The 48th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

unit. Its last assignment was with the 41st Bombardment Group, based at

Manila, Philippines Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

. It was inactivated on 27 January 1946.

History

Activated at March Field, California in early 1941 as part of the prewar mobilization of the Army Air Corps. Equipped with B-18 Bolos and Lockheed Hudsons. Engaged in coastal patrols over Southern California, later over the San Francisco area. Re-equipped with B-25 Medium bombers, deployed to Seventh Air Force in Hawaii during the late summer of 1942. Completed final training in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and moved to

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Central Pacific in December 1943. Entered combat and attacked enemy installations, airfields, and shipping in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Inte ...

in preparation for the invasion by US forces, and after February 1944 staged through captured fields on

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...

to attack shipping in the

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the ce ...

. In April 1944 moved to Makin where its missions were directed primarily against shipping and bypassed islands in the Marshalls and Carolines. Returned to Hawaii in October 1944 for training with rockets and new B-25's. Moved to

Okinawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 Square kilometre, km2 (880 sq mi). ...

, May–June 1945. Bombed airfields, railways, and harbor facilities on

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

until August 1945. Also flew some missions against airfields in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. Moved to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

in December 1945. Inactivated in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

on January 27, 1946.

Lineage

* Constituted 48th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 20 November 1940 : Activated on 15 January 1941. : Inactivated on 27 January 1946.

Assignments

* 41st Bombardment Group, 15 January 1941 – 27 January 1946

Stations

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Mar ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, January 15, 1941 * Davis-Monthan Army Airfield,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, 16 May 1941 *

Muroc Army Airfield Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is Ed ...

, December 10, 1941 *

Visalia Army Airfield Visalia Municipal Airport is five miles west of downtown Visalia, in Tulare County, California, United States. The airport is eligible for the Essential Air Service program, but has no scheduled air service, and is not eligible to request fund ...

, 5 February 1942 * Bakersfield-Kern County MAP,

, 9 January 1942 *

NAS Alameda Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, on San Francisco Bay. NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and 07-25 measuring . Two helicopter pads and a control tower were ...

, 2 July 1942 *

Hammer Field Fresno Yosemite International Airport is a joint military/public airport in Fresno, California, United States. It is the primary commercial airport for the San Joaquin Valley and three national parks: Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It o ...

, 1 December 1942 – 29 September 1943 *

Hickam Field Hickam may refer to: ;Surname *Homer Hickam (born 1943), American author, Vietnam veteran, and a former NASA engineer ** October Sky: The Homer Hickam Story, 1999 American biographical film * Horace Meek Hickam (1885–1934), pioneer airpower advoc ...

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

, October 20, 1943 *

Abemama Airfield Abemama Airport is the airport serving Abemama, Kiribati. It is located on the north of the atoll, 200 meters northeast of the village of Tabiang. The airport is served by Air Kiribati from the international airport at South Tarawa. History ...

Abemama Abemama (Apamama) is an atoll, one of the Gilberts group in Kiribati, and is located southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator. Abemama has an area of and a population of 3,299 . The islets surround a deep lagoon. The eastern part o ...

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...

, 22 December 1943 *

Makin Airfield Butaritari Airport is an airport on Butaritari in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. History Butaritari Atoll Airport was built in Kiribati during World War II by the United States after seizing the island from the Japanese. Constructi ...

, Makin,

, April 21, 1944 : Operated from: East Field,

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

, Mariana Islands, 23 July-21 August 1944 *

Wheeler Field Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii. It is a National His ...

, 14 October 1944 *

Yontan Airfield Yontan Airfield (also known as Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield) is a former military airfield located near Yomitan Village on the west coast of Okinawa. It was closed in July 1996 and turned over to the Japanese government in December 2006. Today it i ...

, June 7, 1945 * Fort William McKinley,

, December 13, 1945 – January 27, 1946.

Aircraft

B-18 Bolo The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American heavy bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company f ...

, 1941 *

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and p ...

, 1941–1942 * B-25 Mitchell, 1942-1945.

References

External links

{{USAAF 7th Air Force World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 048