| 767th Bombardment Squadron | |
|---|---|
 461st Bombardment Group Liberators attackingMuhldorf | |
| Active | 1943–1945 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Engagements | Mediterranean Theater of Operations |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
| Insignia | |
| 767th Bombardment Squadron emblem[a][1] |  |
The767th Bombardment Squadron is a formerUnited States Army Air Forces unit. Thesquadron was activated on 1 July 1943. After training in the United States, in early 1944 it deployed to theMediterranean Theater of Operations, where it participated in thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany, and earned twoDistinguished Unit Citations for its actions. FollowingV-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was inactivated on 18 August 1945.
The767th Bombardment Squadron was activated atWendover Field, Utah on 1 July 1943 as one of the foursquadrons originally assigned to the461st Bombardment Group. After training withConsolidated B-24 Liberators underSecond andFourth Air Forces in the United States, the squadron departed for theMediterranean Theater of Operations on New Year's Day of 1944.[1][2][3]
The squadron arrived at its combat station,Torretto Airfield, Italy by the end of February 1944.[1] The air echelon ferried its Liberators to Italy via the Southern Ferry Route, pausing for additional training in North Africa before joining the ground echelon in Italy. The squadron flew its first combat mission in April 1944.[4]
The squadron was engaged primarily in thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany, attacking communications, industrial facilities and other enemy strategic targets in Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania and Yugoslavia. It participated in the campaign againstAxis petroleum production with attacks against facilities atMost Czechoslovakia;Blechhammer, Germany; andMoosbierbaum andVienna in Austria. It received aDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for an attack on petroleum facilities atPloiești, Romania on 15 July 1944, when it heavily damaged its objective, despite clouds and smoke obscuring the target and opposition byflak andinterceptors.[4]
it also conducted strategic attacks against enemyairfields and aircraft manufacturing centers. On one of its early missions, it attacked an aircraft component manufacturing facility atBudapest, Hungary, battling its way through enemyair defenses. This attack earned the squadron its first DUC.[4]
The squadron was occasionally diverted from its strategic mission, flyingair support andair interdiction missions. DuringOperation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France in August 1944, it hitartillery positions. The following month it flewairlift missions, transporting supplies to forces in France. Some of its last missions were flown to supportOperation Grapeshot, the spring 1945 offensive in northern Italy.[4]
FollowingV-E Day, the squadron flew supplies toprisoners of war in Austria. It began returning to the United States in early July. It reassembled atSioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota at the end of the month and was inactivated there on 28 August 1945.[1][4]
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| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 13 April 1944 | Budapest, Hungary[1] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 15 July 1944 | Ploesti, Romania[1] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Europe | c. 18 February 1944 – 5 June 1944 | [1] |
| Air Combat, EAME Theater | c. 18 February 1944 – 11 May 1945 | [1] |
| Rome-Arno | c. 18 February–9 September 1944 | [1] |
| Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | [1] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | [1] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | [1] |
| Southern France | 15 August 1944 – 14 September 1944 | [1] |
| North Apennines | 10 September 1944 – 4 April 1945 | [1] |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | [1] |
| Po Valley | 3 April 1945 – 8 May 1945 | [1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency