The 87th Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactive

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, ...

of the

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 ...

last based at

RAF Molesworth Royal Air Force Molesworth or more simply RAF Molesworth is a Royal Air Force station located near Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, England with a history dating back to 1917. Its runway and flight line facilities were closed in 1973 and demolished ...

, England. The squadron was originally activated as the 8th Reconnaissance Squadron. The unit served on antisubmarine patrol early in

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 ...

, then as a training unit until it was disbanded in 1944. The 887th Tactical Missile Squadron was active as a Mace missile unit in Germany from 1962 to 1966. In September 1985 the two squadrons were consolidated.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 Sep 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons However, the consolidated squadron remained inactive until August 1986. In that month it was reactivated as a BGM-109G Gryphon cruise missile squadron in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It was inactivated in January 1989 as required by the

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty, formally the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles; / ДРСМ� ...

History

87th Bomb Squadron in Blythe California September 1942

World War II

The

was first activated as the 8th Reconnaissance Squadron (Light) in early 1941. It was one of the four original squadrons of the 46th Bombardment Group. In August the squadron changed its role to

bombardment A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or towns and buildings. Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended objects, ...

and was redesignated the 87th Bombardment Squadron. The 87th was equipped with

Douglas A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement f ...

aircraft at Hunter Field, Georgia.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 110 The 51st participated in

maneuvers A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the com ...

, including desert maneuvers,Abstract, History of 46th Bomb Gp 1941–1944
Retrieved 26 June 2012 and flew

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

patrol and search missions over the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

in early 1942. The squadron later served as an operational training unit, which involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres for "satellite groups."Craven & Cate, Introcuction, p. xxxvi In late 1943 the

mission changed to replacement training of individual

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

and

aircrew Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions ...

s. Just before disbanding, it began to convert to

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in e ...

s. However, the

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 ...

found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving less well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. This resulted in the squadron, along with other units at

Morris Field Charlotte Douglas International Airport (IATA: CLT, ICAO: KCLT, FAA LID: CLT), typically referred to as Charlotte Douglas, Douglas Airport, or simply CLT, is an international airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, located roughly six miles west ...

, being disbanded and its personnel, equipment and functions transferred to the 333d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Light Bombardment).''See'
Abstract, History of Morris Field, 1940–1944
Retrieved 26 June 2012

887th Tactical Missile Squadron

The 887th Tactical Missile Squadron was organized in September 1962 at

Sembach AB Sembach Kaserne is a United States Army post in Donnersbergkreis, Germany, near Kaiserslautern, and is about 19 miles (30 km) east of Ramstein Air Base. Prior to 2010, the installation was a United States Air Force installation and prior to ...

, Germany and assigned to the 38th Tactical Missile Wing. At Sembach the squadron operated the TM-76A Mace missile from Site III "Hacksaw" – ENE of

. The squadron was discontinued and inactivated on 25 September 1966 along with its parent wing as

United States Air Forces Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

reduced its tactical missile force. From 1975 – 1978, Site III "Hacksaw" was used by Det B, 502nd Army Security Agency (ASA) Bn for the Guardrail I, II, and IIa Integrated Processing Facility (IPF) site. The unit was redesignated as the 330th Electronic Warfare Aviation Company (Forward) (330th EW Avn Co (FWD)), and resubordinated to the 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation) in 1978. It appears that this unit used the RC-12 Guardrail aircraft. From 1979 – 1985, Site III "Hacksaw" was upgraded to the Guardrail V (GRV) IPF, and in the fall of 1985 the unit moved to Echterdingen Army Airfield (Stuttgart International Airport). The site was subsequently used by various and sundry communications units on deployment before being closed and turned over to the German government. In September 1985, the 887th TMS was consolidated with the 87th Bombardment Squadron but it remained inactive.

Ground Launched Cruise Missile

The consolidated squadron was redesignated 87th Tactical Missile Squadron and reactivated at

as a BGM-109G Gryphon cruise missile squadron in August 1986. It maintained 64 operational

cruise missiles A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead ...

combat readiness readiness is a condition of the armed forces and their constituent units and formations, warships, aircraft, weapon systems or other military technology and equipment to perform during combat military operations, or functions consistent with the ...

. The squadron was inactivated in January 1989 as a result of the

which resulted in the elimination of the BGM-109G missile from service.

Lineage

87th Bombardment Squadron * Constituted as the 8th Reconnaissance Squadron (Light) on 20 November 1940 : Activated on 15 January 1941 : Redesignated 87th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 14 August 1941 : Disbanded on 1 May 1944 * Reconstituted on 19 September 1985 and consolidated with the 887th Tactical Missile Squadron as the 887th Tactical Missile Squadron 887th Tactical Missile Squadron * Constituted 10 September 1962 as the 887th Tactical Missile Squadron and activated (not organized) * Organized on 25 September 1962''See'' Robertson, Factsheet 38 Combat Support Wing * Discontinued and inactivated 25 September 1966 * Consolidated with the 87th Bombardment Squadron on 10 September 1985 (remained inactive)

Assignments

* 46th Bombardment Group: 15 January 1941 – 1 May 1944 * United States Air Forces Europe: 10 September 1962 (not organized) * 38th Tactical Missile Wing: 25 September 1962 – 25 September 1966 * 303d Tactical Missile Wing: 12 December 1986 – 31 January 1989

Stations

* Hunter Field, Georgia, 15 January 1941 * Bowman Field, Kentucky, 22 May 1941 *

Barksdale Field Barksdale may refer to: Places *Barksdale, Mississippi, an unincorporated community *Barksdale, Texas, an unincorporated community * Barksdale, Wisconsin, a town ** Barksdale (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community * Barksdale Air Force ...

, Louisiana, 2 February 1942 * Galveston Municipal Airport, Texas, 1 April 1942 * Blythe Army Air Base, California, 22 May 1942Wilson, p. 128 *

Will Rogers Field Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, Oklahoma, 11 November 1942 * Drew Field, Florida, 6 October 1943 * Morris Field, North Carolina, 5 November 1943 – 1 May 1944 * Sembach AB, Germany 25 September 1962 – 25 September 1966 : Mace missile site (Site III "Hacksaw") located at ENE of Sembach AB . This site was later used by the

Army Security Agency The United States Army Security Agency (ASA) was the United States Army's signals intelligence branch from 1945 to 1976. The Latin motto of the Army Security Agency was ''Semper Vigiles'' (Vigilant Always), which echoes the declaration, often ...

as an intelligence processing facility from 1975 to 1985. * RAF Molesworth, England, 12 December 1986 – 31 January 1989 : BGM-109G Missile site located at

Aircraft and Missiles

* Douglas A-20 Havoc, 1941–1944 * North American B-25 Mitchell, 1944 * Martin TM-76A (later CGM-13A) Mace * General Dynamics BGM-109G Gryphon, 1986–1989

History

World War II

887th Tactical Missile Squadron

Ground Launched Cruise Missile

Lineage

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft and Missiles

Awards and campaigns

References

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading

External links