366th Bombardment Squadron

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366th Bombardment Squadron
Convair B-58A Hustler crew scramble 061101-F-1234P-023.jpg
Alert crew of a B-58 Hustler scrambling
Active1942–1946; 1947–1948; 1951–1970
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
RoleBombardment
EngagementsEuropean Theater of Operations[1]
DecorationsDistinguished Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[1]
Insignia
366th Bombardment Squadron emblem[note 1][1]366 Bombardment Sq emblem.png
World War II fuselage code[2]KY

The 366th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was as part of the 305th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Grissom Air Force Base, Indiana. It was inactivated on 1 January 1970.

History[]

World War II[]

Established in June 1942 as a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombardment squadron, the squadron trained under the Second Air Force; it deployed to the European Theater of Operations in September 1942, being assigned to VIII Bomber Command in England. It began flying long-range strategic bombardment missions on 17 November 1942 and attacked such targets as submarine pens, docks, harbors, shipyards, vehicle factories and marshalling yards in France, Germany and the Low Countries. It continued attacks on enemy cities, manufacturing centers, transportation links and other targets until the German capitulation in May 1945.

After combat missions ended, the squadron moved to Sint-Truiden Air Base in Belgium in July 1945 where it conducted photo-mapping and intelligence-gathering flights called Project Casey Jones over Europe and North Africa. On 15 December 1945, it moved to Lechfeld Airfield, Germany which it had bombed on 18 March 1944 and now used as an occupation base. The squadron was inactivated on December 1946 in Germany.

Strategic Air Command[]

The squadron was reactivated under Strategic Air Command (SAC) in 1951 with Boeing B-47 Stratojet medium jet bombers, originally B-47As,then B-47Bs. It began flying operational strategic bombardment and refueling missions from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. In 1955, SAC upgraded the squadron to the B-47E, the major production version of the Stratojet. The squadron, still with B-47s, moved to Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana in May 1959. In September 1960, it upgraded to the B-58 Hustler supersonic medium bomber and was declared operationally ready in August 1962.

It began phasing down B-58 operations in 1969, and was inactivated in January 1970.

Lineage[]

  • Constituted as the 366th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 June 1942
Activated on 1 March 1942
  • Redesignated 366th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 20 August 1943
Inactivated on 25 December 1946
  • Redesignated 366th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 11 June 1947
Activated on 1 July 1947
Inactivated on 6 September 1948
  • Redesignated 366th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 20 December 1950
Activated on 2 January 1951[3]
Inactivated on 1 January 1970

Assignments[]

  • 305th Bombardment Group, 1 March 1942 – 25 December 1946
  • 305th Bombardment Group, 1 Jul 1947 – 6 Sep 1948
  • 305th Bombardment Group, 2 January 1951 (attached to 305th Bombardment Wing after 10 February 1951)[4]
  • 305th Bombardment Wing, 16 June 1952 – 1 January 1970[5][4]

Stations[]

Aircraft[]

  • Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1946
  • Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1951-1953
  • Boeing B-47A Stratojet, 1952-1953
  • Boeing B-47B Stratojet, 1953–1955
  • Boeing B-47E Stratojet, 1955–1960
  • Convair B-58 Hustler, 1960–1970[3][11]

References[]

Notes[]

Explanatory notes
  1. ^ Approved 17 July 1944.
Citations
  1. ^ a b c Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp.452-453
  2. ^ Watkins, p. 54
  3. ^ a b Lineage information through May 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp.452-453.
  4. ^ a b Ravenstein, pp. 150-151
  5. ^ Assignment information through May 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp.452-453, except as noted.
  6. ^ a b Station number in Anderson, p.19.
  7. ^ Station number in Johnson, p. 23.
  8. ^ Station number in Johnson, p. 40.
  9. ^ Station information through May 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp.452-453, except as noted.
  10. ^ See Ravenstein, pp. 150-151 (assignment to 305th Wing while wing at Grissom).
  11. ^ See Ravenstein, pp. 150-151 (305th aircraft).

Bibliography[]

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

  • 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.
  • Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977 (PDF). 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 0-7643-1987-6. |volume= has extra text (help)
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