424th Bombardment Squadron

History

Formed as a heavy bombardment squadron in January 1942, trained in the Pacific Northwest under Second Air Force, with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. Reassigned to Seventh Air Force in Hawaii, November 1942 and performed performing search and rescue and antisubmarine patrols until January 1943 while transitioning to long-range Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.

Deployed to the Central Pacific from Hawaii throughout 1943 for long-range combat bombardment operations against Japanese forces in the Central Pacific; New Guinea; Northern Solomon Islands and Eastern Mandates campaigns. Deployed to the New Hebrides in Melanesia and operated from numerous temporary jungle airfields, engaging in long-range bombardment operations during the Bismarck Archipelago; Western Pacific; Leyte; Luzon and Southern Philippines campaigns until the end of the war in August 1945. Assigned to Clark Field, Philippines after the war ended, demobilized with personnel returning to the United States, unit inactivated as paper unit in January 1946 in California.

During the Korean War, Tactical Air Command (TAC) trained aircrews at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. The three squadrons of the 4400th Combat Crew Training Group performing this mission were Air National Guard (ANG) units that had been called up for the war. At the start of 1953, these squadrons were returned to state control and the 424d Bombardment Squadron took over the mission, personnel, and equipment of the 122d Bombardment Squadron of the Louisiana ANG. In January 1954, the group mission shifted to tactical bombardment and it was redesignated the 4400th Bombardment Group. As the group began to anticipate the transition to Martin B-57 Canberra aircraft, TAC decided to replace the Table of Distribution 4400th group and its squadrons with the regular 345th Bombardment Group, which took over their mission in July 1954.

The squadron was activated in 1958 at Lincoln Air Force Base, Nebraska. The squadron also began sending its aircraft to AMARC at Davis-Monthan in late 1961, and the squadron went non-operational. It was inactivated on 1 January 1962.

Lineage

Constituted as the 35th Reconnaissance Squadron, (Heavy) on 28 January 1942

Activated on 15 April 1942 Redesignated 424th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 22 April 1942 Redesignated 424th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy in 1944 Inactivated on 26 December 1945

Redesignated 424th Bombardment Squadron, Light on 15 November 1952

Activated on 1 January 1953 Inactivated on 19 July 1954

Redesignated 424th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 11 August 1958

Activated on 1 September 1958 Discontinued and inactivated on 1 January 1962

Assignments

307th Bombardment Group, 15 April 1942 - 26 December 1945

4430th Air Base Wing (attached to 4400th Combat Crew Training Group), 1 January 1953

4400th Combat Crew Training Group (later Bombardment Group), 1 May 1953 - 19 July 1954

307th Bombardment Wing, 1 September 1958 - 1 January 1962.

Aircraft

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942

Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1942–1945

Douglas B-26 Invader, 1953–1954

Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1958-1961.