423d Bombardment Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 423d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 unit. Its last assignment was with the 306th Bombardment Wing stationed at MacDill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base is an active United States Air Force base located approximately south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida...

, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

.

History

Established as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomb group in early 1942. Trained under Oregon Chapter - Airforce Historical SocieitySecond Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....

 before deploying to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in September 1942, becoming one of the first heavy bomber squadrons of the VIII Bomber Command
VIII Bomber Command
The VIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit that is better known as the later appellation Eighth Air Force, as was popularized in post-World War II filmsand is frequently called the First Eighth Air Force by its veterans and successors in the services.The command was...

 1st Bombardment Division. Highly decorated squadron during Air Offensive over Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 and occupied Europe, engaging in strategic bombardment operations until the end of the war in Europe, April 1945. Assisted in demobilizing personnel using B-17s as transports along ATC routes from Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 to North Africa

Reassigned to United States Air Forces in Europe
United States Air Forces in Europe
The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...

 occupation forces in late 1945. Engaged in photographic mapping and strategic reconnaissance operations over Western occupation zones of Germany as well as Soviet zone. Reassigned to Istes, France where it demobilized at the end of 1946.

Activated, but not manned or equipped, 1952-1954. The squadron was activated in 1959 as a result of Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...

 phasing out the B-47, and additional squadrons were activated as part of the consolation of Stratojet wings, and the replacement of the B-47 by B-52 Stratofortress
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...

es. In March 1961, President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

 directed that the phaseout of the B-47 be accelerated. and the squadron was inactivated on 1 January 1962 as part of the drawdown of the USAF B-47 force, with the aircraft were sent to AMARC storage at Davis-Monthan.

Note: For a list of known crew photos for B-17 Squadrons 367, 368, 369, & 423 taken during World War II, please visit the Air Force Historic Society - Oregon Chapter.

Lineage

  • Constituted 34th Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy) on 28 January 1942
Activated on 1 March 1942
Redesignated 423rd Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 22 April 1942
Inactivated on 25 December 1946
  • Redesignated 423rd Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 15 November 1952
Activated on 1 January 1953
Inactivated on 19 July 1954
  • Redesignated 423rd Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 6 October 1958
Activated on 1 January 1959
Discontinued, and inactivated on 1 January 1962.

Assignments

  • 306th Bombardment Group, 1 March 1942-25 December 1946
Attached to 305th Bombardment Group, 16 July 1946-25 December 1946
  • 4430th Air Base Wing
Attached to 4400th Combat Crew Training Group, 1 January 1953
  • 4400th Combat Crew Training (later Tactical Bombardment) Group, 1 May 1953-19 July 1954
  • 306th Bombardment Training Group, 1 January 1959-1 January 1962

Stations

  • Gowen Field, Idaho
    Idaho
    Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

    , 1 March 1942
  • Wendover Field, Utah
    Utah
    Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

    , c. 6 April-1 August 1942
  • RAF Thurleigh
    RAF Thurleigh
    RAF Thurleigh was a Royal Air Force station located five miles north of Bedford, England. Thurleigh was transferred to the U.S. Eighth Air Force on 9 December 1942, designated Station 111, and used for heavy bomber operations against Nazi Germany.-Origins:...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    , c. 9 September 1942
Detachment operated from: Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, 31 August-December 1945
  • AAF Station Giebelstadt, Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    , 17 December 1945
  • Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

    , 26 February 1946
Detachment operated from: Dakar Airport, French West Africa
French West Africa
French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...

, March-May 1946
Detachment operated from: Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, June-26 September 1946

  • AAF Station Lechfeld, Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    , 16 July-25 December 1946
Detachment operated from: Port Lyautey Airfield, French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...

, 16 July-26 September 1946
  • Langley AFB, Virginia
    Virginia
    The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

    , 1 January 1953-19 July 1954
  • MacDill AFB, Florida
    Florida
    Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

    , 1 January 1959-1 January 1962


Aircraft

  • B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1946
  • B-29 Superfortress
    B-29 Superfortress
    The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...

    , 1948–1951
  • B-50 Superfortress
    B-50 Superfortress
    The Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for...

    , 1950–1951
  • B-47 Stratojet
    B-47 Stratojet
    The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...

    , 1959–1961
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