RAF Metfield was strafed by a Junkers Ju 88(G-6) of the Luftwaffe, killing one man in the control tower. The aircraft crashed just south of the airfield, after attempting to attack an inbound B24, with its upward firing cannon. Metfield explosion On 15 July 1944 at 7:30pm there was a major explosion at the Metfield bomb dump. Some soldiers from the 2218th Quartermaster Truck Company arrived to deliver the bombs. When they arrived they were impatient to discover that soldiers at the dump who operated the hoist were on a meal break, and decided to unload the bombs without the crane. However these bombs were more sensitive than previous munitions: when they used a previously successful technique to drop the bombs off the back of the truck, one bomb landed on another and they both exploded. A chain reaction led to 1,200 tons of high-explosive and incendiary bombs exploding, shaking the countryside for a radius of several miles. Six men were killed. Three soldiers, Privates Donald P. Adkins, Donald L. Hurley and Steve W. Suchey are memorialised at Cambridge American Cemetery as missing in action. 5 B-24's in nearby hardstands were severely damaged beyond repair. An additional six aircraft were severely damaged. There is an eyewitness account of being blown flat