Active 1947-1951; 1963-1994 Type Bombardment | Country United States | |
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Branch United States Air Force | ||
The 46th Bomb Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 319th Operations Group. It was last stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, and was inactivated on 1 October 1994.
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History
Established in 1947 in the Air Force Reserve as an A-26 Invader (later B-26 Invader) light bomb squadron. Inactivated in 1949 due to budget shortages.
Reactivated in 1962 as a Strategic Air Command B-52H Stratofortress squadron at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota; being a re designation of the 30th Bombardment Squadron when SAC converted its provisional dispersed B-52 squadrons to AFCON squadrons which could carry a combat lineage.
Continued to train in strategic bombardment and participate in SAC exercises; standing nuclear alert. During the Vietnam War, the squadron deployed aircrews and personnel to forward locations in the Western Pacific, participating in Operations Arc Light, Linebacker I and Linebacker II. In 1982 transitioned to the B-52G, and remained on nuclear alert until 1987 when the B-52s were sent to storage.
Re-equipped with the B-1B Lancer in 1987 and flew training missions with conventional and nuclear configurations. Inactivated in 1994 with the drawdown of USAF strategic forces at the end of the Cold War.