346th Bombardment Squadron

346th Bombardment Squadron

A U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52D-35-BW Stratofortress (s/n 52-669) dropping bombs over Vietnam
Active 1942-1945; 1947-1949; 1953-1974
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Type Bombardment
Engagements

  • World War II - EAME Theater

  • Vietnam War
Decorations

  • Distinguished Unit Citation (2x)

  • Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (2x)
Insignia
Emblem of the 346th Bombardment Squadron

The 346th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 99th Bombardment Wing. It was inactivated at Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts on 31 March 1974.

During World War II, the 346th Bombardment Squadron was a B-17 Flying Fortress squadron, assigned to the 99th Bombardment Group, Fifteenth Air Force. It earned Two Distinguished Unit Citations.

History

Established in early 1942 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombardment squadron; trained under Second Air Force first in the Pacific Northwest, but the poor flying weather in the northwest forced a relocation to the Midwest for the second and third phases of training.

After completion of training, the 99th departed for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) in Algeria, where the ground echelon went by ship from New York City to Marrakech, Morocco; the air echelon flying to Morrison Field, Florida, then along the South Atlantic Route to Navarin Airfield, Algeria, where the ground and air echelons of the group were reunited in late February 1943. Assigned to Twelfth Air Force, the squadron engaged in combat operations in support of American ground forces in Algeria and Tunisia during the 1943 North African campaign.

B-17F 42-29513 "El-Diablo" saw extensive service with the 346th Bombardment Squadron between 23 February and 11 December 1943. It completed 114 missions, and was deemed "War Weary". It was stripped of its armament and convened into a weather ship for the 304th BW at Cerignola, Italy

Helped force the capitulation of Pantelleria Island in June 1943. Bombed in preparation for and in support of the invasions of Sicily and southern Italy in the summer and fall of 1943. Was reassigned to the new Fifteenth Air Force in October 1943 and until the German capitulation in May 1945; engaged in strategic bombardment of enemy targets in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Greece, attacking oil refineries, marshaling yards, aircraft factories, and other strategic objectives. Squadron was demobilized in Italy in late 1945; inactivated in November.

Activated in the reserves in 1947, however unit never equipped or manned. Inactivated in 1949 due to budget restraints. Reactivated in 1953 as a Strategic Air Command B-36 Peacemaker intercontinental strategic bombardment squadron. Engaged in worldwide strategic bombardment training and stood nuclear alert until 1956 when the B-36 was retired. Re-equipped with B-52 Stratofortresses and continued training and nuclear alert status. Deployed to Pacific during Vietnam War, engaging in Arc Light combat missions over North Vietnam; also deployed to Thailand flying out of U-Tapao RTNAF for combat missions over Cambodia and Laos. Inactivated in 1974 with the inactivation of parent 99th Bombardment Wing and closure of Westover AFB.

Lineage

World War II unit emblem
Activated on 1 Jun 1942
Inactivated on 8 Nov 1945
Activated in the reserve on 29 May 1947
Inactivated on 27 Jun 1949
Re-designated 346th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 1 Oct 1955
Inactivated on 31 Mar 1974

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.