64th Bombardment Squadron

The 64th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 43d Bombardment Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, where it was inactivated on 31 January 1970.

History

World War II

Established in 1940 and activated in 1941 as a bomber squadron, assigned to the GHQ Air Force Northeast Air District. Trained and was equipped with both early model Boeing B-17C Flying Fortress heavy bombers and Douglas B-18 Bolo medium bombers at Langley Field, and flew training missions over the Mid-Atlantic States. After the Pearl Harbor Attack, was deployed to New England and began flying antisubmarine missions from Bangor Airport over the Newfoundland Straits and performing aerial convoy patrols over the North Atlantic shipping lanes.

Deployed to Australia in February 1942, being assigned to the new Fifth Air Force being formed after the withdrawal from the Philippines of remaining heavy bombers. The squadron reached Australia in March 1942, but did not enter combat until September, when it finally had a reasonable complement of aircraft. From then until November 1944, the squadron operated in support of the campaign in Papua New Guinea, first from Australia, then from New Guinea and Owi Island, concentrated in particular in attacks on shipping. The unit experimented with low level skip bombing, using this tactic at the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, 2–4 March 1943 with some success.

Between May and September 1943, the squadron's B-17s were replaced with Consolidated B-24 Liberators, believed to be more suited to the long ranges of many Pacific missions. In November 1944 the squadron moved to the Philippines, helping the ground campaign on Luzon as well as conducting long range strategic bombing missions against targets in China and Formosa. Finally in July 1945 it moved to Ie Shima, from where it flew missions over Japan, still attacking shipping, as well as airfields and railways until the Japanese Capitulation in August. Squadron demobilized on Okinawa, aircraft being sent to the Philippines for reclamation. Inactivated as a paper unit in April 1946.

Strategic Air Command

Reactivated under Strategic Air Command in late 1946 and equipped with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. One of the first operational B-29 squadrons of SAC, the squadron was not fully manned or equipped until 1948. Trained for strategic bombardment missions during the postwar years, being upgraded to the new atomic bomb-capable Boeing B-50 Superfortress in 1948. Replaced the propeller-driven B-50s with new Boeing B-47E Stratojet swept-wing medium bombers in 1954, capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the Soviet Union. In the late 1950s, the B-47 was considered to be reaching obsolescence, and was being phased out of SAC's strategic arsenal. Began sending aircraft to other B-47 wings as replacements in late 1959. Moved to Carswell AFB, Texas in early 1960, in preparation for receiving the new Convair B-58 Hustler supersonic medium bomber, sending the last of its B-47s to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center in Arizona in early 1960.

Received the first B-58s in March, receiving new aircraft throughout 1960. Performed training and became proficient with the new bomber, reaching Operational Ready state in 1962. Trained and participated in many SAC exercises and deployment throughout the 1960s. Phaseout of the B-58 fleet was ordered by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in December 1965, since it was felt that the high-altitude performance of the B-58 could no longer guarantee success against increasingly sophisticated Soviet air defenses. Began sending aircraft to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposal Center in November 1969, the squadron inactivated in January 1970.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 64th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 20 November 1940
: Activated on 15 January 1941
: Redesignated 64th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 1944
: Inactivated on 29 April 1946
* Redesignated 64th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy and activated on 1 October 1946
: Redesignated 64th Bombardment Squadron, (Medium) on 2 July 1948Lineage through 1963 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 243-244
: Inactivated on 31 January 1970''See'' Ravenstein, p. 71 (inactivation of 43d Bombardment Wing)The squadron is not related to the Bombardment Squadron, Provisional, 64th, which was designated by SAC and organized at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam on 1 June 1972 and attached to the Strategic Wing, Provisional, 72d. This squadron was organized to control Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers conducting Operation Arc Light and Operation Linebacker missions. It ended combat operations on 15 August 1973, flying the last B-52 raid over Cambodia and was inactivated on 15 November 1973.

Assignments

* 43d Bombardment Group, 15 January 1941 – 29 April 1946
* 43d Bombardment Group, 1 October 1946 (attached to 43d Bombardment Wing after 10 February 1951)
* 43d Bombardment Wing, 16 June 1952 – 31 January 1970Ravenstein, pp. 70-73

Stations

* Langley Field, Virginia, 15 January 1941
* Army Air Base. Bangor, Maine, 29 August 1941 – 17 February 1942
* Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, c. 16 March 1942
* Daly Waters Airfield, Northern Territory, Australia, c. 16 May 1942
* Fenton Airfield, Northern Territory, Australia, 2 August – 25 September 1942
* Iron Range Airfield, Queensland, Australia, 12 October 1942
* Mareeba Airfield, Queensland, Australia, c. 8 November 1942
* Jackson Airdrome, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 20 January 1943
* Dobodura Airfield, Papua New Guinea, to December 1943
* Nadzab Airfield, Papua New Guinea, 11 March 1944
* Owi Airfield, Schouten Islands, Netherlands East Indies, c. 10 July 1944
* Tacloban Airfield, Leyte, Philippines, 23 November 1944
* Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, c. 22 March 1945
* Ie Shima Airfield, Okinawa, 26 July 1945
* Fort William McKinley, Luzon, Philippines, 10 December 1945 – 29 April 1946
* Davis-Monthan Field (later Davis-Monthan Air Force Base), Arizona, 1 October 1946
* Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, 15 March 1960
* Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, 1 September 1964 – 31 January 1970

Aircraft

* Douglas B-18 Bolo, 1941–1942
* Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1943
* Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1943–1945
* Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1946–1950
* Boeing B-50 Superfortress, 1948–1954
* Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1954–1960
* Convair B-58 Hustler, 1960–1970

See also

* United States Army Air Forces in Australia

References

; Notes

; Citations

Bibliography

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External links

{{USAAF 5th Air Force World War II

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Military units and formations in Guam
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