825th Bombardment Squadron
B-24 Liberator as flown by the squadron
Active	1943-1945
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	heavy bomber
Engagements	Mediterranean Theater of Operations
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation
Insignia
825th Bombardment Sq emblem[1]

The825th Bombardment Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the484th Bombardment Group and was last stationed atCasablanca Airport, French Morocco, where it was inactivated on 25 July 1945. Thesquadron was activated duringWorld War II as aConsolidated B-24 Liberator unit. It served in combat in theMediterranean Theater of Operations, earning twoDistinguished Unit Citations for operations over Germany and Austria. FollowingV-E Day it operated withAir Transport Command in returning American troops to the United States until it was inactivated in theater in the summer of 1945.

The825th Bombardment Squadron was first activated atHarvard Army Air Field, Nebraska on 20 September 1943 as one of the foursquadrons of the484th Bombardment Group. The squadron trained withConsolidated B-24 Liberators until March 1944, when it moved to theMediterranean Theater of Operations. Shortly before deploying, the squadron was redesignated as a Pathfinder unit, although it never performed pathfinder missions.^[2][3][a]

In April 1944, the squadron began flying combat missions fromTorretto Airfield, Italy in thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany. Until the end of the war, it acted primarily as a strategic bombing organization, attackingoil refineries and storage facilities, industrial facilities andlines of communication in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Balkans. On 13 June 1944, the unit's target wasmarshalling yards nearMunich, Germany. However, the Germans deployed a smoke screen that effectively hid the target, making the attack unfeasible. Despite losses fromflak andinterceptor aircraft, the squadron proceeded to its secondary target atInnsbruck, Austria. Its persistence in the face of opposition earned the unit aDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC).^[3]

Two months later, on 21 August 1944, the squadron received a second DUC for an attack on underground oil storage facilities nearVienna, Austria. Without fighter escort, the squadron fought its way through intense opposition to strike the target.^[3]

The squadron was sometimes diverted from strategic targets. It bombed bridges, viaducts, marshalling yards, and supply dumps to assist troops advancing onRome between April and July 1944. In September 1944, the unit transported petroleum products to troops participating inOperation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France. At the end of the war it supportedOperation Grapeshot, the final advances in northern Italy.^[3]

FollowingV-E Day, The unit was assigned toAir Transport Command, It used its B-24s as transport aircraft, flying personnel from locations in France and Italy toCasablanca, French Morocco as part of the Green Project. It also engaged in transport operations from North Africa to theAzores orDakar in French West Africa until it was inactivated on 25 July 1945.^[2][3]

• Constituted as the825th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 14 September 1943

Activated on 20 September 1943

Redesignated825th Bombardment Squadron (Pathfinder) on 14 February 1944

Redesignated825th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 11 November 1944

Inactivated on 25 July 1945^[2]

• 484th Bombardment Group, 20 September 1943 – 25 July 1945^[2]

• Harvard Army Air Field, Nebraska, 20 September 1943 – 2 March 1944
• Torretto Airfield, Italy, April 1944
• Casablanca-Anfa Airport, French Morocco, c. 25 May – 25 July 1945^[2]

• Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1943–1945^[2]

Award streamer	Award	Dates	Notes
	Distinguished Unit Citation	13 June 1944	Munich, Germany and Innsbruck, Austria[2]
	Distinguished Unit Citation	22 August 1944	Vienna, Austria[2]

Campaign Streamer	Campaign	Dates	Notes
	Air Offensive, Europe	April 1944–5 June 1944	[2]
	Central Europe	April 1944–21 May 1945	[2]
	Air Combat, EAME Theater	April 1944–11 May 1945	[2]
	Rome-Arno	April 1944–9 September 1944	[2]
	Normandy	6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944	[2]
	Northern France	25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944	[2]
	Southern France	15 August 1944 – 14 September 1944	[2]
	North Apennines	10 September 1944 – 4 April 1945	[2]
	Rhineland	15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945	[2]
	Po Valley	3 April 1945 – 8 May 1945	[2]

• B-24 Liberator units of the United States Army Air Forces

Explanatory notes

Citations

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Freeman, Roger A. (1970).The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London, England, UK: Macdonald and Company.ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961].Air Force Combat Units of World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-02-1.LCCN 61060979. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969].Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-405-12194-6.LCCN 70605402.OCLC 72556. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• Watkins, Robert A. (2009).Insignia and Aircraft Markings of the U.S. Army Air Force In World War II. Vol. IV, European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing, Ltd.ISBN 978-0-7643-3401-6.

• "484th Bombardment Group (H)". 484th Bombardment Group Association. Retrieved20 October 2018.

• Bombardment squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces
• Military units and formations established in 1943

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