362d Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron
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The 362d Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron is an inactive
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...
unit. It was last assigned to the 6498th Air Base Wing at Da Nang Air Base, Republic of Vietnam. It was inactivated on 28 February 1973. 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, ...
served during
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 opposing ...
as the 462d Bombardment Squadron. It did not see combat, arriving in the Pacific only a few days before
VJ Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...


History


World War II


Heavy bomber replacement training

The 462d Bombardment Squadron was first activated in July 1942 at
Salt Lake City Army Air Base Salt Lake City International Airport is a civil-military airport located about west of Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. The airport is the closest commercial airport for more than 2.5 million people and is within a 30-min ...
, Utah as one of the original squadrons of the 331st Bombardment Group. In September it moved to
Casper Army Air Field Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * David ...
, where it conducted Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress replacement training until 1943, when it converted to the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Replacement training units were oversized units which trained aircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters. However, the Army Air Forces found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, were not proving to be well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit, while the groups and squadrons acting as replacement training units were disbanded or inactivated. This resulted in the 462d, along with other units at Casper, being inactivated in the spring of 1944 and being replaced by the 211th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training Station, Heavy), which assumed the 331st Group's mission, personnel, and equipment.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 211–212


Very heavy bomber operations

In August 1944, the squadron was reactivated as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit 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 and assigned to the
346th Bombardment Group The 346th Bombardment Group is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to the 316th Bombardment Wing at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, where it was inactivated on 30 June 1946. The group was originally a heavy bomber train ...
. It trained with Superfortresses at Dalhart and
Pratt Army Air Field Pratt Army Air Field is a closed United States Army Air Forces base. It is located north-northwest of Pratt, Kansas, and was closed in 1946. Today it is used as Pratt Regional Airport. Pratt Army Air Field (AAF) is significantly historic a ...
, Kansas until June 1945, when it began moving to
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
to become part of Eighth Air Force. Although the war ended before the squadron could begin operations, a few of its crews formed part of its forward echelon and flew missions with B-29 units of
Twentieth Air Force The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (20th AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. 20 AF's primary mission is Interco ...
.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 224–225 The squadron flew several show of force missions from Okinawa over Japan following
VJ Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...
. It also evacuated prisoners of war from camps in Japan to the Philippines. The squadron was inactivated on Okinawa in June 1946.


Vietnam War

The squadron was activated in South Vietnam in 1967. It flew C-47 aircraft equipped with electronic countermeasures equipment over South Vietnam. It was made inactive as part of United States drawdown in Southeast Asia during 1973.


Lineage

; 462d Bombardment Squadron * Constituted as the 462d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 1 July 1942 : Activated on 6 July 1942 : Inactivated on 1 April 1944 * Redesignated 462d Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 4 August 1944 : Activated on 18 August 1944 : Inactivated on 30 June 1946 * Consolidated with the 362d Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron as the 362d Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron on 19 September 1985Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 September 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons ; 362d Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron * Constituted as the 362d Reconnaissance Squadron and activated : Organized on 1 February 1967 : Redesignated 362d Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron on 15 March 1967 : Inactivated on 28 February 1973 * Consolidated with the 462d Bombardment Squadron on 19 September 1985


Assignments

* 331st Bombardment Group, 6 July 1942 – 1 April 1944 * 346th Bombardment Group, 18 August 1944 – 30 June 1946 *
Pacific Air Forces Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (f ...
(not organized) * 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 1 February 1967 *
483d Tactical Airlift Wing The 483rd Tactical Airlift Wing was a tactical airlift and composite wing assigned to Pacific Air Forces during the Vietnam War. It was the host organization at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base South Vietnam from 1970–1972. The unit history includes the t ...
, 31 August 1971 * 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 February 1972 * 6498th Air Base Wing, 27 June 1972 – 28 February 1973


Stations

* Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah, 6 July 1942 * Casper Army Air Field, Wyoming, 15 September 1942 – 1 April 1944 * Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 18 August 1944 * Pratt Army Air Field, Kansas, 12 December 1944 – 29 June 1945 *
Kadena Airfield (IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a highly strategic United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its hi ...
, Okinawa, 13 August 1945 – 30 June 1946 *
Pleiku Air Base Pleiku Air Base is a former air force base in Vietnam. It was established by the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) in 1962 at an undeveloped airstrip, and was used by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War in the II Corps Tact ...
, Republic of Vietnam, 1 February 1967 *
Phan Rang Air Base Phan Rang Air Base (also called Thành Sơn Air Base) is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) ''(Khong Quan Nhan Dan Viet Nam)'' military airfield in Vietnam. It is located north-northwest of Phan Rang – Tháp Chàm in Ninh Thuận Provi ...
, Republic of Vietnam, June 1969 * Da Nang Air Base, Republic of Vietnam, 1 February 1972 – 28 February 1973


Aircraft

* Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1943, 1945 * Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1943–1944 * Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1945–1946 * Curtiss C-46 Commando, 1946 *
Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained ...
* Douglas EC-47H Skytrain


References


Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations


Bibliography

* :: * * * {{cite book, last=Ravenstein, first=Charles A., title=Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977, url=https://archive.org/details/airforcecombatwi0000rave, access-date=17 December 2016, year=1984, publisher=Office of Air Force History, location=Washington, DC, isbn=0-912799-12-9, url-access=registration Electronic warfare squadrons of the United States Air Force