20th Bomb Squadron | |
|---|---|
 A 20th Expeditionary Bomb SquadronB-52 Stratofortress releases flares over the Indian Ocean following a mission in 2020. | |
| Active | 1917–1946; 1947–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Bomber |
| Part of | Global Strike Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana |
| Nickname | Buccaneers[citation needed] |
| Engagements |
|
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award withCombat "V" Device Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm[1] |
| Insignia | |
| 20th Bomb Squadron emblem (updated 2019) |  |
| 20th Bomb Squadron emblem(modified c. 1995)[1] |  |
| 20th Bombardment Squadron emblem(approved 12 June 1924)[2] |  |
| 20th Aero Squadron emblem(approved by AEF 18 November 1918)[3] |  |
| Tail Code | LA |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Bomber | Boeing B-52 Stratofortress |
The20th Bomb Squadron is a unit of the2d Operations Group of theUnited States Air Force located atBarksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The 20th is equipped with theBoeing B-52H Stratofortress.
Formed in May 1917 as the20th Aero Squadron, thesquadron saw combat in France on theWorld War IWestern Front. It took part in theSt. Mihiel offensive andMeuse-Argonne offensive.
After the war, it served with theArmy Air Service andArmy Air Corps as the20th Bombardment Squadron During the 1920s and 1930s, the squadron was involved in field service testing of newbomber aircraft, notably theY1B-17 Flying Fortress.
DuringWorld War II the squadron fought in theNorth African andItalian Campaigns. It was awarded aDistinguished Unit Citation for its actions during a raid onSteyr, Austria.
It was a part ofStrategic Air Command during theCold War. As amedium bomber squadron it deployed to stand alert at forward bases inOperation Reflex. After equipping withBoeing B-52 Stratofortresses stood nuclear alert, but during theViet Nam War the squadron deployed frequently to performOperation Arc Light bombing missions. Since 1993, the 20th Bomb Squadron has flown the B-52H Stratofortress long-range strategic bomber, which can perform a variety of missions. Today the squadron is engaged in the globalwar on terrorism.
The squadron was first organized as the20th Aero Squadron atKelly Field, Texas on 17 May 1917.[4] On 29 July 1917, under command of Captain W.W. Wynne, the squadron moved toWilbur Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, where it received its first training in the handling ofCurtiss JN-4 andStandard J-1 aircraft. It deployed to France where it was assigned to the1st Day Bombardment Group. Assigned Britishde Havilland DH-4 aircraft with AmericanLiberty engines, and was engaged in combat during theSt. Mihiel offensive andMeuse-Argonne offensive during 1918. After the1918 Armistice with Germany, the squadron returned to the United States and arrived atMitchel Field, New York on 2 May 1919. There most of the men were discharged from Army service and returned to civilian life.[5][6]
After the squadron returned to the United States it re-formed with new personnel atEllington Field, Houston Texas in June 1919. The 20th equipped with some de Havilland DH-4 bombers and moved to Kelly Field. it was assigned to the new 1st Day Bombardment (later, 2d Bombardment) Group. After the establishment of the permanentUnited States Army Air Service in 1921, it was redesignated as the20th Squadron (Bombardment). During this period, the unit also operated someMartin NBS-1s and BritishHandley Page 0/400s.[7]
In May 1920 the squadron was temporarily assigned toLangley Field, Virginia and became part of the First Provisional Air Brigade under Brigadier GeneralBilly Mitchell. It trained with Handley Page O/400 and Martin MB-2 bombers. Its mission would be to attack captured German ships along the Atlantic coast off Virginia in a service demonstration to determine whether a battleship could be sunk by bombing. The targets were an aged and surplus US battleship and four former German Navy vessels, including the battleshipSMS Ostfriesland, obtained in the peace settlement after World War I and scheduled for scuttling.[8]
After the completion of the demonstration, the squadron moved permanently to Langley on 30 June 1922. During the 1920s and 1930s the squadron was used for service testing of new bombardment aircraft as they were developed and improved, primarilyKeystone Aircraft light biplane bombers in the 1920s. These planes became the backbone of theArmy Air Corps bomber fleet in the latter part of the decade.[7] In 1932 the squadron received and began service testing theBoeing Y1B-9, the first American all-metal monoplane bomber aircraft design. The high speed of the Y1B-9A indicated that open cockpits were now impractical, and that enclosed cockpits would be needed in the future. The Boeing B-9 made obsolete the Keystone Biplane bombers then in service. TheMartin B-10 replaced the B-9 in 1936, but the squadron operated the B-10 for only a brief time.[9]
In 1937 the squadron received the newBoeing Y1B-17 four-engine heavy bomber. Twelve Y1B-17s were delivered to the 2d Bombardment Group for evaluation. At this time, the dozen Y1B-17s comprised the entire heavy bombardment strength of the United States. The 20th spent its time working out the defects in the prototype aircraft, working with Boeing engineers to make corrections for the final production model B-17B. One recommendation was the use of a checklist that the pilot and copilot would use together before takeoff, hopefully preventing accidents such as the one which resulted in the loss of the original Boeing Model 299.[10]
Six planes of the squadron took part in a good will flight from Langley toBuenos Aires, Argentina, taking off from Langley on 15 February 1938 and returning on 27 February. They covered a total of 12,000 miles without serious incident.[10] In May 1938, planes of the squadron took part in a demonstration in which they "intercepted" the Italian ocean linerSS Rex while it was still 700 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. This demonstration of the Y1B-17's range and navigational capabilities, but also showed how useful the plane could be in attacking an enemy invasion force before it came close enough to American shores to do any damage. TheNavy was not amused by this particular demonstration, and was furious about what it perceived to be Army intrusion into the Navy's mission. Shortly thereafter, theWar Department restricted the activities of the Army Air Corps to a 100-mile range of the US shoreline.[10] The Y1B-17s flew for three years without a serious accident, and were transferred to the19th Bombardment Group atMarch Field in October 1940. The squadron received new production Boeing B-17D Fortresses to replace them.[10]
After theAttack on Pearl Harbor, the squadron served onantisubmarine duty along the mid-Atlantic coastline as part of I Bomber Command for several months until it was reorganized asAAF Antisubmarine Command.[7]
The squadron re-equipped with more modern B-17F Flying Fortresses and moved toEphrata Army Air Field, Washington for transition and combat training in late 1942 and early 1943. It moved to North Africa in April 1943, carrying out bombing missions in Algeria and Tunisia as part ofTwelfth Air Force during theNorth African Campaign. The unit flew many support andair interdiction missions, bombing such targets asmarshalling yards,airfields, troop concentrations, bridges, docks, and shipping. The 20th participated in the defeat of Axis forces in Tunisia during April and May 1943; the reduction ofPantelleria and the preparations forOperation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, in May through July 1943; andOperation Avalanche, the invasion of Italy in September.[7]
The squadron was transferred toFifteenth Air Force control in December 1943 and engaged in bombing operations primarily in Italy in support of the Allied drive north towardRome from January to June 1944. It also supportedOperation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France in August 1944 and the campaigns against German forces in northern Italy from June 1944 until the end of the war. The unit engaged primarily in long-range bombardment of strategic targets after October 1943, attackingoil refineries, aircraft factories, steel plants, and other objectives in Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Greece.[7]
En route to bomb a vital aircraft factory atSteyr, Austria duringBig Week on 24 February 1944, the group was greatly outnumbered by enemy interceptors, but it maintained its formation and bombed the target, receiving aDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for the performance. On the following day, while on a mission to attack aircraft factories atRegensburg, it met similar opposition equally well and was awarded a second DUC. The 20th served as part of the occupation force in Italy afterV-E Day and was inactivated in Italy on 28 February 1946.[7]
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The squadron was reactivated as aBoeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber squadron underStrategic Air Command in 1947 and assigned toChatham Air Force Base nearSavannah, Georgia, untilHunter Air Force Base was ready to accept the2d Bombardment Wing. it flew B-29 and laterBoeing B-50 Superfortresses during the early postwar era. The 20th participated inelectronic countermeasures testing and evaluation from May 1950 until May 1952. Equipped withB-47 Stratojet medium bombers in 1954, flying training missions and standing nuclear alert until the phaseout of the B-47 in 1963.[7]
The squadron moved toBarksdale Air Force Base, where it began to re-equip with theBoeing B-52F Stratofortress in 1963. The squadron was moved toCarswell Air Force Base on 25 June 1965, joining the9th Bombardment Squadron as the second B-52F squadron at Carswell. During theVietnam War, the squadron would switch rotations toAndersen AFB, Guam forOperation Arc Light missions overSoutheast Asia with the 9th, while the other squadron remained on nuclear alert at Carswell.[11]
The unit continued Arc Light deployments, switching to the B-52D in 1969 until March 1970 when the draw down of the Vietnam War ended forward deployments to Andersen. The squadron continued nuclear alert with the B-52D until 1983, when it re-equipped with B-52Hs, acquiring the aircraft of the46th Bombardment Squadron atGrand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. During the 1980s it conducted B-52 training missions over bombing range sites and supported the wing mission of aerial bombardment.[7]
The squadron returned to Barksdale in 1992 with the closure of Carswell and became part of the newAir Combat Command. It continued training for globalconventional bombardment missions and maintainednuclear operational readiness.[7]
After theSeptember 11 attacks the 20th deployed to the island ofDiego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and on 7 October 2001 flew attacks on targets in Afghanistan duringOperation Enduring Freedom. In February 2003 it deployed toGuam to deter North Korean aggression.[7]
On 21 July 2008, a squadron B-52 aircraftcrashed near Guam during a training mission in support of Guam'sLiberation Day festivities. All six crewmembers, three of whom were from the 20th, perished.[7]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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