The 574th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The squadron was a World War II unit assigned to the

391st Bombardment Group 391st may refer to: * 391st Bombardment Group, non-flying unit of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, stationed at Horsham Air National Guard Station *391st Bombardment Squadron, part of the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida ...

. After training in the United States, the squadron moved to England, and participated in operations against Germany from there and the European Continent as part of IX Bomber Command. It earned a

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 ...

for its combat actions. Following V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated at the port of embarkation.

History

The 574th Bombardment Squadron, was activated at MacDill Field, Florida on 21 January 1943 as one of the four original squadrons of the

. After training with Martin B-26 Marauder in the United States, it departed for the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

in December 1943.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 668Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 278-279 The squadron gathered at RAF Matching, its first combat station in theater in late January 1944 and flew its first combat mission on 15 February. It initially concentrated on attacks to support

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

, the invasion of Normandy, by attacking airfields, bridges and

marshalling yard A classification yard (American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ya ...

s. It attacked V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket launch sites as part of Operation Crossbow. On

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

and the next day it struck German coastal defenses near the invasion beaches. Until September, the squadron continued attacks from its English base. It supported Operation Cobra, the breakout at Saint Lo in late July by attacking fuel dumps and troop concentrations, then hit transportation and communications targets to slow the German retreat eastward. in late September it moved to

Roye-Amy Airfield Roye-Amy Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield which is located approximately 5 km south-southeast of Roye, approximately 98 km north-northeast of Paris. Originally a 1930s airport which was seized by the Germans duri ...

, France to be closer to the advancing ground forces it was supporting and extending its targets into Germany. From its continental bases, it hit bridges, railroads, highways, ammunition dumps and other targets, The unit was also tasked on occasion to drop

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

leaflets. During the Battle of the Bulge, it attacked heavily defended bridges and viaducts. Performing these attacks without fighter escort in the face of heavy flak and overwhelming attacks by enemy

fighters Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...

earned the squadron a

for the period between 23 December and 26 December 1944. On 23 December, it attacked a rail viaduct at

Ahrweiler Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler () is a spa town in the German Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate that serves as the capital of the Ahrweiler district. The A61 motorway connects the town with cities like Cologne and Mainz. Formed by the merging of the ...

. Although its fighter escort failed to arrive due to adverse weather, the squadron continued its attack, despite the loss of both pathfinder planes leading the attack. More than 60 Luftwaffe fighters attacked the 391st Group's formations while it was on its bomb run. The 391st Group lost 16 of its Marauders on this attack. The following day, the squadron destroyed the railroad viaduct at Konz-Karthaus. The squadron continued its attacks, concentrating on German transportation and communications systems. It converted to the Douglas A-26 Invader in April and flew its last combat mission on 3 May 1945. The squadron left Europe in September 1945 and was inactivated on arrival at the port of embarkation, Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts on 13 October 1945.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 574th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 15 January 1943 : Activated on 21 January 1943 : Redesignated 574th Bombardment Squadron, Medium c. 9 October 1944 : Redesignated 574th Bombardment Squadron, Light on 23 June 1945 : Inactivated on 15 October 1945

Assignments

* 391st Bombardment Group, 21 January 1943 – 15 October 1945

Stations

* MacDill Field, Florida, 21 January 1943 * Myrtle Beach Bombing and Gunnery Range, South Carolina, 24 May 1943 *

Godman Field Godman or God-man may refer to: * Godman (name) * Godman (India), a colloquial term used in India for a charismatic spiritual leader * ''The Godman'', a 1999 Indian Malayalam film * ''God-Man'', a recurring character in the comic '' Tom the Dancin ...

, Kentucky, 8 September-31 December 1943 * RAF Matching (AAF-166), England 26 January 1944 * Roye-Amy Airfield (A-73), France 1 October 1944 *

Asch Airfield Zutendaal Air Base is a reserve Belgian Air Component base, located east-southeast of Genk (Limburg), approximately east-northeast of Brussels. Overview The base is in reserve status, its primary use being to store retired Agusta helicopters. ...

(Y-29),Station number in Johnson, p. 28. Belgium c. 20 April 1945 *

Vitry-En-Artois Airfield Vitry-en-Artois Airfield is a regional airfield in France, located northeast of Vitry-en-Artois; north-northeast of Paris. It supports general aviation with no commercial airline service scheduled. It was built prior to World War II. Seized ...

(A-67), France,Station number in Johnson, p. 20. 5 June 1945 * Laon-Athies Airfield (A-69), France, c. 31 July–September 1945 * Camp Shanks, New York, 14–15 October 1945

Aircraft

* Martin B-26 Marauder, 1943-1945 * Douglas A-26 Invader, 1945

Awards and campaigns

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{cite book, last=Watkins, first=Robert, title=Battle Colors , volume=III Insignia and Tactical Markings of the Ninth Air Force In World War II, year=2008, publisher=Shiffer Publishing Ltd., location=Atglen, PA, isbn=978-0-7643-2938-8 Bombardment squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1943