352d Bombardment Squadron

The 352d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 301st Bombardment Wing at Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio, where it was inactivated on 8 June 1964.

352d Bombardment Squadron
301st Wing B-47 Stratojet^[a]
Active	1942–1945; 1946–1964
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Bombardment
Motto(s)	Determined^[1]
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
Patch with 352d Bombardment Squadron emblem^[b]^[1]

During World War II, the 352d Bombardment Squadron was a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress squadron, assigned to the 301st Bombardment Group of Fifteenth Air Force. It earned two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first in 1943, the second in 1944. It returned to the United States following V-E Day to train as a very heavy bomber unit, but the end of the war in the Pacific resulted in its inactivation.

The squadron was activated in Strategic Air Command (SAC)in 1946, assuming the personnel and equipment of another squadron, which was inactivated. It served under SAC until inactivating, and earned an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for the period of 1 January 1961 to 31 December 1962.

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][c]

Operations from England

 

King George VI visiting the 301st Bombardment Group in 1942.^[d]

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

 

B-17Gs from the 352d Bombardment Squadron^[e]

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 352d 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

 

301st Bombardment Group B-29 Superfortress^[f]

The squadron was reactivated in 1946 as a Strategic Air Command strategic bombardment squadron, assuming the personnel and Boeing B-29 Superfortresss of the 789th Bombardment Squadronl, which was simultaneously inactivated. It 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 deployed to Far East Air Forces in February 1951, flying combat missions over North Korea; attacking strategic industrial and military targets during the Korean War.

It returned to the United States in June 1952 and transitioned to the Boeing B-47 Stratojet with the removal of the B-29 as a combat aircraft from the inventory. The squadron moved to Lockbourne Air Force Base in 1958. It added Electronic Countermeasures as an ancillary mission in 1961.

The unit was inactivated and closed in 1964 with the fleet-wide retirement of the B-47 aircraft.

Lineage

• Constituted as the 352d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 January 1942

Activated on 3 February 1942

Redesignated 352d Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 20 August 1943

Redesignated 352d Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 5 August 1945

Inactivated on 15 October 1945

• Activated on 4 August 1946

Redesignated 352d Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 28 May 1948^[8]

Inactivated on 8 June 1964^[9]

Assignments

• 301st Bombardment Group, 3 February 1942 – 15 October 1945
• 301st Bombardment Group, 4 August 1946 – 16 June 1952 (attached to 301st Bombardment Wing 10 February–20 September 1951, after 20 December 1951)
• 301st Bombardment Wing, 16 June 1952 - 8 June 1964^[8][10]

Stations

Geiger Field, Washington, 3 February 1942 Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico, 28 May 1942 (operated from Muroc Army Air Base and Lindbergh Field, California, until 14 June 1942) Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia, 21 June–19 July 1942 RAF Chelveston (Station 105),^[11] England, 19 August 1942 Tafaraoui Airfield, Algeria, 24 November 1942 Biskra Airfield, Algeria, 21 December 1942 Ain M'lila Airfield, Algeria, 16 January 1943 Saint-Donat Airfield, Algeria, 8 March 1943 Oudna Airfield, Tunisia, 6 August 1943

Cerignola Airfield, Italy, 10 December 1943 Lucera Airfield, Italy, 2 February 1944-July 1945 Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, 28 July 1945 Mountain Home Army Air Field, Idaho, 17 August 1945 Pyote Army Air Base, Texas, 23 August–15 October 1945 Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico, 4 August 1946 Smoky Hill Army Airfield (later Smoky Hill Air Force Base), Kansas, 16 July 1947 Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, 7 November 1949 (deployed to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, 10 February 1951 – 16 June 1952) Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio, 15 April 1958 - 8 June 1964^[8]

Aircraft

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1945
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1946–1952
• Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1958-1961
• Boeing EB-47, 1961-1964^[8]

See also

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Units of the Mediterranean Theater of Operations

References

Notes

1. Aircraft is Lockheed Aircraft manufactured Boeing B-47E-55-LM Stratojet, serial 53-1830 parked at Langley Air Force Base in 1960. This plane was sent to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center on 18 January 1963 and scrapped on 30 October 1967. Baugher, Joe (5 August 2023). "1953 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
2. Approved 12 June 1957. Description: On a shield of the sky (Air Force blue in chief fading to light blue in base spattered in chief with white stars, a futuristic aircraft of the last [color mentioned], nose to chief, leaving a lightning-like trail of flame to base, Air Force yellow, orange and red; all within an Air Force golden yellow border; atop the shield a helmeted knight's head of the last [color mentioned], in profile facing the dexter, outlined and shaded brown, his neck flesh tone, flying from the top of the helmet, a green forked pennant.
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. Taken as the aircraft left the ball bearing works at Turin, Italy badly damaged in the wake of their attack on 24 July 1944.
6. Aircraft is Boeing B-29A-40-BN Superfortress, serial 44-61640. It was later converted to WB-29 weather reconnaissance configuration and was lost on 26 February 1952. Baugher, Joe (9 October 2023). "1944 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

Citations

1. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 436-437
2. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 436-439, 514
3. Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 173-174
4. Freeman, p. 247
5. Freeman, p. 13
6. Millet,^{[page needed]}
7. Pimlott,^{[page needed]}
8. Lineage, including assignments, aircraft and stations, through 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 436-437
9. See Ravenstein, pp. 144-146 (assignment to 301st Wing ended).
10. Ravenstein, pp. 144-146
11. Station number in Anderson, p. 19.

Bibliography

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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.