World War II

328th Bombardment Squadron emblem (c. 1943)^[4]

328th Bomb Squadron Consolidated B-24D-1-CO Liberator Serial 41-23711 "'Jerks Natural". This aircraft was lost over Austria on 1 October 1943. MACR 3301

The 328th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) was established in early 1942 initially as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator reconnaissance squadron, flying antisubmarine patrols. The squadron later trained under Third Air Force in Florida. After completing training in late 1942, the squadron deployed to the European theater of operations as one of the initial heavy bomber squadrons assigned to VIII Bomber Command in England, September 1942.

328th Bomb Sq B-24 Liberator^{[lower-alpha 1]}

The squadron engaged in long-range strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe. Deployed to IX Bomber Command in Egypt in December 1942, it operated from airfields in Libya and Tunisia. The squadron raided enemy military and industrial targets in Italy and in the southern Balkans, including the Nazi-controlled oilfields at Ploiești, Romania, receiving a Distinguished Unit Citation for its gallantry in that raid. The squadron also flew tactical bombing raids against Afrika Korps defensive positions in Tunisia, supporting the British Eighth Army forces in their advance to Tunis, in September and October 1943.

The squadron returned to England with the disestablishment of IX Bomber Command in North Africa. From England, it resumed long-range strategic bombardment raids on Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany, attacking enemy military and industrial targets as part of the United States' air offensive. The squadron was one of the most highly decorated units in the Eighth Air Force, continuing offensive attacks until the German capitulation in May 1945.

328th Bombardment Squadron emblem, 1955.^[1]

In June 1945, the squadron returned to the United States, being remanned and re-equipped with Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers. It was trained for deployment to the Central Pacific area to carry out very long-range strategic bombing raids over Japan. Japanese capitulation in August canceled plans for deployment, it instead became a Continental Air Forces (later Strategic Air Command) B-29 squadron.

Cold War

328th Bomb Squadron patch

During the Cold War, the squadron was equipped with new weapons systems as they became available, performing strategic bombardment training with the Boeing B-50 Superfortress, an advanced version of the B-29 in 1950. The B-50 gave the unit the capability to carry heavy loads of conventional weapons faster and farther as well as being designed for atomic bomb missions if necessary.

By 1951, the emergence of the Soviet MiG-15 interceptor in the skies over North Korea signaled the end of the propeller-driven B-50 as a first-line strategic bomber. The squadron received Boeing B-47 Stratojet jet bombers in 1954. In 1955, it began receiving an early model of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and upgraded to various models over the next 40 years. Taken off nuclear alert after the end of the Cold War, the squadron was inactivated in 1994 with the inactivation of its parent unit and the closing of Castle Air Force Base.

The squadron deployed aircraft and personnel to the 1708th Provisional Bombardment Wing at Prince Abdullah Air Base, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from August 1990 and to the 4300th Provisional Bombardment Wing at Diego Garcia Air Base, British Indian Ocean Territories from January 1991 for Operation Desert Storm. Both deployments terminated in March 1991.

Weapons school

Former 328th Weapons Squadron emblem.

The Air Force Weapons School's Space Division was activated in July 1996. In 2003, the Weapons School restructured its units, turning their divisions into squadrons with lineages of a previously highly decorated notable inactivated unit. So, on 3 February 2003, the Space Division was replaced by the 328th Weapons Squadron on 3 February 2003. The unit has graduated over 350 weapons officers.^[5]

Former 328th Weapons Squadron emblem.^{[lower-alpha 2]}

In 2012, the 328 WPS stood up the cyber Weapons Instructor Course (cyber WIC) stood up, giving students the opportunity to enhance their cyber skills while under the mentorship of space weapons officers. In 2018, the cyber WIC separated to become their own squadron, the 32nd Weapons Squadron.^[6]

The United States Space Force was established in 2019 partly to integrate different space organizations into a space-specific service branch, including space education units in the Air Force. The 328 WPS was one of 23 Air Force units identified to transfer into the Space Force in March 2020.^[7] On 24 July 2020, 328 WPS was transferred into the Space Force under Space Operations Command's Space Training and Readiness Delta (Provisional) (STAR Delta (P)), temporarily consolidating all space education units pending the establishment of the Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM).^[8] STARCOM was activated on 23 August 2021 following the inactivation of STAR Delta (P), and the 319 CTS was realigned under the newly activated Space Delta 1 (DEL 1).^[9]

Assignments

• 93d Bombardment Group, 1 March 1942 (attached to 93d Bombardment Wing after 10 February 1951)
• 93d Bombardment Wing, 16 June 1952
• 93d Operations Group, 1 September 1991 – 15 June 1994
• USAF Weapons School, 3 February 2003 – 24 July 2020^[1]
• Space Training and Readiness Delta (Provisional), 24 July 2020 – 23 August 2021
• Space Delta 1, 23 August 2021 – present

Stations

Aircraft operated

Bibliography

• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force in World War II. Vol. I (VIII) Bomber Command. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-1987-7.