24th Tactical Missile Squadron
CIM-10 Bomarc missile battery nearMcGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey in 1960
Active	1941-1943, 1957-1958, 1960-1972
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Bombardment,antisubmarine,cruise missile, surface-to-air missile
Size	squadron
Motto	Say When (1960-1972)
Engagements	European Theater of Operations
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
Patch with 74th Air Defense Missile Squadron emblem
24th Tactical Missile Squadron emblem[a]
40th Bombardment Squadron emblem[b][1]

The24th Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last active as the74th Air Defense Missile Squadron assigned to the23d Air Division ofAerospace Defense Command, stationed nearDuluth Municipal Airport, Minnesota, where it was inactivated in 1972. Thesquadron's earliest predecessor was active early inWorld War II as an antisubmarine unit in the Caribbean and Europe until its mission was transferred to theUnited States Navy. During theCold War it was a training unit for Matador cruise missiles. Its most recently active predecessor was an air defense missile squadron in the northern United States from 1960 to 1972.

The squadron was first activated as the40th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) in early 1941 as one of the four squadrons of the13th Bombardment Group, an element ofFirst Air Force,^[2] equipped withB-18 Bolos atLangley Field, Virginia.^[1]

After the United States enteredWorld War II thegroup was ordered to search for GermanU-boats and to fly aerial coverage of friendly convoys off the northeast Atlantic,^[2] protecting theBoston andNew York Cityshipping lanes.^{[citation needed]} The squadron deployed toGuantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba and was attached to theCaribbean Sea Frontier of theUnited States Navy to patrol northernCaribbean waters, then to airfields in Jamaica, Trinidad and Surinam during 1942, flying antisubmarine missions.^[1]

The squadron was redesignated as the4th Antisubmarine Squadron and was assigned to the25th Antisubmarine Wing of theArmy Air Forces Antisubmarine Command in November 1942, when the 13th Group was inactivated^[2] and returned toMitchel Field, New York before being reassigned toRCAF Station Gander,Newfoundland,^[1] flying antisubmarine patrols over theGrand Banks of Newfoundland andNorth Atlanticshipping lanes performing convoy escort patrols.^{[citation needed]}

The squadron moved to southwestern England in June 1943 and was reassigned to479th Antisubmarine Group in July.^[1] It flew killer hunts against GermanU-boats in theBay of Biscay^[3] off the western coast of France fromBrest south to the Spanish border. Along this part of the occupied French coast were majorKriegsmarine U-boat bases at Brest,Lorient,Saint-Nazaire,La Rochelle (La Pallice) andBordeaux.^{[citation needed]} The squadron's air echelon inactivated in late October 1943 with its aircraft being reassigned to theUnited States Navy^{[citation needed]} after the inactivation of AAF Antisubmarine Command. Squadron personnel were reassigned toEighth Air Force units as replacement personnel.^{[citation needed]}

The squadron was activated for a second time on 15 March 1957 as the24th Tactical Missile Squadron and assigned toNinth Air Force's 589th Tactical Missile Group (TMG). It trained for operation ofTM-61 Matador tacticalcruise missiles at Orlando AFB. When the 17th Tactical Missile Squadron deployed to Taiwan in April 1958, the 24th was transferred to the 588th TMG. It engaged in crew training with the 589th but never received any missiles or deployment orders before inactivating.

The 24th and 588th TMG were programmed to deploy to South Korea during the fall of 1958, but instead, the unit was inactivated on 15 July 1958. The personnel and equipment of the 588th were reassigned to the newly formed58th Tactical Missile Group^[4] atOsan AB, South Korea, while the310th Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Osan gave up itsF-86 Sabres and became the 310th Tactical Missile Squadron,^[5] becoming a Matador squadron and absorbing the personnel of the 588th TMGen masse.

The squadron was activated for the third time on 1 April 1960 as the74th Air Defense Missile Squadron atDuluth Municipal Airport.^[6] It stood alert during theCold War, starting in August 1961^[7] with IM-99A (laterCIM-10) BOMARCsurface to airantiaircraft missiles. In August 1961, the squadron upgraded to the IM-99B.^[7] The squadron was tied into aSemi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) direction center which could use analog computers to process information from ground radars, picket ships and airborne aircraft^[8] to accelerate the display of tracking data at the direction center to quickly direct the missile site to engage hostile aircraft.^[9] It became nonoperational on 1 April 1972,^[7] and was inactivated on 30 April 1972.^[6]

The BOMARC missile site was located 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Duluth MAP at46°55′56″N091°53′00″W / 46.93222°N 91.88333°W /46.93222; -91.88333 (74th ADMS). Although geographically separated from the base, it was an off base facility of Duluth MAP and the squadron received administrative and logistical support from the military facilities at Duluth Airport.

The 40th Bombardment Squadron and the 74th Air Defense Missile Squadron were consolidated with the 24th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985, while remaining in inactive status.^[10]

4th Antisubmarine Squadron

• Constituted as the40th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 20 November 1940^[1]

Activated on 15 January 1941^[1]

• Redesignated as the4th Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy) on 29 November 1942^[1]

Disbanded on 11 November 1943^[1]

• Consolidated with the 24th Tactical Missile Squadron and the 74th Air Defense Missile Squadron as the24th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985

74th Air Defense Missile Squadron

• Constituted as the74th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) on 17 December 1959

Activated on 1 April 1960^[6]

Inactivated on 30 April 1972^[6]

• Consolidated with the 40th Bombardment Squadron and the 24th Tactical Missile Squadron as the24th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985

24th Tactical Missile Squadron

• Constituted as the24th Tactical Missile Squadron on 9 November 1956
• Activated on 15 March 1957
• Inactivated on 15 July 1958
• Consolidated with the 40th Bombardment Squadron and the 74th Air Defense Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985

• 13th Bombardment Group, 15 January 1941 (air echelon attached to US Navy Caribbean Sea Frontier, 30 August 1942 - 9 October 1942 and 16 October 1942 - 15 November 1942 and to99th Bombardment Squadron 9 October 1942 – 16 October 1942)^[1]
• 25th Antisubmarine Wing, 30 November 1942^[1]
• Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, 8 June 1943^[1]
• 479th Antisubmarine Group, 8 July 1943 - 11 November 1943^[1]
• 589th Tactical Missile Group, 15 March 1957
• 588th Tactical Missile Group, April 1958 - 15 July 1958
• Duluth Air Defense Sector, 1 April 1960^[6]
• 29th Air Division, 1 April 1966^[6]
• 23d Air Division, 19 November 1969 - 30 April 1972^[6]

• Langley Field, Virginia, 15 January 1941
• Orlando Army Air Base, Florida, 7 June 1941^[1]
• Westover Field, Massachusetts, 22 January 1942^[1]
• Langley Field, Virginia, 16 June 1942 -ca. 6 June 1942^[1]
• Mitchel Field, New York, 3 August 1942 (part of air echelon operated from Guantanamo, Cuba 30 August 1942,Vernam Field, Jamaica, 14 September 1942,Edinburgh Field, Trinidad, 6 October 1942,Zanderij Field, Surinam, 9 October 1942. Edinburgh Field, Trinidad, 16 October 1942 – 15 November 1942)^[1]
• Gander Airport, Newfoundland,ca. 8 June 1942 -23 June 1943^[1]
• RAF St Eval, England, 30 June 1943^[1]
• RAF Dunkeswell, England, 6 August 1943^[1]
• RAF Podington, England, November 1943 - 11 November 1943^[1]
• Orlando Air Force Base, Florida, 15 March 1957 – 15 July 1958
• Duluth Municipal Airport, 1 April 1960 – 30 April 1972

Award streamer	Award	Dates	Notes
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 January 1968-31 May 1969	74th Air Defense Missile Squadron[11]

Campaign Streamer	Campaign	Dates	Notes
	Antisubmarine, American Theater	7 December 1941 – 30 June 1943	40th Bombardment Squadron (later 4th Antisubmarine Squadron)[1]
	Antisubmarine,EAME (European Theater)	30 June 1943 – 11 November 1943	4th Antisubmarine Squadron[1]
	Air Offensive,EAME (European Theater)	30 June 1943 – 11 November 1943	4th Antisubmarine Squadron[1]

• B-18 Bolo, 1941–1943 American Theater
• B-24 Liberator, 1943 European Theater (ETO / EAME)
• TM-61 Matador (authorized, but not equipped)
• IM-99A (later CIM-10) BOMARC, 1960-1972

• List of United States Air Force missile squadrons

Explanatory notes

Citations

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• 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. p. 150. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved7 July 2012.
• 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. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 15 January 2021.
• 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. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• 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.

Further Reading

• Mindling, George; Bolton, Robert (2009).U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles, 1949-1969 The Pioneers. George Mindling & Robert Bolton.ISBN 978-0-557-00029-6.

• Missile squadrons of the United States Air Force
• Military units and formations established in 1941
• 1941 establishments in Virginia

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