| 509th Missile Squadron | |
|---|---|
 Minuteman missile in its silo | |
| Active | 1942–1945; 1947–1949; 1962–1995 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Intercontinental ballistic missile |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| 509th Missile Squadron emblem[a] |  |
| 509th Bombardment Squadron emblem[b][1] |  |
| World War II fuselage code[2] | RQ |
The509th Missile Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the351st Operations Group atWhiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. Thesquadron was equipped with theLGM-30F Minuteman IIIntercontinental ballistic missile with a mission of nuclear deterrence. With the end of theCold War, the 509th was inactivated on 28 July 1995.
The squadron was first activated duringWorld War II as the509th Bombardment Squadron, aBoeing B-17 Flying Fortressheavy bomber unit. After training in the United States, it deployed to theEuropean Theater of Operations, where it participated in thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany. It earned twoDistinguished Unit Citations for its combat actions. FollowingV-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was inactivated in August 1945.
From 1947 to 1949, the squadron was active as areserve unit, but does not appear to have been fully manned or equipped. It remained inactive until 1963, when it was activated at Whiteman as the509th Strategic Missile Squadron.
Thesquadron was first activated as the509th Bombardment Squadron atSalt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah on 1 October 1942 as one of the four original squadrons of the351st Bombardment Group. Itscadre moved the same day toGowen Field, Idaho, where it could begin manning as aheavy bomber unit. The squadron moved toGeiger Field, Washington in November and began training for combat with theBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress.[1][3] The squadron completed its training in April 1943 and departed for theEuropean Theater of Operations.[1][4] The air echelon began ferrying its B-17s about 1 April, while the ground echelon left for the New York Port of Embarkation on 12 April.[3]
The ground and air echelons had arrived at the unit's combat station,RAF Polebrook, England by 12 May 1943, and the squadron flew its first mission on 14 May. The squadron primarily flewstrategic bombing missions against Germany. It struck targets includingball bearing factories at Schweinfurt; bridges nearKöln; oil refineries atHamburg; communications targets nearMayen;marshalling yards atKoblenz and industrial targets atBerlin,Hannover, andMannheim. Other targets in France Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway includedairfields, harbor installations, andsubmarine pens.[4] From June 1943 until January 1944 the squadron flew 54 consecutive missions without suffering a combat loss, longest of anyEighth Air Force bomber squadron.[3]
On 9 October 1943, the squadron attacked theArado Flugzeugwerke aircraft factoryAnklam, Germany. Despite heavyflak and attacks by enemyfighters, accurate bombing inflicted heavy damage on the target. The squadron was awarded its firstDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for this action. On 11 January 1944, asOperation Pointblank continued, it attacked the heavily defendedFocke-Wulf Fw 190 production facility atOschersleben, without fighter escort and in the face of the strongest fighter opposition encountered for five months, for which it earned a second DUC. It continued attacks on German aircraft production duringBig Week, the concentrated attack byVIII Bomber Command against the German aircraft industry in late February.[4][5]
The squadron was occasionally withdrawn from strategic missions to provideair support andinterdiction. In the buildup toOperation Overlord, the invasion at Normandy, the squadron participated inOperation Crossbow, attackingV-1 flying bomb andV-2 rocket launch sites. In June 1944, it provided support for the landings, and the following month supportedOperation Cobra, the breakout atSaint Lo. In September, it supportedOperation Market Garden, an unsuccessful airborne attack attempting to obtain a bridgehead across theRhine atArnhem. From December 1944 through January 1945, it attacked front line positions during theBattle of the Bulge. In March 1945, it flew missions to supportOperation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine in Germany.[4]
FollowingV-E Day, the squadron left England, with the first plane being flown back by its crew departing on 21 May 1945. The ground echelon sailed on theRMS Queen Elizabeth in June 1945. It briefly assembled atSioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, and was inactivated there on 28 August 1945.[1][3]
The squadron was activated again in April 1947 in thereserves and trained atWold Chamberlain Field under the supervision ofAir Defense Command (ADC)'s 137th AAF Base Unit (later the 2465th Air Force Reserve Training Center), although its headquarters, the 351st Bombardment Group, was stationed atScott Field.[6][4] The following yearContinental Air Command assumed responsibility for managing reserve units from ADC,[7] and the squadron was reassigned to the381st Bombardment Group atOffutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.[1][8]
Although nominally a very heavy bomber unit, it is not clear whether or not the squadron was fully staffed or equipped.[9] PresidentTruman's reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force,[10] and the 509th was inactivated[1] and most of its personnel transferred to elements of the440th Troop Carrier Wing at Wold Chamberlain.[11]
The squadron was redesignated the509th Strategic Missile Squadron in 1962[1] and organized atWhiteman Air Force Base, Missouri in June 1963 as aStrategic Air Command (SAC)intercontinental ballistic missile squadron, assigned to the 351st Strategic Missile Wing. Thewing's firstLGM-30B Minuteman I, however did not arrive for emplacement in its silo until 14 January 1964. The squadron became combat ready on 10 June 1964,[12] and began standingalert with a complement of 50 missiles.
Missile Alert Facilities (F-J flights, each controlling 10 missiles) were located as follows:[13]
Beginning in May 1966, the squadron began an upgrade to LGM-30F Minuteman II missiles. The conversion to the newer model of the Minuteman was completed in October 1967.[12] The new missile had greater range and accuracy, along with the ability to employ penetration aids to reduce the effectiveness ofanti-ballistic missile defenses and also had more resistance to nuclear blasts.[14]
In September 1991, the squadron was renamed the509th Missile Squadron as the Air Force removed the distinction between "tactical" and "strategic" in unit names prior to the combination of SAC andTactical Air Command into a singleAir Combat Command. In the 1990s, PresidentBush decided to stand down Minuteman II units and the squadron was inactivated on 28 July 1995. Pursuant to theStrategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the squadron's former missile sites were destroyed, with the last (Site H-11) being destroyed on 15 December 1997.[15]
|
|
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 9 October 1943 | Germany, 509th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 11 January 1944 | Germany, 509th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1965-30 June 1966 | 509th Strategic Missile Squadron[21] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1967-30 June 1968 | 509th Strategic Missile Squadron[21] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1969-30 June 1971 | 509th Strategic Missile Squadron[22] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1973-30 June 1974 | 509th Strategic Missile Squadron[22] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1980-30 June 1982 | 509th Strategic Missile Squadron[23] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1986-30 June 1987 | 509th Strategic Missile Squadron[23] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1991-30 June 1993 | 509th Missile Squadron[24] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Europe | 12 May 1943 – 5 June 1944 | 509th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Air Combat, EAME Theater | 12 May 1943 – 11 May 1945 | 509th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 509th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 509th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 509th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 509th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 509th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
38°43′49″N093°32′53″W / 38.73028°N 93.54806°W /38.73028; -93.54806 (Whiteman AFB)
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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