The 635th Bombardment Squadron is a disbanded

United States 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 ...

unit. 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 activated in March 1943 and equipped with light

ground attack 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 ...

aircraft. In July 1943, the air echelon of the squadron deployed to the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

to defend against the Japanese attacks there. It was disbanded at Amchitka Army Air Field, Alaska, in August 1943, before returning to its home station in Florida.

History

The squadron was activated at Drew Field, Florida in March 1943 as one of the original four squadrons of the

407th Bombardment Group 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, part of

II Bomber Command The II Bomber Command is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. It was established in September 1941, shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor to command heavy bomber units assigned to Second Air Force. Following the entry of the United St ...

. The squadron was equipped with Douglas A-24B Banshee dive bombers.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', 689-690Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 293-294 After the invasion of the

, the squadron, along with the air echelon of the 407th Group, was relieved of its training mission and deployed to Amchitka Army Air Field, Alaska. There, it was tasked with reinforcing the Eleventh Air Force in

Operation Cottage Operation Cottage was a tactical maneuver which completed the Aleutian Islands campaign. On August 15, 1943, Allied military forces landed on Kiska Island, which had been occupied by Japanese forces since June 1942. The Japanese, however, h ...

, an attack on

Kiska Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is require ...

, the last Japanese outpost in the Aleutian Islands. The first combat sorties by elements of the 407th Group were flown on 4 August 1943, in an attack against

antiaircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

batteries in the main Japanese camp. The returning crews reported only meager small arms and light automatic weapons fire.Coles, p. 390 While deployed to Alaska, the squadron was disbanded in August 1943, when the Army Air Forces reorganized its single engine dive bomber units as

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 ...

units and reduced the number of squadrons in a

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

from four to three. Its personnel and equipment were distributed among the other three squadrons of the 407th Group.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 635th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) on 23 March 1943 : Activated on 28 March 1943 : Disbanded on 15 August 1943

Assignments

* 407th Bombardment Group, 28 March – 15 August 1943

Stations

* Drew Field, Florida, 28 March – 15 August 1943 (operated from Amchitka Army Air Field, Alaska after 19 July 1943)

Aircraft

* A-24 Banshee, 1943

Campaigns

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

{{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II Bombardment squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943