461st Bombardment Squadron

History

Established as a heavy bombardment squadron in 1942. Mission was as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) under II Bomber Command training B-17 and B-24 replacement pilots and aircrew.

Redesignated a B-29 Superfortress operational squadron in August 1944. Trained under Second Air Force; deployed to the Western Pacific, being assigned to the new Eighth Air Force. Arrived in Okinawa but Japanese Capitulation led to drawdown of Eighth Air Force and the squadron never was engaged in combat.

Flew show-of-force missions over Occupied Japan and aircraft helped evacuate prisoners of war from Japan and China to airfields in the Philippines. Personnel demobilized and aircraft flown to storage in the United States in May 1946 and the unit was inactivated as a paper unit in Okinawa on 30 June.

Lineage

Constituted 461st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 1 Jul 1942

Activated on 6 Jul 1942 Inactivated on 1 Apr 1944

Redesignated 461st Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 4 Aug 1944

Activated on 18 Aug 1944 Inactivated on 30 Jun 1946

Assignments

331st Bombardment Group, 6 Jul 1942-1 Apr 1944

346th Bombardment Group, 18 Aug 1944-30 Jun 1946.

Stations

Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah, 6 Jul 1942

Casper Army Air Field, Wyoming, 15 Sep 1942-1 Apr 1944

Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 18 Aug 1944

Pratt Army Airfield, Kansas, 12 Dec 1944-29 Jun 1945

Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, 13 Aug 1945-30 Jun 1946

Aircraft

B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942-1943, 1945

B-24 Liberator, 1943-1944

B-29 Superfortress, 1945-1946

C-46 Commando, 1946