Country United States | Type Bombardment | |
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Active 1942-1946; 1947-1948; 1951-1970; 1972-1975 Branch United States Air Force | ||
The 365th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 307th Strategic Wing, stationed at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand.
Contents
It was inactivated on 30 June 1975.
History
The squadron was established in June 1942 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombardment unit which trained under the Second Air Force. It deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in September 1942, being assigned to VIII Bomber Command in England. The squadron began flying long-range strategic bombardment missions on 17 November 1942 and attacked such targets as submarine pens, docks, harbours, shipyards, motor works and marshalling yards in France, Germany and the Low Countries. It continued its attacks on enemy cities, manufacturing centers, transportation links and other targets until the German capitulation in May 1945.
After combat missions ended, the squadron moved to St Trond Air Base, Belgium in July 1945 where it conducted photo-mapping and intelligence-gathering flights called Project 'Casey Jones' over Europe and North Africa. On 15 December 1945 it moved to Lechfeld Airfield, Germany which it had bombed on 18 March 1944 and now used as an occupation base. The squadron was inactivated on October 1946 in Germany.
Reactivated under Strategic Air Command (SAC) in 1951 with B-47A (later B) Stratojet medium jet bombers, it began flying operational strategic bombardment and refueling missions from MacDill AFB, Florida. In 1955, SAC upgraded the squadron to the B-47E, the major production version of the Stratojet. In May 1959, the squadron, with B-47s, was reassigned to Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana. The squadron upgraded to the B-58 Hustler supersonic medium bomber in September 1960, it was declared operationally ready in August 1962. It began phasing down B-58 operations in 1969and was inactivated in 1970.
Reactivated in 1972 as a provisional B-52D Stratofortress squadron at U-Tapao Air Base, Thailand, AS A administrative units to manage TDY (Temporary Duty) Combat Crews assigned to the "ARC LIGHT Task Force", where it flew combat missions over Indochina until 15 August 1973 when combat missions ended. It continued training operations until stand down O1 Jul 1974. The Squadron did not maintain Strategic Alert Operations at U-Tapao.