422d Bombardment Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 422d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. Its last was assigned to the 305th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana
. It was inactivated on 15 February 1961
. Deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in September 1942, being assigned to VIII Bomber Command
in England
. Began flying long-range strategic bombardment missions on 17 November 1942 and attacked such targets as submarine pens, docks, harbours, shipyards, motor works, and marshalling yards in France
, Germany
, and the Low Countries
. Continued attacks on enemy cities, manufacturing centers, transportation links and other targets until the German Capitulation in May 1945.
After combat missions ended, moved to St Trond Air Base, Belgium
in July, 1945 where it conducted photo-mapping and intelligence-gathering flights which was called Project: Casey Jones over Europe and North Africa. On 15 December 1945 moved to Lechfeld Airfield, Germany which they had bombed on 18 March 1944 and now used as an occupation base. The 364th Bomb Squadron was inactivated on December 1946 in Germany.
Reactivated in 1952 under Tactical Air Command; equipped with B-26 Invader light bombers, later equipped with obsolete B-45 Tornado light bombers. Inactivated in 1954
The squadron was activated in 1959 by Strategic Air Command
at MacDill AFB, Florida
as a result of Strategic Air Command
phasing out the B-47 Stratojet
, and additional squadrons were activated as part of the consolation of Stratojet wings, and the replacement of the B-47 by B-52 Stratofortress
es. However the squadron was never equipped or manned, was assigned administratively to several bases before being inactivated in 1961.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. Its last was assigned to the 305th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. It was inactivated on 15 February 1961
History
Established in June 1942 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombardment squadron; trained under Second Air ForceSecond Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
. Deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in September 1942, being assigned to VIII Bomber Command
VIII Bomber Command
The VIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit that is better known as the later appellation Eighth Air Force, as was popularized in post-World War II filmsand is frequently called the First Eighth Air Force by its veterans and successors in the services.The command was...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Began flying long-range strategic bombardment missions on 17 November 1942 and attacked such targets as submarine pens, docks, harbours, shipyards, motor works, and marshalling yards in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
. Continued attacks on enemy cities, manufacturing centers, transportation links and other targets until the German Capitulation in May 1945.
After combat missions ended, moved to St Trond Air Base, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in July, 1945 where it conducted photo-mapping and intelligence-gathering flights which was called Project: Casey Jones over Europe and North Africa. On 15 December 1945 moved to Lechfeld Airfield, Germany which they had bombed on 18 March 1944 and now used as an occupation base. The 364th Bomb Squadron was inactivated on December 1946 in Germany.
Reactivated in 1952 under Tactical Air Command; equipped with B-26 Invader light bombers, later equipped with obsolete B-45 Tornado light bombers. Inactivated in 1954
The squadron was activated in 1959 by Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
at MacDill AFB, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
as a result of Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
phasing out the B-47 Stratojet
B-47 Stratojet
The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...
, and additional squadrons were activated as part of the consolation of Stratojet wings, and the replacement of the B-47 by B-52 Stratofortress
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
es. However the squadron was never equipped or manned, was assigned administratively to several bases before being inactivated in 1961.
Lineage
- Constituted 33d Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942.
- Activated on 1 Mar 1942
- Redesignated 422d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 22 Apr 1942
- Inactivated on 25 Dec 1946
- Redesignated 422d Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 15 Nov 1952
- Activated on 1 Jan 1953
- Inactivated on 23 Mar 1954
- Redesignated 422d Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 6 Oct 1958
- Activated on 1 Jan 1959
- Discontinued, and inactivated, on 15 Feb 1961
Assignments
- 305th Bombardment Group, 1 Mar 1942-25 Dec 1946
- 4430th Air Base Wing, 1 Jan 1953
- Tactical Air CommandTactical Air CommandTactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
- Attached to: 405th Fighter-Bomber Wing, 1 May 1953
- Third Air ForceThird Air ForceThe Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....
- Third Air Force
- Attached to: 47th Bombardment Wing, 20 Dec 1953
- 47th Bombardment Group, 8 Feb-23 Mar 1954
- 305th Bombardment Wing, 1 Jan 1959
- 3958th Operational Evaluation and Training Group, 1 Oct 1959
- 305th Bombardment Wing, 8 Mar 1960-15 Feb 1961 (Not manned or equipped)
Stations
- Salt Lake City Army Air Base, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, 1 March 1942 - Geiger Field, Washington, 11 June 1942
- Muroc Army Air Field, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 4 July 1942 - Fort Dix Army Air Base, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, 29 August-4 September 1942 - RAF Grafton UnderwoodRAF Grafton UnderwoodRAF Grafton Underwood is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 4 miles NE of Kettering in Northamptonshire.-RAF use:...
(AAF-106), EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 13 September 1942 - RAF ChelvestonRAF ChelvestonRAF Station Chelveston was a military airfield located on the south side of the A45, 5 miles east of Wellingborough, near the village of Chelveston in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom....
(AAF-105), EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 11 December 1942 - Sint-Truiden Airfield (ALG A-92), BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, 25 July 1945 - AAF Station Lechfeld (ALG R-71), GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, 19 December 1945-25 December 1946
- Langley AFB, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, 1 Jan-11 Dec 1953 - RAF SculthorpeRAF SculthorpeRAF Sculthorpe is a military training facility for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence, situated about west of Fakenham in Norfolk, England...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 20 Dec 1953-23 Mar 1954 - MacDill AFB, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 1 Jan 1959 - Bunker Hill AFB, IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, 1 Jun 1959 - Carswell AFB, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 1 Oct 1959 - Bunker Hill AFB, IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, 15 Mar 1960-15 Feb 1961.
Aircraft
- B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942-1946
- B-26 Invader, 1953
- B-45 TornadoB-45 TornadoThe North American B-45 Tornado was the United States Air Force's first operational jet bomber, and the first jet aircraft to be refueled in the air. The B-45 was an important part of the United States's nuclear deterrent for several years in the early 1950s, but was rapidly succeeded by the Boeing...
, 1953-1954