30th Tactical Missile Squadron

The squadron was first activated in 1943 as the 669th Bombardment Squadron (Light) at Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma,[2] one of the four original squadrons assigned to the 416th Bombardment Group.[4] The unit drew its initial cadre from the 51st Bombardment Squadron of the 46th Bombardment Group at Will Rogers, and its aircrews continued to fly with the 46th group until 11 May, when it received its first two planes.[1]

The 669th moved to Lake Charles Army Air Field in June, where it began its training mission as a North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber Operational Training Unit under Third Air Force.[2] The operational training program involved the use of an oversized unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups."[5] On 25 July, the unit began to transfer personnel to what would be the first group organized from is parent 416th group, the 418th Bombardment Group.[1]

In September 1943, the squadron's mission changed when it converted to Douglas A-20 Havoc light attack bombers and trained in attack and light bombardment tactics.[4] When the squadron mission changed, the 418th group it had recently helped spin off was disbanded and the personnel returned to the 416th group.[1] The squadron suffered three accidents during training at Lake Charles, all during the month of October. Two of the crews were lost when one plane disappeared into the Gulf of Mexico and another suffered a mid-air collision with a plane of the 671st Bombardment Squadron.[1]

A-26 Invaders of the 669th Bomb Squadron, 1945

The squadron departed its final training base at Laurel Army Air Field on New Year's Day of 1944 for the overseas staging area of Camp Shanks, New York, arriving two days later. The squadron remained at the New York Port of Embarkation until 18 January, when it sailed for the European Theater of Operations,[1] where it became part of Ninth Air Force in England.[4] It arrived at its station, RAF Wethersfield, on 2 February,[2] and its first A-20G airplane arrived eight days later.[1] The squadron was assigned the fuselage code 2A and, along with the rest of the group adopted a white diagonal stripe along the trailing edge of its aircraft's tails.[3]

The 669th engaged in diversionary attacks over the English Channel the first two days of March, and on the third flew its first attack on the continent against the airfield at Poix, France.[1] From England, the squadron engaged in tactical bombardment of enemy targets mainly in coastal areas of France and the Low Countries.[4] It attacked V-1 flying bomb sites in France. It flew a number of missions against airfields[lower-alpha 2] and coastal defenses to help prepare for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. During April, it flew a mission supporting Martin B-26 Marauders in which it dropped window to confuse enemy air defenses over the target area.[1] The 669th supported Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 by striking road junctions, marshalling yards, bridges, and railway overpasses.[4] It assisted ground forces at Caen and St Lo in July and at Brest later in the summer by hitting transportation facilities, supply dumps, radar installations, and other targets.[4]

In spite of intense resistance, which shot down two of the squadron aircraft in the first attacking formation, the unit bombed a railroad junction at Frevent,[1] bridges, rolling stock, and a radar station to disrupt the enemy's retreat through the Falaise gap in August, and was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for this action. The squadron assisted in Operation Market Garden, the airborne attack on the Netherlands, in September. It then supported the assault on the Siegfried Line by pounding transportation, warehouses, supply dumps, and defended villages in Germany.[4] By the following month, it became apparent that the advance of Allied forces on the continent made it operationally necessary for light bomber units like the 669th to be located east of Paris to support ground forces. Accordingly, the squadron moved to an advanced landing ground at a former Luftwaffe base, Melun/Villaroche Airfield, about 115 miles behind the front. It flew its first mission from the new base on 27 September.[1]

The squadron converted to Douglas A-26 Invader aircraft in November 1944, receiving its first four A-26s on the last day of September. Thirty-five days later, on 5 November, the squadron had completed its conversion to the faster Invader and was ready to fly missions with it. The 416th group was the first in the Army Air Forces to fly combat missions with the Invader, making its first attack on 16 November against Hagenau.[1] Using its new aircraft, it attacked transportation facilities, strong points, communications centers, and troop concentrations during the Battle of the Bulge, from December 1944 to January 1945.[4] The 669th aided the Allied thrust into Germany by continuing its strikes against transportation, communications, airfields, storage depots, and other objectives from February through May 1945. It bombed flak positions in support of Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine, in March 1945.[4]

The squadron flew its last combat mission on 3 May 1945[1] and ended combat with the surrender of Germany. Although personnel began to rotate back to the United States, the squadron maintained a training schedule in anticipation of being redeployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations. At the end of July the air echelon departed and the ground echelon of the squadron moved to Camp Chicago, about fifteen miles from the base at Laon/Athies Airfield in what was intended as preparation for a move to the Pacific.[1]

After the Japanese surrender, the squadron endured a series of delays in shipment, finally returning to the US where it was inactivated at the port of embarkation in September.[4]

A TM-61 Matador on its launcher near Hahn Air Base

The squadron was established for the second time as the 69th Pilotless Bomber Squadron, a TM-61A Matador tactical surface-to-surface missile squadron in early 1952. It was the second squadron intended for eventual tactical deployment, and trained at Patrick Air Force Base under the supervision of the 6555th Guided Missiles Squadron, which was assigned to the 6555th Guided Missile Wing[6] of Air Research and Development Command.[7] Its TM-61 Matadors were designed to carry a nuclear warhead and after being rocket launched used a conventional jet engine to reach their targets.[8] Training under the 6555th included individual training, followed by team training, where the individuals were joined and trained as crews. The final phase of training was conducted by the unit itself. Because of a shortage in training equipment and the earlier activation of the 1st Pilotless Bomber Squadron, the squadron's training was delayed until June. By the end of the year, the squadron was considered "basically trained." However, lack of systems equipment and training launch delays caused by problems with the Matador's performance delayed the squadron's planned deployment.[9]

The squadron then moved to Orlando Air Force Base, Florida and Tactical Air Command to prepare for operational deployment. However, the 6555th continued to provide administrative and logistical support to the 69th. Just before transfer the unit had made its first three training launches. By the end of June it had launched thirty missiles at night, day, in adverse weather, and as part of multiple missile launches and its training was considered complete.[10]

The squadron deployed to United States Air Forces in Europe and was assigned to Hahn Air Base[11] in West Germany as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's defense of western Europe. It became operational in October 1954. While at Hahn, it was redesignated as the 69th Tactical Missile Squadron.[12] The squadron kept its missiles on alert from dispersed missile sites near Hahn until June 1958 when the squadron was inactivated and replaced at Hahn by the 405th Tactical Missile Squadron, which took over its personnel, equipment, and mission when the 701st Tactical Missile Wing and its component groups were inactivated and replaced by the 38th Tactical Missile Wing.

Dispersed Matador missile sites at Hahn Air Base

Hecken Missile Site[11]

Koeterberg Missile Site(Site V "Pot Fuse") – 7.0 miles (11.3 km) ESE of Hahn AB 49°54′48″N 007°24′46″E[11][lower-alpha 3]

Langenbrand Missile Site[11]

Ludwigsturm Missile Site[11]

Marsburg Missile Site[11]

Wuescheim Missile Site(Site VI "Heroin") – 9.7 miles (15.6 km) NE of Hahn AB 50°02′37″N 007°25′32″E[11][lower-alpha 4]

Zell Missile Site (later Idarkopf Missile Site)[11]

The third predecessor of the squadron activated on 1 June 1959 at Dow Air Force Base, Maine as the 30th Air Defense Missile Squadron[13] and stood alert during the Cold War with nuclear armed IM-99A (later CIM-10) BOMARC surface to air antiaircraft missiles. The Dow BOMARC site was the fourth of fourteen BOMARC sites to be constructed.[14] The squadron was tied into a Semi-Automatic Ground Environment direction center operated by Bangor Air Defense Sector which used analog computers to process information from ground radars, picket ships and airborne warning aircraft[15] to process tracking data at the direction center to quickly direct the missile site to engage hostile aircraft.[16] The squadron never upgraded to the "B" model of the BOMARC,[14] but was inactivated on 15 December 1964. The BOMARC missile site was located 4 miles (6.4 km) north-northeast of Dow AFB at 44°51′11″N 068°47′11″W.[14] Although the missile site was geographically separated from the main base, it was administratively part of Dow AFB. The site still has its BOMARC missile shelters intact, which are being reused as an industrial park and are home to several small businesses.[14]

The three squadrons were consolidated as the 30th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985, while remaining inactive.[17]

• 416th Bombardment Group, 5 February 1943 – 11 October 1945
• 6555th Guided Missiles Wing (later 6555th Guided Missile Wing, 6555th Guided Missile Group), 10 January 1952
• Tactical Air Command, 15 January 1954
• Twelfth Air Force, 30 September 1954 (attached to 50th Fighter-Bomber Wing 14 March 1955 – 15 April 1956,[12] 7382d Guided Missile Group (later 7382d Tactical Missile Group), 15 April 1956 – 15 September 1956)
• 586th Tactical Missile Group, 15 September 1956[18] – 18 June 1958[19]
• Bangor Air Defense Sector, 1 June 1959 – 15 December 1964[13]

 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.
• Cleary, Mark C. (1991). The 6555th: Missile and Space Launches Through 1970 (PDF). Patrick Air Force Base, FL: 45th Space Wing History Office. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
• Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
• Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. LCCN 48-3657.
• Fletcher, Harry R (1993). Air Force Bases , Vol. II, Air Bases Outside the United States of America (PDF). Washington, DC: Center for Air Force History. pp. 31–35. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
• 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 17 September 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
• 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.
• Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
• Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors. Vol. III Insignia and Markings of the Ninth Air Force in World War II. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-2938-8.
• Winkler, David F.; Webster, Julie L (1997). Searching the skies: The legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program (PDF). Champaign, IL: US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. p. 39. LCCN 97020912. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2013.
• AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits Archived 4 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC, 15 June 1971