| 596th Bombardment Squadron | |
|---|---|
_(2).jpg) 596th SquadronBoeing B-52[a] | |
| Active | 1943–1945; 1963–1993 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Motto | Excalibur |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations Gulf War |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| Patch with 596th Bomb Squadron emblem[b][1] |  |
| World War II group tail marking[2] | Yellow diagonal stripe |
| World War II squadron fuselage code[2] | X2 |
The596th Bomb Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the2d Operations Group atBarksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, where it was inactivated on 1 October 1993, and its resources transferred to another unit.
The squadron was first activated in April 1943 as the596th Bombardment Squadron and equipped withMartin B-26 Marauders. It departed for theEuropean Theater of Operations in the spring of 1944. From bases in England, and later on the European continent, it participated in combat until late April 1945, and was awarded aDistinguished Unit Citation for its actions. It remained in Europe afterV-E Day until the end of 1945, when it returned to the United States and was inactivated at the Port of Embarkation.
The squadron was again activated in February 1963, when it assumed the personnel andBoeing B-52 Stratofortresses of another unit atDow Air Force Base, Maine. It stoodalert and flew training missions until 1968, when Dow closed and it moved toBarksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It participated in the longest strike mission in history at the start ofDesert Storm, flying from Barksdale to its launch position near Iraq.
The squadron was established atMacDill Field, Florida in April 1943 as one of the originalsquadrons of the397th Bombardment Group, aMartin B-26 Marauder medium bomber group.[1][3] It drew its initialcadre from the21st Bombardment Group.[4] The squadron trained underThird Air Force at stations in the southeastern United States. After completing its training by participating in theTennessee Maneuvers, the squadron departedHunter Field, Georgia for theEuropean Theater of Operations on 13 March 1944.[1][4]
The squadron was temporarily stationed atRAF Gosfield upon its arrival in England in early April 1944. On the 15th of the month, its parent group displaced the363d Fighter Group atRAF Rivenhall and the unit flew its first combat mission five days later.[3][5] In preparation forOperation Overlord, the invasion ofNormandy, the squadron participated inOperation Crossbow, attackingV-1 flying bomb launch pads. It also struck bridges,coastal defenses,marshalling yards andairfields in northern France. OnD-Day the squadron attacked strong points and bombed fuel dumps and other objectives to support ground forces throughout the Normandy Campaign.[3]
In July 1944, the squadron participated inOperation Cobra, attacking German forces nearSaint Lo, France, during theAllied breakout there. In August, the squadron moved from England toGorges Airfield, anAdvanced Landing Ground in France. From there it attacked naval targets atSaint Malo andBrest. Once on the Continent, the squadron made frequent moves forward as the Allied forces advanced during theNorthern France Campaign. By September the squadron began flying missions into Germany, attacking depots and defended areas.[3]
During theBattle of the Bulge, the squadron struck enemylines of communication. On 23 December 1944 the unit severed a railway bridge atEdiger-Eller, Germany, despite heavyflak andfighter opposition from theLuftwaffe. For this action it was awarded aDistinguished Unit Citation. The squadron continued to fly missions to support theAllied drive into Germany until 20 April 1945, exactly one year after its first combat mission, having completed 239 combat missions.[3][6]
AfterV-E Day the squadron returned to its former base atPeronne Airfield, France, and remained there until December, when it returned to the United States. Upon arrival atCamp Shanks, New York in early January 1946, the squadron was inactivated.[1]
Starting in the late 1950s,Strategic Air Command (SAC) dispersed itsBoeing B-52 Stratofortress 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.[7] SAC established "Strategic Wings" to command this dispersed fleet. however, these wings were Major Command controlled (MAJCON) units and could not carry a permanent history or lineage.[8] SAC received authority to replace its strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft with Air Force controlled (AFCON) units, which could carry a lineage and history. As part of this program, in February 1963, the397th Bombardment Wing replaced the 4038th Strategic Wing atDow Air Force Base, Maine.[9] In this reorganization the 596th was reactivated and assumed the personnel, mission, andBoeing B-52G Stratofortresses of the341st Bombardment Squadron, which was simultaneously inactivated.[1][10][d]
It carried out operational training missions with the 397th Wing at Dow. Half of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on fifteen minutealert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike.[11] The squadron continued to maintain an alert commitment until PresidentBush terminated the alert program at the end of theCold War. SAC also maintained an airborne force for "airborne alert training" (Operation Chrome Dome)[12] and the squadron was periodically tasked for this mission. Accidents atPalomares in January 1966 andThule in January 1968 contributed to the end of Chrome Dome, as did rapidly rising costs of the programs and the use of strategic bombers for non-nuclear missions, but the primary reason was the availability of a survivableintercontinental ballistic missile force.[13]
In April 1968, the 397th Wing was inactivated in preparation for the turnover of Dow to theMaine Air National Guard.[9] The squadron moved toBarksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana where it was assigned to the2d Bombardment Wing. Although the squadron did not participate in theVietnam War as a unit, it deployed personnel and aircraft to participate in operations in Southeast Asia, includingOperation Linebacker. For a year and a half, from the end of May 1972 until late October 1973, the squadron was not operational due to these deployments.[14][15]
The squadron deployed aircraft and personnel to the 801st Bombardment Wing (Provisional),Morón Air Base, Spain and augmented the 1708th Bombardment Wing, Provisional atPrince Abdullah Air Base, Saudi Arabia, from August 1990 to March 1991 in support ofOperation Desert Storm.[citation needed] On the first day of the war, elements of the squadron participated inOperation Senior Surprise,[e] which was led by the 596th's commander, Lt Col John Beard. Seven squadron bombers launched from Barksdale and struck power and communications targets in Iraq withAGM-86 ALCM missiles, returning to Barksdale 35 hours later.[16]
On 1 September 1991, SAC reorganized its combat wings under the Objective Wing model. The2nd Operations Group was activated and the 2nd Wing's operational elements were assigned to it. At the same time, the squadron name changed to the596th Bomb Squadron. The 596th was inactivated and transferred its personnel and equipment to the96th Bomb Squadron, which was activated in its place on 1 October 1993.
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 23 December 1944 Germany | 596th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1986–30 June 1987 | 596th Bombardment Squadron[25] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1987–30 June 1989 | 596th Bombardment Squadron[25] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Europe | 5 April 1944 – 5 June 1944 | 596th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 596th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 596th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 596th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
| Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 596th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
| Central Europe | 5 April 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 596th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
 | Defense of Saudi Arabia | 2 August 1990–16 January 1991 | 596th Bombardment Squadron[f][15] | |
| Liberation and Defense of Kuwait | 17 January 1991–11 April 1991 | 596th Bombardment Squadron[15] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
