353d Bombardment Squadron
RB-47 Stratojet as flown by the squadron[lower-alpha 1]
Active1942–1945, 1946–1964
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
RoleBombardment
Engagements

  • World War II – American Campaign (Antisubmarine)

  • World War II – EAME Theater[1]
Decorations

  • Distinguished Unit Citation (2x)

  • Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[1]
Insignia
353d Bombardment Squadron emblem[lower-alpha 2][1]

The 353d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It last was assigned to the 301st Bombardment Wing, stationed at Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio. It was inactivated on 8 June 1964.

During World War II, the 353d Bombardment Squadron was a B-17 Flying Fortress squadron, assigned to the 301st Bombardment Group, Fifteenth Air Force. It earned two Distinguished Unit Citations.

History

World War II

Initial organization and training

The squadron was organized at Geiger Field, Washington as one of the four Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress squadrons of the 301st Bombardment Group in February 1942.[2][3] In late May, it moved to Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico, although the air echelon operated from Muroc Army Air Base, flying antisubmarine patrols off the California coast until early June 1942. The ground echelon moved to Virginia to prepare for movement overseas, leaving for Fort Dix and the Port of Embarkation on 19 July. The air echelon left for Brainard Field, Connecticut in late June. The squadron ferried its Flying Fortresses via the North Atlantic ferry route as part of Operation Bolero, the build up of American forces in the United Kingdom.[1][4] The squadron and its companion squadrons of the 301st Group were the first B-17F unit to arrive in England.[5][lower-alpha 3]

Operations from England

King George VI visiting the 301st Bombardment Group in 1942.[lower-alpha 4]

The ground and air echelons were reunited at RAF Chelveston on 19 August 1942. The squadron flew its first mission on 5 September 1942. From England it attacked targets primarily in France, including submarine pens, airfields, railroad targets, and bridges. On 14 September, the 301st Group and its squadrons were reassigned to XII Bomber Command in preparation for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, but they continued to operate under the control of VIII Bomber Command. Between 20 and 23 November 1942, the air echelon moved forward to bases in southeastern England, from which it flew directly to Tafaraoui Airfield, Algeria. The ground echelon sailed for Algeria from Liverpool on 8 December 1942.[3][4]

Combat in the Mediterranean

353d Bomb Squadron B-17F [lower-alpha 5]

Until August 1943, the squadron operated from airfields in Algeria, bombing docks, shipping facilities, airfields and marshalling yards in Tunisia, Sicily, and Sardinia. It also attacked enemy ships operating between Sicily and Tunisia. On 6 April 1943, the squadron withstood heavy flak from shore defenses and enemy vessels, when it attacked a merchant convoy near Bizerte, Tunisia that was carrying supplies essential for the Axis defense of Tunisia. For this mission it was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC). In May and June, it participated in Operation Corkscrew, the bombing and invasion of Pantelleria, prior to the invasion of Sicily.[3]

Starting in July 1943, the squadron began flying numerous missions to targets in Italy, moving forward to Oudna Airfield, Tunisia in early August. In November 1943, strategic and tactical air forces in the Mediterranean were divided and the squadron became part of Fifteenth Air Force. It moved to Italy in December 1943 and in February 1944 it was established at Lucera Airfield, Italy, from which it would conduct combat operations for the remainder of the war. From its Italian base, it concentrated on the strategic bombing campaign against Germany, attacking oil centers, lines of communications, and industrial areas in Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. On 23 February 1944, it participated in an attack on the Messerschmitt aircraft factory at Regensburg, succeeding despite "viscous" attacks by enemy interceptors. For this mission, it was awarded a second DUC.[3]

The 353d also flew air support missions near Anzio and Monte Cassino, provided cover for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France and the advance of the Red Army in the Balkans and the Allied advances in the Po Valley.[3] It engaged in shuttle bombing missions to airfields in the Soviet Union during the summer of 1944.[6]

Return to the United States

Following V-E Day, the squadron remained in Italy until July 1945. In August, it was designated as a "very heavy" unit in preparation for conversion to the Boeing B-29 Superfortress and deployment to Pacific Theater. Before the squadron arrived at its planned training base, Pyote Army Air Field, Texas, Japan had surrendered and there was no need for additional bomber units. The squadron was inactivated in October 1945, shortly before Pyote ended training operations and became an aircraft storage depot.[1][7]

Strategic Air Command

It was reactivated in 1946 as a Strategic Air Command B-29 strategic bombardment squadron. It was deployed to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany, July–August 1948; to RAF Scampton, England, October 1948 – January 1949; and to RAF Stations Lakenheath and Sculthorpe, May–November 1950 for "show of force" missions in Europe as a result of the Berlin Blockade by the Soviet Union and rising Cold War tensions in Europe. The squadron was deployed to Far East Air Forces in February 1951, flying combat missions over North Korea, and attacking strategic industrial and military targets during the Korean War.

The squadron returned to the United States in June 1952, equipped with YRB-47B Stratojet long-range reconnaissance aircraft. It was used for strategic reconnaissance missions until 1953, when production RB-47E aircraft were received. It flew reconnaissance missions on a worldwide basis. Operations of the unit were still classified. It was suspected that the squadron was deployed frequently to Thule Air Base, Greenland and flew missions deep into the heart of the Soviet Union, taking a photographic and radar recording of the routes attacking SAC B-52 bombers would follow to reach their targets.

The squadron was inactivated in 1964 with phaseout of the B-47 from the inventory.

Lineage

  • Constituted as the 353d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 January 1942
Activated on 3 February 1942.
Redesignated 353d Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 20 August 1943
Redesignated 353d Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 5 August 1945
Inactivated on 15 October 1945
  • Activated on 4 August 1946
Redesignated 353d Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 28 May 1948
Inactivated on 16 June 1964[8]

Assignments

  • 301st Bombardment Group, 3 February 1942 – 15 October 1945; 4 August 1946 (detached 10 February 1951 – 16 June 1952)
  • 301st Bombardment Wing, 16 June 1952 – 8 June 1964[8]

Stations

Aircraft

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

Notes

Explanatory notes
  1. ↑ Aircraft is Boeing RB-47H-1-BW Stratojet, serial 53-4292.
  2. ↑ Approved 13 April 1959. Description: On and over a light blue disc, a caricatured black raven in fighting stance, bearing in his left wing, a white shield charged with a light blue star, casting a black shadow; In his right wing an Air Force golden yellow lightning flash pointing upward outlined black; the raven's beak and talons Air Force golden yellow, outlines and details black, his eye red, details of feathers light blue, highlights white.
  3. ↑ The 97th Bombardment Group had arrived earlier, but was equipped with B-17Es. Freeman, p. 13.
  4. ↑ The aircraft in the background is Boeing B-17F-1-BO Flying Fortress, serial 41-24352. This plane suffered severe battle damage on a mission to steel works at Lille, France (Although located in the Lille metropolitan area, the target was actually in Belgium, on the left bank of the Deûle River.) on 9 October 1942. The crew prepared to bail out but the bomber made it back to Chelveston with one engine on fire, two propellers feathered and a couple of hundred holes in it. Following this mission, it was named Holey Joe.
  5. ↑ Aircraft is Douglas Aircraft built Boeing B-17F-15-DL, serial 42-3026.
Citations
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 438
  2. ↑ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 436-439, 514
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 173-174
  4. 1 2 Freeman, p. 247
  5. ↑ Freeman, p. 13
  6. ↑ Millet,
  7. ↑ Pimlott,
  8. 1 2 3 Lineage information, assignments and aircraft through March 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 438.
  9. ↑ Station number in Anderson, p. 19.
  10. ↑ Station information through March 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 438, except as noted.

Bibliography

  • Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  • Freeman, Roger A. (1970). The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London, England, UK: Macdonald and Company. ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2.
  • 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.
  • Millet, Jeffrey R. (1986). The Fifteenth Air Force Story: A History 1943–1985. Fifteenth Air Force Association. ASIN B000WAZRJ2.
  • Pimlott, Jeffrey R. (1980). B-29 Superfortress. New York, NY: Gallery Books.
  • 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.
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