The 884th Bombardment Squadron is a former

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. It was an early

Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

unit, but was inactivated in the spring of 1944 when the Army Air Forces reorganized its very heavy bomber units. It was reactivated in August 1944 and deployed to the Pacific in 1945, but arrived too late to see combat. 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, ...

returned to the United States in December and was inactivated.

History

The 884th Bombardment Squadron was activated at

Gowen Field Boise Airport (Boise Air Terminal or Gowen Field) is a joint civil-military airport in the western United States, south of downtown Boise in Ada County, Idaho. The airport is operated by the city of Boise Department of Aviation and is overseen ...

, Idaho on 20 November 1943 as one of the four original squadrons of the 500th Bombardment Group. It initially flew

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

bombers in New Mexico, then trained in Kansas with early model

es, with frequent delays in training due to modifications of the aircraft correcting production deficiencies.. In May 1944, 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 ...

reorganized its very heavy bomber units, reducing them from four to three operational squadrons. The 884th was inactivated in this reorganization.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 797Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 366 The squadron was activated again three months later at

Dalhart Army Air Field Dalhart Army Air Base is a former World War II military airfield complex near the city of Dalhart, Texas. It operated three training sites for the United States Army Air Forces from 1943 until 1945. The majority of the namesake city of Dalhart, ...

, Texas, where it was assigned to the

383d Bombardment Group The 383d Bombardment Group is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last stationed at Camp Anza, California, where it was deactivated on 4 January 1946. The group was active from 1942 to 1944 as a heavy bomber training unit. It w ...

. Shortages of B-29s for training caused the 383d and the squadron to remain in the United States for almost a year until finally it deployed to the

Central Pacific Area Pacific Ocean Areas was a major Allied military command in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands during the Pacific War, and one of three United States commands in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. Admi ...

in August 1945. By the time the squadron arrived at

West Field (Tinian) West Field is a former World War II airfield on Tinian in the Mariana Islands. Today, West Field is used as the civilian Tinian International Airport. West Field at Tinian Naval Base was a base for Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortress operat ...

in September, hostilities in the Pacific had ended and it did not see combat.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 270 The squadron returned to the United States in December and was inactivated at the port of embarkation.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 884th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 19 November 1943 : Activated on 20 November 1943 : Inactivated on 10 May 1944 * Activated on 28 August 1944 : Inactivated on 29 December 1945

Assignments

* 500th Bombardment Group, 20 November 1943–10 May 1944 * 383d Bombardment Group, 28 August 1944 – 29 December 1945

Stations

* Gowen Field, Idaho, 20 November 1943 *

Clovis Army Air Field Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located approximately southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The host unit at Cannon is the 27th Special Operatio ...

, New Mexico, c. 16 December 1943 *

Walker Army Air Field Walker Army Airfield (also known as Victoria-Pratt Airfield o Walker-Hays Airfield is an abandoned airfield located north of Interstate 70 in Ellis County, 1 mile northwest of Walker, Kansas or 3 miles northeast of Victoria, Kansas. Walker Army ...

, Kansas, 16 April–10 May 1944 * Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 28 August 1944 * Walker Army Air Field, Kansas, 14 January–11 August 1945 * West Field (Tinian), Mariana Islands, 12 September–c. 14 December 1945 * Camp Anza, California, 29 December 1945

Aircraft

* Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1944 * B-29 Superfortress, 1944, 1945

Campaigns

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{cite book, editor=Maurer, Maurer, title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, orig-year=1969, url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf , edition= reprint, access-date= December 17, 2016, year=1982, publisher=Office of Air Force History, location=Washington, DC, isbn=0-405-12194-6, oclc=72556, lccn=70605402 Bombardment squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1943 World War II strategic bombing units