564th Missile Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 564th Missile Squadron (564 MS, nicknamed "Deuce") was a unit of the United States Air Force
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...

 at Malmstrom Air Force Base
Malmstrom Air Force Base
Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place in Cascade County, Montana, United States. It was named in honor of World War II POW Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom...

, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

. It was inactivated on 19 Aug 2008

Mission

The missileers of the 564th were responsible for five Missile Alert Facilities and 50 Minuteman III ICBMs. The squadron had five missile combat crews on alert duty, 24 hours a day, every day, with the support of facility managers and chefs, and security forces from the 341st Security Forces Group.

World War II

Activated as a B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The 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...

 heavy bombardment squadron in December 1942; assigned to II Bomber Command
II 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....

 for training. Primarily trained in Texas
Texas
Texas 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...

 and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. Received deployment orders for the European Theater of Operations
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...

 (ETO) in April 1943.

Deployed to England in May 1943, being assigned to the 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...

 and stationed at RAF Hethel
RAF Hethel
RAF Hethel is a former World War II airfield used by the US during the Second World War in Norfolk, England situated located 7 miles south west of Norwich.-USAAF use:...

. Upon its arrival at Hethel, was sent almost immediately to Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

, where it began operations on July 9, 1943. The detachment flew missions to Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

. Received a Distinguished Unit Citation for the detachment's participation in the famed low-level attack against oil refineries at Ploesti
Tidal Wave (1943)
Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of the "oil campaign" to deny petroleum-based fuel to the Axis...

 on August 1, 1943. Returned to England in August and the squadron flew several missions against airfields 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...

 and Holland.

The squadron deployed again temporarily to Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

 during September and October 1943 with the group supporting Allied operations at Salerno and hit targets in Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

.

Resumed operations from RAF Hethel in October 1943 the squadron engaged in very long range strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

. Targets included industrial facilities; oil production facilities and refineries, rail and other transportation centers, enemy military airfields and garrisons. The squadron participated in the intensive air campaign against the German aircraft industry during Big Week
Big Week
Between February 20–25, 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign, the United States Strategic Air Forces launched Operation Argument, a series of missions against the Third Reich that became known as Big Week. The planners intended to lure the Luftwaffe into a decisive battle by...

, February 20–25, 1944.

Continued attacks on enemy targets until the German Capitulation in May 1945; returning to the United States later that month and reforming at Charleston Army Airfield, South Carolina. Unit personnel were demobilized throughout the summer of 1945. Inactivated on 13 September 1945.

Effective 15 September 1947, the squadron was activated at Fairfax Field, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas 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...

. Having been allotted to the organized reserves, with assignment to 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....

, Air Defense Command, it was redesigned as a very heavy bombardment unit on 25 August. In July 1948, the squadron was assigned to the Tenth Air Force
Tenth Air Force
The Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....

, which in December, became a part of the Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...

. The squadron was inactivated on 27 June 1949 due to budget restrictions.

Atlas-D ICBM era

Reactivated on 1 July 1958 as a 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...

 SM-65D Atlas
SM-65D Atlas
The SM-65D Atlas, or Atlas D, was the first operational version of the U.S. Atlas missile. It first flew on April 14, 1959. Atlas D missiles were also used for orbital launches, both with upper stages and on their own as a stage-and-a-half vehicle....

 ICBM launch squadron, stationed at FE Warren AFB, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming 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...

 and assigned to the 706th Strategic Missile Wing. The 706th SMW was the first United States Air Force ICBM wing to be activated, and the 564th Strategic Missile Squadron became the first missile unit constructed solely for operational purposes.

The 564th was programmed for the above-ground Atlas D ICBM launch and control facilities. Construction delays of the Atlas launch sites led to delays in its operational activation. With General Power (the Commander in Chief of SAC) present, the first Atlas D complex was turned over to the 564th SMS and declared operational on August 9, 1960.

The squadron was assigned six Atlas D missiles. Six launch pads were grouped together, controlled by two launch operations buildings, and clustered around a central guidance control facility. This was called the 3 x 2 configuration: two launch complexes of three missiles each constituted a squadron. The missiles were housed in a "coffin launcher" style complexes. The missile was kept in semi-hard facilities in which the missile was stored above ground horizontally above ground. In order to launch, a 400-ton overhead door was rolled back after which the "bird" was raised to a vertical position. Once upright, the rocket was fueled with RP-1 and Liquid Oxygen after which it would then be made ready for launch. (see below for site details).

Was reassigned to the 389th Strategic Missile Wing on 1 July 1961, replacing the 706th in a name-only re-designation. The Atlas missiles were retired and removed in the summer of 1964 in favor of the more advanced LGM-25C Titan II; squadron was inactivated on 1 September. Missile sites were later sold off to private ownership after demilitarization, although in current aerial imagery both the "A" and "B" sites are very much still intact.

Minuteman ICBM era

On Dec. 14, 1965, the 564th MS was reactivated in its current role as an ICBM squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. Equipped with the then-new Minuteman II missile, it earned its nickname as the "Deuce" squadron and was declared fully operational May 3, 1967.

As a result of the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review, the 341st Missile Wing deactivated the Minuteman III WS-133B missile system and subsequent inactivation of the 564th Missile Squadron.

"The Minuteman III has served the United States exceptionally during its deployment and will continue to do so," said Col. Sandra Finan, former commander, 341st MW.

Malmstrom AFB currently operates, maintains and secures two types of Minuteman III Rapid Execution and Combat Targeting (REACT) weapons systems; the REACT-A and REACT-B configurations. The wing will deactivate its Minuteman III REACT-B command and control systems, operated by the 564th Missile Squadron. The Minuteman III missiles removed during deactivation will return to the weapon system's flight test and operation programs, extending the system's viable service life.

"The men and women of the 564th Missile Squadron have a distinguished history serving our country and we are proud of the great work they have done to accomplish our strategic deterrence mission," Colonel Finan said.

The 341st Missile Wing will continue to operate, maintain and secure 150 Minuteman III ICBMs and 15 Launch Control Centers providing safe and secure strategic deterrence just like the other two missile wings at FE Warren AFB, Wyo., and Minot AFB, N.D.

The official inactivation ceremony was held on August 19, 2008.http://www.afspc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123111504

Lineage

  • Constituted 564th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 19 Dec 1942
Activated on 24 Dec 1942
Redesignated 564th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, on 4 Jan 1944
Inactivated on 13 Sep 1945
  • Redesignated 564th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy, on 28 Jan 1947
Activated in the Reserve on 27 Feb 1947
Inactivated on 27 Jun 1949
  • Redesignated 564th Strategic Missile Squadron (ICBM-Atlas) on 1 May 1958
Activated on 1 Jul 1958
Discontinued, and inactivated, on 1 Sep 1964
  • Redesignated 564th Strategic Missile Squadron, and activated, on 14 Dec 1965
Organized on 1 Apr 1966
Redesignated 564th Missile Squadron on 1 Sep 1991.
Inactivated on 19 Aug 2008

Assignments

  • 389th Bombardment Group, 24 Dec 1942-13 Sep 1945
  • 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....

    , 15 Sep 1947
  • Tenth Air Force
    Tenth Air Force
    The Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....

    , 1 Jul 1948-27 Jun 1949
  • 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....

    , 15 Aug 1959
  • 706th Strategic Missile Wing, 1 Dec 1958
  • 389th Strategic Missile Wing
    389th Strategic Missile Wing
    The 389th Strategic Missile Wing is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with the 13th Strategic Missile Division, being stationed at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. It was inactivated on 25 March 1965...

    , 1 Jul 1961-1 Sep 1964
  • 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...

    , 14 Dec 1965
  • 341st Strategic Missile Wing, 1 Apr 1966
  • 341st Operations Group, 1 Sep 1991-19 Aug 2008

Stations

  • Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona
    Arizona
    Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

    , 24 Dec 1942
  • Biggs Field, Texas
    Texas
    Texas 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 Feb 1943
  • Lowry Field, Colorado
    Colorado
    Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

    , 19 Apr-1 Jun 1943
  • RAF Hethel
    RAF Hethel
    RAF Hethel is a former World War II airfield used by the US during the Second World War in Norfolk, England situated located 7 miles south west of Norwich.-USAAF use:...

     (AAF-114), 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...

    , 16 Jun 1943-c. 28 May 1945
Operated from Soluch Airfield, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

, 3 Jul-25 Aug 1943
Operated from Massicault Airfield, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

, 19 Sep-3 Oct 1943

  • Charleston Army Airfield, South Carolina
    South Carolina
    South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

    , 12 Jun-13 Sep 1945
  • Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota
    South Dakota
    South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

    , 15 Sep 1947-27 Jun 1949
  • Fairfax Field, Kansas
    Kansas
    Kansas 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...

    , 15 Aug 1959
  • Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming
    Wyoming
    Wyoming 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...

    , 1 Dec 1958-1 Sep 1964
  • Malmstrom AFB, Montana
    Montana
    Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

    , 1 Apr 1966-19 Aug 2008


Aircraft and missiles

  • B-24 Liberator
    B-24 Liberator
    The 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...

    , 1942-1945
  • 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...

    , 1947-1949
  • SM-65D Atlas
    SM-65D Atlas
    The SM-65D Atlas, or Atlas D, was the first operational version of the U.S. Atlas missile. It first flew on April 14, 1959. Atlas D missiles were also used for orbital launches, both with upper stages and on their own as a stage-and-a-half vehicle....

     Missile, 1960-1964
Operated two missile sites (Site "A", Site "B") of three missiles at each site (6 total) (Sites are adjacent to each other) This was the nations first ICBM base outside Vandenberg AFB. Because the Atlas D was radio controlled above ground, the launchers had to be clustered close to the radio transmitters. Together the two sites were referred to as "Warren I":
564-A, 10.6 mi NW of Federal WY 41°22′44"N 104°58′25"W
564-B, 10.6 mi NW of Federal WY 41°22′43"N 104°58′07"W
  • LGM-30F Minuteman II, 1967-1975
  • LGM-30G Minuteman III, 1975-2008
Missile Alert Facilities (A-E flights, each controlling 10 missiles) are located as follows:
P-00 2.9 mi NE of Conrad MT, 48°12′18"N 111°54′31"W
Q-00 9.0 mi E of Ledger MT, 48°15′37"N 111°37′33"W
R-00 12.8 mi ExNE of Brady MT, 48°05′42"N 111°34′36"W
S-00 2.2 mi E of Brady MT, 48°02′14"N 111°47′30"W
T-00 4.0 mi SxSW of Valier MT, 48°15′09"N 112°16′32"W
564th Minuteman Missile Squadron Launch Facilities

Emblem description

Azure, between flaunches Or bearing fleures-de-lis of the first a "sky sword" Yellow charged on the grip with a spring of laurel Blue; all within a diminished bordure Celeste. Approved 15 Sep 1967 (K 11275), modified on 28 Feb 1995; replaced emblem approved on 9 Jul 1959 (10416 A.C.).

Decorations

  • Distinguished Unit Citation: Ploesti, Romania, 1 Aug 1943.
  • Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards: 1 Jul 1975–30 Jun 1976; 1 Jul 1976–30 Jun 1977; 1 Jul 1978–30 Jun 1980; 1 Jul 1980–30 Jun 1981; 1 Jul 1989–30 Jun 1991; 1 Sep 1991-31 Aug 1993.
  • 341st Operations Group Squadron of the Year 2005

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK