The 500th Fighter-Bomber 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 Signal ...

unit. Its last assignment was with the 85th Fighter-Bomber Group stationed at

Harris Neck Army Air Field Harris Neck Army Airfield is an abandoned military airfield located in what is now the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, McIntosh County, Georgia. It is located north of the intersection of Route 131 and Harris Neck Airport Road, about south ...

, 1eorgia. It was inactivated on 1 May 1944.

History

Participated in air-ground maneuvers, October 1942— April 1943, and afterward served as a replacement training unit until 1 May 1944

Lineage

* Constituted as the 306th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 13 January 1942 : Activated on 10 February 1942 : Redesignated 306th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) on 27 July 1942 : Redesignated 500th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 10 August 1943 : Disbanded on 1 May 1944

Assignments

* * 85th Bombardment Group (later 85th Fighter-Bomber Group), 10 February 1942 – 1 May 1944

Stations

* Army Air Base, Savannah, Georgia, 10 February 1942 * Bowman Field, Kentucky, c. 16 February 1942 * Hunter Field, Georgia, 8 June 1942 *

Waycross Army Air Field Waycross may refer to: *Waycross, Georgia *Waycross College (1973-2013), former two-year public college *Waycross, Indiana Waycross is an unincorporated community in Jackson Township, Brown County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The community ...

, Georgia, 15 August 1942 *

Gillespie Field Gillespie Field is a county-owned public towered airport northeast of downtown San Diego, in El Cajon, San Diego County, California, United States. History : ''Section reference dates.'' In 1942 the United States Marine Corps chose a site wi ...

, Tennessee, 3 October 1942 *

Blythe Army Air Base Blythe Airport is seven miles west of Blythe, in Riverside County, California, United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''general aviation'' facility. History Blythe Airport was establ ...

, California, 2 November 1942 *

Rice Army Air Field Rice Army Air Field (also known as Rice Air Base or Rice AAF) is an abandoned World War II airfield in Rice Valley of the southern Mojave Desert, located east-southeast of the community of Rice. The airfield is located in Riverside County just ...

, California, c. 11 December 1942 *

Harding Army Air Field Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport , also known as Ryan Field, is a public use airport located four miles (7 km) north of the central business district of Baton Rouge, a city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. The airport wa ...

, Louisiana, c. 9 April 1943 * Waycross Army Air Field, Georgia, 23 August 1943 *

, Georgia, 11 December 1943 – 1 May 1944

Aircraft

Vultee V-72 Vengeance The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was an American dive bomber of World War II, built by Vultee Aircraft. A modified version was designated A-35. The Vengeance was not used operationally by the United States, but was operated as a front-line aircraft by ...

, 1942 *

Douglas A-24 Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/dive ...

, 1942–1943 *

North American A-36 Apache The North American A-36 (listed in some sources as "Apache" or "Invader", but generally called Mustang) was the ground-attack/dive bomber version of the North American P-51 Mustang, from which it could be distinguished by the presence of rectang ...

, 1943 *

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

, 1943–1944 *

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...

, 1944

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{USAAF 3d Air Force World War II Fighter squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations disestablished in 1944