334th Bombardment Squadron

The squadron was constituted in early 1942 as the 334th Bombardment Squadron before activating at Barksdale Field, Louisiana in June as one of the four original squadrons of the 95th Bombardment Group.[1][4] The squadron began training in August at Geiger Field, Washington,[3] where it was equipped with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. The unit trained for combat operations until moving overseas starting in March.[4]

The air echelon processed at Kearney Army Air Field, Nebraska and flew its Forts via the southern route, flying to Florida, Trinidad, the northern coast of Brazil, Dakar, Senegal, and Marrakesh, Morocco to RAF Alconbury in the United Kingdom. The ground echelon moved to Camp Kilmer, then sailed on the RMS Queen Elizabeth to Scotland, arriving in May. The squadron then reunited at RAF Framlingham.[3]

95th Bombardment Group B-17 over Germany showing Square B tail marking

The squadron arrived in England equipped with late model B-17F aircraft equipped with "Tokyo Tanks", additional fuel cells located outboard in the wings that gave this model additional range.[5] It flew its first combat mission on 13 May 1943 against an airfield near Saint-Omer, France. For the next two months the squadron focused on attacking airfields and V-1 flying bomb launch sites in France.[4]

Eighth Air Force's early experience with its Martin B-26 Marauders convinced it that the Marauders were stationed too far from the continent of Europe to reach a selection of targets.[6] It determined to move them closer to the target areas, and an exchange of bases began. The entire 95th group moved to RAF Horham in June, where they replaced the 323d Bombardment Group, which departed the previous day.[4][7] A few days later their place at Framlingham was taken by the newly arrived 390th Bombardment Group.[4][8]

The 334th began strategic bombing operations in July and continued until flying its last operation on 20 April 1945. Its targets included harbors, marshalling yards and other industrial targets along with attacks on cities. The squadron received its first Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) during an attack on an aircraft factory at Regensburg, Germany on 17 August 1943 when it maintained its defensive formation despite severe attacks by enemy interceptor aircraft.[4]

B-17 "The Thomper" (BG-X) of the squadron under attack[a 2]

On 10 October, during an attack on marshalling yards at Münster, Germany, the squadron was subjected to concentrated fighter attacks on the approach to the target and intense flak over the objective.[4] Despite these obstacles, the formation's bombs were clustered close to the target.[9] It was awarded a second DUC for withstanding these attacks to bomb its objective. From 20 to 25 February 1944 the squadron participated in the Big Week offensive against the German aircraft manufacturing industry. A few days later, on 4 March, the squadron attacked Berlin despite adverse weather that led other units to either abandon the operation or attack secondary targets. Despite snowstorms and heavy cloud cover, the unit struck its target while under attack from enemy fighters,[4] although the cloud cover required the group to rely on a pathfinder from the 482d Bombardment Group to determine the release point.[10] It received its third DUC for this operation.[4] This mission was the first time any unit from Eighth Air Force had bombed Berlin.[3]

95th Bomb Group Boeing B-17Gs in combat formation

The squadron was diverted to bombing priority tactical targets during the preparation for and execution of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, attacking communications and coastal defenses. It hit enemy troop concentrations to facilitate the Allied breakout at Saint-Lô. The 334th attacked enemy troop concentrations during the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 to January 1945 and bombed airfields to support Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine in March.[4]

One of the unit's more unusual missions was flown on 18 September 1944, when the 95th group led the 13th Combat Bombardment Wing[11] to Warsaw to drop ammunition, food and medical supplies to Polish resistance forces fighting against German occupation forces,[4] landing at bases in the Soviet Union. The squadron had previously participated in shuttle missions to the Soviet Union.[12]

The unit flew its last mission on 20 April 1945, when it attacked marshalling yards near Oranienburg. In the first week of May, it airdropped food to Dutch citizens in Operation Chow Hound. From V-E Day until departing the theater in June, it transported liberated prisoners of war and displaced persons.[4][13] The air echelon flew their planes back to Bradley Field, Connecticut, while the ground echelon sailed once more on the Queen Elizabeth.[3] The squadron was reunited at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, where it was inactivated on 28 August 1945.[4]

The 334th Bombardment Squadron was reactivated as a reserve unit under Air Defense Command (ADC) at Memphis Municipal Airport, Tennessee in May 1947 as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit. At Memphis its training was supervised by the 468th AAF Base Unit (later the 2584th Air Force Reserve Training Center).[14] It is not clear whether or not the squadron was fully staffed or equipped. In 1948 Continental Air Command assumed responsibility for managing reserve units from ADC.[15] The 334th was inactivated when Continental Air Command reorganized its reserve units under the wing base organization system in June 1949.[4] The squadron's personnel and equipment were transferred to elements of the 516th Troop Carrier Wing.[14]

Former 95th Bomb Wing Convair B-36J Peacemaker at the Pima Air Museum

The squadron activated on 16 June 1952 at Biggs Air Force Base, Texas. However it was minimally manned until September 1953, when it began strategic bombardment training with Convair B-36 Peacemakers.[16] It operated in support of Strategic Air Command (SAC)'s global commitments beginning in April 1954. The squadron deployed with the entire 95th Bombardment Wing to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam from July to November 1955.[16]

From 1959 to 1960, the 95th wing phased out its B-36 and received Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses to replace them. In the late 1950s, SAC established strategic wings to disperse its B-52s over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.[17] As part of this program, 334th's sister squadrons, the 335th and 336th moved to Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas and Turner Air Force Base, Georgia.[18][19]

Starting in 1960, one third of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minute alert, fully fueled, armed and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962.[20] The 334th continued to maintain an alert commitment until shortly before its inactivation on 25 June 1966 with the transfer of Biggs to the Army.[1][16] Its commitment included periodic airborne alert as part of Operation Chrome Dome.[21]

On 7 April 1961, one of the squadron's B-52Bs was participating in an air intercept training mission with a pair of North American F-100 Super Sabres from the 188th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the New Mexico Air National Guard. For the exercise the fighters were armed with GAR-8 Sidewinder missiles, which were wired so that only the heat seeking head of the missile was operational. On the sixth pass by the fighters on the bomber, a Sidewinder launched and struck one of the engine pods on the bomber's left wing. Four on board the B-52 escaped by parachute, but three crewmembers died in the crash. The misfire was blamed on moisture in the connection of the missile to the F-100.[22]

• 95th Bombardment Group, 15 June 1942 – 28 August 1945
• 95th Bombardment Group, 29 May 1947 – 27 June 1949
• 95th Bombardment Wing, 16 June 1952 – 25 June 1966[1]

• Barksdale Field, Louisiana, 15 June 1942
• Pendleton Field, Oregon, 26 June 1942
• Geiger Field, Washington, 28 August 1942
• Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington, 31 October 1942
• Geiger Field, Washington, 24 November 1942
• Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, 17 December 1942 – 11 March 1943
• RAF Framlingham (AAF-153),[23] England, May 1943
• RAF Horham (AAF-119),[23] England, 15 June 1943 – 19 June 1945
• Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, c. 14 August 1945 – 28 August 1945
• Memphis Municipal Airport, Tennessee, 29 May 1947 – 27 June 1949
• Biggs Air Force Base, Texas, 16 June 1952 – 25 June 1966[1]

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1945
• Convair B-36 Peacemaker, 1953–1959
• Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, 1959–1966[1]

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
• Freeman, Roger A. (1970). The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London, England: 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.
• 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). A Guide to Air Force Lineage and Honors (2d, Revised ed.). Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Historical Research Center.
• 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. pp. 42–43. ISBN 978-0-7643-1987-7.

Further reading

• Andrews, Paul M. (1990). Operational Record of the 95th Bomb Group World War II. Bellevue, WA: 95th Bomb Group (H) Association.
• Cantwell, Gerald T. (1997). Citizen Airmen: a History of the Air Force Reserve, 1946–1994. Washington, D.C.: Air Force History and Museums Program. ISBN 0-16049-269-6.
• Dwyer, John P., ed. (1945). The 95th Bombardment Group H, United States Army Air Forces. Cincinnati, OH: A.H. Pugh Printing Co.
• Hawkins, Dan (1990). B-17s Over Berlin: Personal Stories from the 95th Bomb Group (H). Washington, DC: Brassey's (U.S.).
• Hawkins, Dan (1987). Courage, Honor, Victory: A First Person History of the 95th Bomb Group (H). Bellevue, WA: 95th Bomb Group (H) Association.
• Yenne, Bill (2012). B-52 Stratofortress: The complete history of history's longest serving and best known bomber. Minneapolis, MN: Zenith Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-4302-9.