364th Bombardment Squadron
The 364th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 305th Bombardment Wing at Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana.
| 364th Bombardment Squadron | |
|---|---|
 B-58A Hustler, last type flown by the squadron[note 1] | |
| Active | 1942–1946; 1947–1948; 1951–1970 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | medium bomber |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations[1] |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[1] |
| Insignia | |
| 364th Bombardment Squadron emblem[note 2][1] |  |
History
World War II
The squadron was established in June 1942 as a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombardment unit; it trained as part of the Second Air Force. It was deployed to the European Theater of Operations in September 1942, being assigned to VIII Bomber Command in England. The unit began flying long-range strategic bombardment missions on 17 November 1942 and attacked such targets as submarine pens, docks, harbors, shipyards, motor works and marshalling yards in France, Germany and the Low Countries. The squadron continued its attacks on enemy cities, manufacturing centers, transportation links and other targets until the German Capitulation in May 1945.
After combat missions ended, it moved to Sint-Truiden Airfield 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 the squadron moved to AAF Station Lechfeld, Germany which it had bombed on 18 March 1944 and now used as an occupation base.
The 364th Bomb Squadron was inactivated on December 1946 in Germany.
Strategic Air Command
Reactivated under Strategic Air Command (SAC) in 1951 with Boeing B-47A Stratojet (later B-47B) medium jet bombers, 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, with B-47s, moved to Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana in May 1959.[1]
B-58 operations
The squadron began training crews on the Convair B-58 Hustler in 1961, replacing its Stratojets. The squadron also was equipped with training models of the Hustler.[1]
At the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, Only six B-58s in the entire SAC inventory were on alert. Even these aircraft were "second cycle" (follow on) sorties. Training was suspended, and the squadron, along with SAC's other B-58 squadrons, began placing its bombers on alert. By the first week of November, 84 B-58s were standing nuclear alert, and as SAC redeployed its Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers, 20 of these were "first cycle" sorties.[note 4] Within a short time, this grew to 41 bombers. By 20 November, SAC resumed its normal alert posture, and half the squadron's aircraft were kept on alert.[2][3]
In December 1965, Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense announced a phaseout program that would further reduce SAC’s bomber force. This program called for the mid-1971 retirement of all B-58s and some Boeing B-52 Stratofortress models.[4] With the removal of the B-58 from SAC's bomber force, the squadron was inactivated at the end of January 1970.
Lineage
- Constituted as the 364th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 June 1942
- Activated on 1 March 1942
- Redesignated 364th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 20 August 1943
- Inactivated on 29 June 1946
- Redesignated 364th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 11 June 1947
- Activated on 1 July 1947
- Inactivated on 6 September 1948
- Redesignated 364th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 20 December 1950
Assignments
- 305th Bombardment Group, 1 March 1942 – 29 June 1946
- 305th Bombardment Group, 1 July 1947 – 6 September 1948
- 305th Bombardment Group, 2 January 1951 (attached to 305th Bombardment Wing after 14 February 1951)
- 305th Bombardment Wing, 16 June 1952 – 1 January 1970[5]
Stations
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Aircraft
- Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1946
- Douglas B-18 Bolo, 1942
- Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1942
- Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1951
- Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1952–1960
- Convair B-58 Hustler, 1960–1970[5]
References
Notes
- Explanatory notes
- Aircraft is Convair TB-58A-CF Hustler, serial 55-662. Originally a YB-58A, converted to TB-58A and used as chase plane at Edwards AFB for the XB-70 project; then assigned to the 305th Bombardment Wing and set record by flying 256 sorties without a late or missed takeoff. Sent to Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center on 17 January 1970 and scrapped on 21 July 1977. Brewer, Alex P.; Brewer, Randy A. "B-58.com, The B-58 Hustler Page: Inventory". B-58.com. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- Approved 18 October 1944. Description: On a yellow disc, wide border blue, a caricatured black wolf's head with white teeth, red tongue, and red mark in eft ear in front of a large red, jagged lightning flash bendwise, striking to sinister base, and having two small red flashes converging chevronwise inverted at the point of impact.
- Aircraft is Boeing B-17F-70-BO Flying Fortress, "Lady Liberty", serial 42-29807. Originally assigned to the 334th Bombardment Squadron and named "Patsy Ann III"
- The availability of KC-135s to refuel the B-58s was the main factor in relegating them to the second cycle of the war plan. KC-135s were primarily dedicated to refueling B-52s. See Kipp et al. p. 30 and following for SAC bomber actions during the Cuban Crisis.
- Despite the similar name, this squadron is not related to the Bombardment Squadron, Provisional, 364th, which was designated and organized at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam on 1 June 1972 and assigned to the Strategic Wing, Provisional, 72d and moved to U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand on 1 July, where it was attached to the 307th Strategic Wing. This unit served to manage Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crews on temporary duty at U Tapao, flying Operation Arc Light combat missions over Indochina until 15 August 1973 when combat missions ended. It continued training operations until stand down 30 June 1974, when it was discontinued.
- Citations
- Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 450-451
- Kipp et al. , pp. 57-58, 61
- "Abstract (Unclassified), History of the Strategic Bomber since 1945 (Top Secret, downgraded to Secret)". Air Force History Index. 1 April 1975. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- Knaack, p. 248 n.41
- Lineage information, including assignments and aircraft, through March 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 450-451.
- Station umber in Anderson.
- Station number in Johnson.
- Station information through March 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 450-451, except as noted.
Bibliography
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 23 January 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988). U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- Kipp, Robert; Peake, Lynn; Wolk, Herman. "Strategic Air Command Operations in the Cuban Crisis of 1962, SAC Historical Study No. 90 (Top Secret NOFORN, FRD, redacted and declassified)". Strategic Air Command. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- Knaack, Marcelle Size (1988). Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems. Vol. 2, Post-World War II Bombers 1945-1973. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-59-5.
- 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.
