| 526th Bombardment Squadron | |
|---|---|
.jpg) B-52H Stratofortress as flown by the squadron | |
| Active | 1942–1945; 1955–1963 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Heavy bomber |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
| Insignia | |
| 526th Bombardment Squadron emblem[a][2] |  |
| World War II Fuselage code[1] | LF[1] |
The526th Bombardment Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the4042d Strategic Wing atK. I. Sawyer Air Force Base, Michigan, where it was inactivated on 1 February 1963 whenStrategic Air Command replaced itsMAJCON wings withwings that could continue a heritage.
Thesquadron was first activated duringWorld War II as the526th Bombardment Squadron. After training in the United States, it moved to England, where it participated in thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany. The squadron twice was awarded theDistinguished Unit Citation for its combat actions. FollowingV-E Day, the squadron moved to Morocco, where it participated in the transportation of military personnel back to the United States until it was inactivated in June 1945.
The squadron was reactivated in 1955 as aBoeing B-47 Stratojet strategic bomber squadron. In 1960, it began converting to theBoeing B-52 Stratofortress. However,Strategic Air Command was engaged in a project to disperse its B-52 wings to reduce their vulnerability to Soviet attack and the squadron moved to K.I. Sawyer in 1961.
Thesquadron was first activated atGeiger Field, Washington in November 1942 as one of the four original squadrons of the379th Bombardment Group. After initial organization, acadre moved toWendover Field, Utah to begin training as aheavy bomber unit with theBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Training was completed by early April 1943, and the ground echelon moved toCamp Williams, Wisconsin on 9 April, then proceeded to the port of embarkation atCamp Shanks, New York, where it boarded theRMS Aquitania for shipment to England in early May. The air echelon moved toDow Field, Maine to ferry their Flying Fortresses via theNorth Atlantic Ferry Route, starting on 15 April.[2][3][4]
The air echelon of the squadron arrived atRAF Bovingdon by 24 April 1943, and remained there until 20 May, when it joined the ground echelon atRAF Kimbolton, which was to be its combat station for the remainder of its time in theEuropean Theater of Operations. The squadron flew its first combat mission on 29 May, and focused on thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany. This mission was the starting point for the firstDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC) awarded to the squadron for its sustained actions through the end of July 1944. Targets included industrial sites,oil refineries, storage plants,submarine pens,airfields and communications centers in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Poland. Targets included a chemical plant inLudwigshafen, an aircraft assembly plant inBraunschweig,ball bearing plants atSchweinfurt andLeipzig, synthetic oil refineries atMerseburg andGelsenkirchen,marshalling yards atHamm andReims and airfields inle Mesnil-au-Val andBerlin. The squadron received a second DUC for its attack on theFocke-Wulf Fw 190 aircraft factory atOschersleben and theJunkers factory atHalberstadt on 11 January 1944. The programmed fighter escort encountered prohibitive weather, as did two of the three divisions making the attack. However, weather in the east was sufficiently clear that theLuftwaffe was able to assemble the largestinterceptor force to oppose an attack for the preceding three months. However, the squadron flew into enemy territory without fighter escort to complete its mission.[2][3][5]
The squadron was occasionally diverted from the strategic bombing campaign to performclose air support andinterdiction missions. It supportedOperation Crossbow by attackingV-1 flying bomb andV-2 rocket launch sites. It bombed airfields, radar stations and other installations to prepare forOperation Overlord, the Normandy invasion in June 1944. OnD-Day, it bombed defended positions just ahead of the Allied landings and struck airfields, railchoke points, andgun emplacements during the campaign that followed.[3]
During theNorthern France Campaign, the squadron bombed enemy positions to assist ground troops duringOperation Cobra, the breakout atSaint Lo on 24 and 25 July 1944. It attacked German communications and fortifications during theBattle of the Bulge, from December 1944 through January 1945 and bombed bridges andviaducts in France and Germany to aid the Allied assault across theRhine, from February to March 1945.[3] The squadron flew its last mission on 25 April 1945.[4]
AfterV-E Day the squadron was detailed for the Green Project, which called for moving 50,000 American troops back to the United States each month.[6] The squadron moved toCasablanca Airfield, French Morocco, but in June,Air Transport Command decided to use its own, more flexible organization[c] for the project and the squadron was inactivated on 25 July 1945.[2][3]
The squadron was reactivated atHomestead Air Force Base, Florida in November 1955 and assigned to the 379th Bombardment Wing. The unit's first few months were spent in organizing and manning as aStrategic Air Command (SAC) bomber unit. It received itsBoeing B-47 Stratojet bombers in April 1956 and began training for strategic bombing operations. Once thewing became combat ready, it began overseasOperation Reflex alert operations training, sending five Stratojets toSidi Slimane Air Base, Morocco. Reflex placed Stratojets andBoeing KC-97s at bases closer to the Soviet Union for 90 day periods, although individuals rotated back to home bases during unit Reflex deployments[7][2][8]
From 1958, SAC's B-47 wings began to assume analert posture at their home bases, reducing the amount of time spent onalert at overseas bases. GeneralThomas S. Power's initial goal was to maintain one third of SAC's planes on fifteen minute ground alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike.[9] This program was short lived for the squadron. In October 1960, it began to transfer its B-47s to other units, becoming non-operational.[8]
The squadron moved on paper toK.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, Michigan in June 1961 where it was assigned to the4042d Strategic Wing. At K.I. Sawyer, the squadron was equipped withBoeing B-52H Stratofortress heavy bombers.[2] The 4042d wing had been established by SAC in a program to disperse its B-52heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.[10] SAC bases with large concentrations of bombers made attractive targets. SAC's response was to break up its wings and scatter their aircraft over a larger number of bases.[11]
The squadron conducted worldwide strategic bombardment training missions. Its alert commitment was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962.[12] During the 1962Cuban Missile Crisis, on 22 October, 1/8 of SAC's B-52s were placed on airborne alert.[13] On 24 October SAC went toDEFCON 2, placing all aircraft on alert.[14] As tensions eased, on 21 November SAC returned to normal airborne alert posture.[15] went to DEFCON 3 on 24 November, and on 27 November returned to normal alert posture.[16]
In February 1963, The410th Bombardment Wing assumed the aircraft, personnel and equipment of the discontinued 4042d Wing. The 4042d was aMajor Command controlled (MAJCON) wing, which could not carry a permanent history or lineage,[17] and SAC wanted to replace it with a permanent unit. The 526th was inactivated and transferred its personnel and equipment to the 450th Wing's644th Bombardment Squadron.[2][18]
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 29 May 1943-31 July 1944 | Continental Europe[2] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 11 January 1944 | Germany[2] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Europe | 21 May 1943 – 5 June 1944 | [2] |
| Air Combat, EAME Theater | 21 May 1943 – 11 May 1945 | [2] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | [2] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | [2] |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | [2] |
| Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | [2] |
| Central Europe | 22 March 1945 – 21 May 1945 | [2] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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