| 1st Tactical Missile Squadron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1943–1946; 1946–1950; 1951–1958 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | cruise missile |
| Nickname | Pioneers (1951–1958) |
| Engagements | Pacific Ocean Theater of World War II |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
| Insignia | |
| Patch with 1st Tactical Missile Squadron Emblem |  |
| 881st Bombardment Squadron emblem[1] |  |
The1st Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the585th Tactical Missile Group atBitburg Air Base, West Germany, where it was inactivated on 18 June 1958.
The first predecessor of thesquadron is the881st Bombardment Squadron, a formerUnited States Army Air Forces unit organized in November 1943. After training in the United States, the 881st deployed to thePacific Ocean Theater of World War II, where it participated in thestrategic bombing campaign against Japan. It earned twoDistinguished Unit Citations before the end of the war. It returned to the United States in the fall of 1945 and was inactivated atMarch Field, California in January 1946.
The squadron's second predecessor was established as the1st Experimental Guided Missiles Squadron, which conductedguided missile testing for the Army Air Forces andUnited States Air Force from bases in Florida from 1946 through 1950. It was reactivated the following year and testedcruise missiles, then trained for deployment to Europe withMartin B-61 Matador missiles. It stoodalert with its missiles in Germany until it was inactivated in 1958 and transferred its personnel and missiles to the71st Tactical Missile Squadron
The first predecessor of the unit, the881st Bombardment Squadron, was activated atGowen Field, Idaho on 20 November 1943 as one of the four originalsquadrons of the500th Bombardment Group. It initially flewBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers in New Mexico, then trained in Kansas with early modelBoeing B-29 Superfortresses, with frequent delays in training due to modifications of the aircraft correcting production deficiencies.[citation needed]. It departed for its combat station in the Pacific in July 1944 after completing training.[2][3]
The squadron arrived at its combat station,Isely Field, onSaipan in the Mariana Islands in September 1944. It flew its first combat mission against asubmarine base in theTruk Islands on 11 November. Thirteen days later it participated in the first attack on the Japanese homeland from the Marianas. Initially, the squadron flew high altitude daylight raids against industrial targets in Japan. In January 1945, it carried out an attack on theMitsubishi engine manufacturing plant inNagoya, for which it was awarded aDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC).[3]
The squadron was briefly diverted from its strategic mission when it struckairfields inKyushu to supportOperation Iceberg, the landings on Okinawa in April 1945. Beginning in March 1945,Twentieth Air Force changed both its tactics and strategy and the squadron began carrying out nighttime attacks withincendiaries against area targets. It received its second DUC for attacks on the urban and industrial section ofOsaka, feeder industries atHamamatsu and shipping and rail targets on Kyushu in June 1945. During the closing days of the war, the squadron also dropped propaganda leaflets over the Japanese home islands.[3]
FollowingV-J Day, the squadron dropped food and supply toprisoners of war in Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan. The squadron returned to the United States in the fall of 1945 and was inactivated atMarch Field, California on 17 January 1946.[2][3]
The squadron's second predecessor was organized as the1st Experimental Guided Missiles Squadron, one of the originalArmy Air Forces missile test squadrons, atEglin Field, Florida in 1946. At Eglin it was assigned to the1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group. It testedair-to-surface missiles. The 1st Group was inactivated in July 1949, and the squadron was attached to its successor, the550th Guided Missiles Wing. In December 1950, the squadron moved with the 550th Wing toPatrick Air Force Base, Florida, but it was not operational at Patrick and was inactivated at the end of the month, when the 550th was replaced by the4800th Guided Missile Wing.[4][5]
The squadron was redesignated the1st Bombardment Squadron, Missile (Light), but was again redesignated the1st Pilotless Bomber Squadron[a] before being reactivated at Patrick in October 1951. The unit again experimented with missiles, but this time withcruise missiles, including theRepublic-Ford JB-2 andMartin B-61 Matador. The squadron developed procedures and methods for deployment of tactical nuclear missiles until 1954, when it was transferred toTactical Air Command.
The 1st trained until March 1954, when it deployed toUnited States Air Forces Europe (USAFE) andBitburg Air Base.[6] It maintained dispersed missile launch facilities at 'Site VII "B Pad", 3.5 miles (5.6 km) northwest ofBitburg49°59′05″N006°28′50″E / 49.98472°N 6.48056°E /49.98472; 6.48056 (Site VII)[b] and Site VIII "C Pad", 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south southwest of Bitburg49°53′21″N006°33′30″E / 49.88917°N 6.55833°E /49.88917; 6.55833 (Site VIII)[c] At Bitburg, it was initially attached to the host36th Fighter-Bomber Wing.[7] It was the first operational United States missile unit. At Bitburg the squadron was equipped with the B-61A Matador.[d] The 1st was redesignated the1st Tactical Missile Squadron a year later.
As additional Matador squadrons deployed to Germany, USAFE formed the 7382d Guided Missile Group, headquartered atHahn Air Base.[8] The 1st Tactical Missile Squadron was detached from the 36th Wing,[7] and attached to the new group. when the 7382d Group was inactivated on 15 September 1956, the 1st Squadron was reassigned to the newly formed585th Tactical Missile Group at Bitburg, as part of the newly formed701st Tactical Missile Wing, headquartered at Hahn. The unit converted from the TM-61A to the TM-61C during that time.[citation needed] The 1st was inactivated and replaced by the71st Tactical Missile Squadron, which was simultaneously activated on 18 Jun 1958.[9][10]
In 1985 theWorld War II881st Bombardment Squadron was consolidated with the squadron, but it was not activated.[11][e]
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 23 January 1945 | Nagoya, Japan 881st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 15–20 June 1945 | Japan 881st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Japan | 19 September 1944 – 2 September 1945 | 881st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Eastern Mandates | 19 September 1944 – 14 April 1944 | 881st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Western Pacific | 17 April 1945 – 2 September 1945 | 881st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| China Offensive | 5 May 1945 – 2 September 1945 | 881st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency