The 529th 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 Signal ...

unit. It was last assigned to the

380th Bombardment Wing 38 may refer to: *38 (number), the natural number following 37 and preceding 39 *one of the years 38 BC, AD 38, 1938, 2038 *.38, a caliber of firearms and cartridges **.38 Special, a revolver cartridge *'' Thirty-Eight: The Hurricane That Transfor ...

Plattsburgh Air Force Base Plattsburgh Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) base covering 3,447 acres (13.7 km²) in the extreme northeast corner of New York, located on the western shore of Lake Champlain opposite Burlingto ...

, New York, where it was inactivated on 1 September 1991. The

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

was first activated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After training as a

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...

unit in the United States, it moved to the

Southwest Pacific Theater The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory of ...

, entering combat in May 1943, flying combat missions from Australia while attached to the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

, earning two

Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...

s and a

Philippine Presidential Unit Citation The Philippine Presidential Unit citation BadgeThe AFP Adjutant General, ''Awards and Decorations Handbook'', 1997, OTAG, p. 65. is a unit decoration of the Republic of the Philippines. It has been awarded to certain units of the United States mil ...

. In 1945 it moved forward to the Philippines, then to

Okinawa is a 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 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. Following

V-J Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...

, the squadron returned to the Philippines and was inactivated there in February 1946. The squadron was activated in the reserves in 1947, but was inactivated in the military budget reductions of 1949. The squadron was activated at Plattsburgh in July 1955 as a

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

(SAC) bomber unit. At Plattsburgh, it flew

Boeing B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long-range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...

s until inactivating in 1966 when the B-47 was withdrawn from service with SAC. It was again activated in 1971 with

General Dynamics FB-111 Aardvark The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included attack aircraft, ground attack (e.g. Air interdiction, i ...

s until inactivating when its planes were transferred to

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

and modified for conventional operations.

History

World War II

The

was activated at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona on 3 November 1942 as one of the four original squadrons of the

380th Bombardment Group 38 may refer to: *38 (number), the natural number following 37 and preceding 39 *one of the years 38 BC, AD 38, 1938, 2038 *.38, a caliber of firearms and cartridges **.38 Special, a revolver cartridge *'' Thirty-Eight: The Hurricane That Transfo ...

. After training with

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

s, the squadron moved to the

in April 1943.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 267-268 Shady Lady 14 August 1943

The air echelon arrived at

Manbulloo Airfield Manbulloo Airfield was a World War II airfield built at Manbulloo Station, near Katherine, Northern Territory. History Works on the airfield were initially undertaken by the 43rd Engineer Regiment (US Army) in April 1942. The Allied Works Coun ...

, in the Australian Northern Territory by the end of April. For the remainder of its stay in Australia, the squadron and the rest of the 380th Group would be attached to the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF). It trained RAAF crews on the operation of the Liberator. Its initial combat operations were in May, when it flew

armed reconnaissance Armed (May, 1941–1964) was an American Thoroughbred gelding horse racing, race horse who was the American Horse of the Year in 1947 and Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse, Champion Older Male Horse in both 1946 and 1947. He was ind ...

missions. From its home in Australia, the 529th attacked Japanese installations in the Netherlands East Indies and the Bismark Archipelago, including airfields, ground installations and factories. In August 1943, it participated in a series of raids on

oil refineries An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefie ...

Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 2 ...

, Borneo in what at the time was the longest bombing mission flown by an

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

bomber unit. For this mission, the squadron was awarded the

(DUC). During April and May 1944, the unit conducted a series of raids on enemy airfields in western New Guinea to support landings in the Hollandia area, for which it was awarded a second DUC. The squadron was relieved from attachment to the RAAF and moved to the Philippines in February 1945. Operating from

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

, the squadron provided

air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement ...

for ground forces on

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, and attacked industrial targets in

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...

, ground installations along the China coast and transportation targets in French Indochina. It also continued its attacks on refineries in Borneo. In August 1945, the squadron moved to

. Following

, the squadron flew

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

missions over Japan and flew

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

from Japan 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 populate ...

. The squadron became nonoperational and moved to

Fort William McKinley Fort Andres Bonifacio (formerly named Fort William McKinley) is the site of the national headquarters of the Philippine Army (Headquarters Philippine Army or HPA) located in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is located near the national headquarter ...

in November 1945. It was inactivated there in February 1946.

Air Force reserves

The squadron was activated in the reserves at

Jacksonville Municipal Airport Imeson Field, also known as Jacksonville Imeson Airport, was the airport serving Jacksonville, Florida, from 1927 until its closing in 1968. It was known as Jacksonville Municipal Airport prior to World War II, Jacksonville Army Airfield when the ...

, Florida, where its training was supervised by

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...

(ADC). Although nominally a very heavy bomber unit, it is not clear whether or not the squadron was fully staffed or equipped at this time. In 1948

Continental Air Command Continental Air Command (ConAC) (1948–1968) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. During the Korean War, ConAC provided the necessary au ...

assumed responsibility for managing reserve and

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

units from ADC. President Truman’s reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force, and the 529th was inactivated and not replaced as reserve flying operations at Jacksonville ceased.

Strategic Air Command

B-47 era

The squadron was again activated at

, New York in July 1955 as part of the 380th Bombardment Wing and equipped with

s. Although activated on the 11th, the squadron did not begin to be operational until the end of the month. Substantial work was ongoing to make Plattsburgh operational, and in the first half of 1956, most training was conducted through a detachment of the 380th Wing located at another B-47 base,

Pinecastle Air Force Base Pinecastle or Pine Castle may refer to: * McCoy Air Force Base (previously Pinecastle Army Airfield), a former United States Air Force base * Naval Air Station DeLand (previously Pinecastle Electronic Warfare and Bombing Range), a United States Nav ...

, Florida. From 3 April 1957 to 3 July 1957, the squadron deployed to

RAF Brize Norton Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney. The station ...

Operation Reflex Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

.Ravenstein, pp. 207-208 Reflex placed Stratojets and

Boeing KC-97 The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a four-engined, piston-powered United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It replaced the KB-29 and was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Design and developme ...

s at bases closer to the Soviet Union for 90 day periods, although individuals rotated back to home bases during unit Reflex deployments The percentage of SAC planes on fifteen minute ground alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike gradually grew over the next three years to reach the goal of 1/3 of SAC’s force on alert by 1960.Schake, p. 220 (note 43) From 1958, the Stratojet wings of

(SAC) began to assume an alert posture at their home bases, reducing the amount of time spent on alert at overseas bases. The alert commitment was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962. After the detection of Soviet missiles in Cuba, SAC dispersed its B-47s on 22 October 1962. Most dispersal bases were civilian airfields with AF Reserve or

units. Squadron B-47s were configured for execution of the

Emergency War Order The Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) was the United States' general plan for nuclear war from 1961 to 2003. The SIOP gave the President of the United States a range of targeting options, and described launch procedures and target sets ag ...

as soon as possible after dispersal. On 24 October 1962, SAC went to

DEFCON The defense readiness condition (DEFCON) is an alert state used by the United States Armed Forces. (DEFCON is not mentioned in the 2010 and newer document) The DEFCON system was developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and unified and spe ...

2, placing all its combat aircraft on alert. As tensions eased, on 15 November 1/6 of the dispersed B-47s were recalled to their home bases. On 21 November, SAC went to DEFCON 3. Dispersed B-47s and supporting tankers were recalled on 24 November. On 27 November the squadron returned to its normal alert posture. The squadron flew the B-47 Until 1965, when the

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

began to be phased out of SAC's inventory. Ground alert for B-47s was terminated on 11 February 1966. The squadron began to send its Stratojets to the

Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309th AMARG),Offici ...

at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base for retirement. It became nonoperational on 11 June 1966 and was inactivated on 25 June.

FB-111 era

In July 1971, the squadron was activated and became combat ready with the

General Dynamics FB-111A Aardvark The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included ground attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons c ...

medium bomber. In 1991, the squadron began transferring its aircraft to be modified as F-111G

fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

s. With the exception of museum aircraft, the last FB-111 was gone by July 1991, (redesignation of 380th Group) and the squadron was inactivated in September.''See'' Endicott (end of assignment of squadron to 380th Wing.)

Lineage

* Constituted as the 529th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 October 1942 : Activated on 3 November 1942 : Redesignated 529th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 26 August 1944 : Inactivated on 20 February 1946 * Redesignated 529th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 3 July 1947 : Activated in the reserve on 17 July 1947 : Inactivated on 27 June 1949 * Redesignated 529th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 20 May 1955 : Activated on 11 July 1955Lineage, including aircraft, assignments and stations, through March 1963 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 635-636, except as noted. : Inactivated 25 June 1966 * Activated on 1 January 1971 : Inactivated on 1 September 1991

Assignments

* 380th Bombardment Group, 3 November 1942 – 20 February 1946 * 380th Bombardment Group, 17 July 1947 – 27 June 1949 * 380th Bombardment Wing, 11 July 1955 – 25 June 1966 * 380th Bombardment Wing, 6 January 1971 – 1 September 1991

Stations

* Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, 3 November 1942 *

Biggs Field Biggs Army Airfield (formerly Biggs Air Force Base) is a United States Army military airbase located on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. History Biggs Field/Biggs Army Airfield (1916–47) On 15 June 1919, following an attack b ...

, Texas, 2 December 1942 *

Lowry Field Lowry Air Force Base (Lowry Field in 1938–1948) is a former United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) training base during World War II and a United States Air Force (USAF) training base during the Cold War, serving as the initial 1955–1958 si ...

, Colorado, 4 March-19 April 1943 * Manbulloo Airfield, Northern Territory, Australia, 28 April 1943 *

Long Airfield Long Airfield was a World War II military airfield located in the locality of Douglas-Daly, Northern Territory, Australia. Also known as "Long Strip", the airfield was constructed in late 1943 by No.14 Airfield Construction Squadron RAAF. T ...

, Northern Territory, Australia, c. 7 November 1943 *

RAAF Base Darwin RAAF Base Darwin is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base located in the city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory, Australia. The base shares its runway with Darwin International Airport, for civil aviation purposes. The herit ...

, Northern Territory, Australia, c. 10 July 1944 * San Jose,

, Philippines, c. 28 February 1945 *

Motobu Airfield Motobu Airfield is a World War II airfield on the Motobu Peninsula of Okinawa, near the East China Sea coast. The airfield was deactivated after 1945. History The airfield was built in April 1945 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and ...

, 12 August 1945 *

, Luzon, Philippines c. 28 November 1945 – 20 February 1946 * Jacksonville Municipal Airport, Florida, 17 July 1947 – 27 June 1949 * Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York, 11 July 1955 – 25 June 1966 * Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York, 1 January 1971 – 1 September 1991

Aircraft

* Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1942–1945 * Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1955–1966 * General Dynamics FB-111A Aardvark, 1971-1991''See'' Endicott (bomber aircraft assigned to 380th Wing).

Awards and campaigns

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II Bombardment squadrons of the United States Air Force Units and formations of Strategic Air Command Military units and formations of the United States in the Cold War Military units and formations of the United States Air Force Reserves Bombardment squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces World War II strategic bombing units Military units and formations established in 1942