| 568th Strategic Missile Squadron | |
|---|---|
 First successful launch of anSM-68 Titan I ICBM atCape Canaveral AFS, Florida | |
| Active | 1942–1945; 1947–1949; 1962–1965 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Intercontinental ballistic missile |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
| Insignia | |
| 568th Strategic Missile Squadron emblem[note 1][1] |  |
| 568th Bombardment Squadron emblem[2] |  |
| World War II fuselage identification code[2] | BI |
The568th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the462d Strategic Aerospace Wing atLarson Air Force Base, Washington. It was equipped with the first-generationSM-68 Titan Iintercontinental ballistic missile, with a mission of nuclear deterrence. Thesquadron was inactivated as part of the phaseout of the Titan I ICBM on 25 March 1965.
The squadron was first activated duringWorld War II as the568th Bombardment Squadron. After training in the United States, it deployed to theEuropean Theater of Operations, where it participated in thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany. It was twice awarded theDistinguished Unit Citation for its actions in combat. AfterV-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was inactivated in August 1945. The squadron was active in thereserve from 1947 until 1949, but does not appear to have been fully manned or equipped at this time.
Thesquadron was first activated atGeiger Field, Washington in January 1943 as the568th Bombardment Squadron, one of the four original squadrons of the390th Bombardment Group.[1] Acadre from the squadron andgroup went to theArmy Air Force School of Applied Tactics atOrlando Army Air Base, Florida for advanced training. The 390th Group was the first to go through this training process, which was followed by later combat groups.[3] The squadron was filled out withBoeing B-17 Flying Fortressheavy bombers beginning the following month and trained at Geiger and atGreat Falls Army Air Base, Montana until early July 1943. The squadron's air echelon ferried their B-17s to England via the north Atlantic ferry route, with the first bombers arriving on 13 July. The ground echelon departed forCamp Shanks and the New York Port of Embarkation, sailing on theUSAT James Parker on 17 July, reaching England ten days later.[1][4][5]
The squadron arrived at its combat station,RAF Framlingham in July 1943 and flew its first combat mission on 12 August against targets in theRuhr. Five days later, the squadron attacked theMesserschmitt factory atRegensburg, for which it earned its firstDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC).[4] The Regensburg mission was a "shuttle" mission, and the squadron continued after striking the target to recover atTwelfth Air Force bases in North Africa. Poor weather at the departure bases extended the time required to assemble the strike force, making fuel reserves critical. Half of the fighter cover missed the rendezvous, lessening the bombers' protection. For an hour and a half after its entry into German airspace, the strike force bore attacks from Germaninterceptors. The 390th Group suffered the heaviest losses of the leadingwing, but had the best bombing results, which destroyed equipment used for the assembly of theMe 262 jet fighter, delaying its introduction into service.[6]
On 14 October 1943, the squadron carried out an attack on theball bearing factories atSchweinfurt, braving unrelenting attacks by enemy fighters, despite which, the 390th Group had the highest accuracy of the attacking force.[7] For this mission it received a second DUC. In late February 1944, the squadron participated inBig Week, the concentrated assault on Germany's aircraft manufacturing industry, including plants manufacturing aircraft instruments and depots for aviation supplies. Other strategic targets included attacks on navy bases atBremen, bridges atCologne,marshalling yards atFrankfurt am Main, factories atMannheim, synthetic oil plants atMerseburg, oil refineries atZeitz.[4]
The squadron was occasionally diverted from thestrategic bombing campaign to flyair support andinterdiction missions. It bombed nearCaen fifteen minutes before the first landings on the Normandy coast onD Day. It provided support duringOperation Cobra, the breakout atSaint Lo in late July 1944. During theBattle of the Bulge from December 1944 through January 1945, it cut German supply lines to the battle area. It attacked Axisair bases to supportOperation Varsity, the airborne assault across theRhine, in March 1945. The squadron flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945.[4]
Just prior to and afterV-E Day, the squadron dropped food supplies to civilians in the Netherlands. The squadron's aircraft began returning to the United States on 25 June 1945, while the ground echelon sailed on theRMS Queen Elizabeth in early August. The squadron reassembled atSioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota later that month and was inactivated there on 28 August 1945.[1][4][5]
The squadron was activated in thereserve atLowry Field, Colorado,[1] where it trained under the supervision ofAir Defense Command (ADC)'s 138th AAF Base Unit (Reserve Training) (later the 2468th Air Force Reserve Training Center).[8] It is not clear to what degree the squadron was staffed or equipped while a reserve unit.[9] In 1948Continental Air Command (ConAC) assumed responsibility for managing reserve andAir National Guard units from ADC.[10] PresidentTruman’s reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force,[11] The 568th was inactivated in June 1949 as reserve flying operations at Lowry came to an end.[1][12]
The squadron was redesignated the568th Strategic Missile Squadron, organized atLarson Air Force Base, Washington on 1 April 1961 and assigned to the4170th Strategic Wing. The squadron was equipped withSM-68 Titan Iintercontinental ballistic missiles.[1] When the squadron was declared operational on 28 December 1962, the deployment of the Titan I was complete.[13]
The squadron was deployed in a 3x3 configuration, which meant a total of nine missiles were divided into three sites. Each site had three ICBMs ready to launch at any given time. Its three missile sites were:
In May 1963, Headquarters USAF decided that Titan I missiles were to be phased out between 1965 and 1968. One year later,Secretary of DefenseRobert McNamara directed the acceleration of this program to remove these missiles prior to the end of Fiscal Year 1965 and in November 1964, announced this publicly. The squadron's first Titan Is were taken off alert on 4 January 1965 and the squadron was inactivated on 25 March 1965.[14]
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 17 August 1943 | Germany 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 14 October 1943 | Germany 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Europe | 26 July 1943 – 5 June 1944 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Air Combat, EAME Theater | 26 July 1943 – 11 May 1945 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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