463d Bombardment Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 463d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. Its last assignment was with 346th Bombardment Group
stationed at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa. It was inactivated on 30 June 1946.
training B-24 replacement pilots and aircrew.
Redesignated a B-29 Superfortress
operational squadron in August 1944. Trained under Second Air Force
; deployed to the Western Pacific, being assigned to the new Eighth Air Force
. Arrived in Okinawa but Japanese Capitulation led to drawdown of Eighth Air Force and the squadron never was engaged in combat.
Flew show-of-force missions over Occupied Japan
and aircraft helped evacuate prisoners of war from Japan and China
to airfields in the Philippines
. Personnel demobilized and aircraft flown to storage in the United States in May 1946 and the unit was inactivated as a paper unit in Okinawa on 30 June.
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 assignment was with 346th Bombardment Group
346th Bombardment Group
The 346th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 316th Bombardment Wing, being stationed at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa. It was inactivated on 30 June 1946....
stationed at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa. It was inactivated on 30 June 1946.
History
Established as a very heavy bomb squadron in 1942. Mission was as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) under II Bomber CommandII Bomber Command
The II Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force, based at Fort George Wright, Washington. It was inactivated on 6 October 1943....
training B-24 replacement pilots and aircrew.
Redesignated a B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
operational squadron in August 1944. Trained under Second Air Force
Second 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 Western Pacific, being assigned to the new Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
. Arrived in Okinawa but Japanese Capitulation led to drawdown of Eighth Air Force and the squadron never was engaged in combat.
Flew show-of-force missions over Occupied Japan
Occupied Japan
At the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States with contributions also from Australia, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This foreign presence marked the first time in its history that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power...
and aircraft helped evacuate prisoners of war from Japan and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to airfields in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Personnel demobilized and aircraft flown to storage in the United States in May 1946 and the unit was inactivated as a paper unit in Okinawa on 30 June.
Lineage
- Constituted 463d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 1 Jul 1942
- Activated on 6 Jul 1942
- Inactivated on 1 Apr 1944
- Redesignated 463d Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 4 Aug 1944
- Activated on 18 Aug 1944
- Inactivated on 30 Jun 1946
Assignments
- 331st Bombardment Group331st Bombardment GroupThe 331st Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 315th Bombardment Wing, being stationed at Northwest Field, Guam. It was inactivated on 15 April 1946....
, 6 Jul 1942-1 Apr 1944 - 346th Bombardment Group346th Bombardment GroupThe 346th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 316th Bombardment Wing, being stationed at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa. It was inactivated on 30 June 1946....
, 18 Aug 1944-30 Jun 1946.
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...
, 6 Jul 1942 - Casper Army Air Field, WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, 15 Sep 1942-1 Apr 1944 - Dalhart Army Air Field, 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...
, 18 Aug 1944 - Pratt Army AirfieldPratt Army AirfieldPratt Army Airfield is a closed United States Air Force base. It is located north-northwest of Pratt, Kansas, and was closed in 1946. Today it is used as Pratt Regional Airport....
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, 12 Dec 1944-29 Jun 1945 - Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, 13 Aug 1945-30 Jun 1946
Aircraft
- B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942-1943, 1945
- B-24 LiberatorB-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
, 1943-1944 - B-29 SuperfortressB-29 SuperfortressThe B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
, 1945-1946 - C-46 CommandoC-46 CommandoThe Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando was a transport aircraft originally derived from a commercial high-altitude airliner design. It was instead used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as well as the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps under the designation R5C...
, 1946