427th Bombardment Squadron
Encyclopedia
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. It was last assigned to the Strategic Air Command 303d Bombardment Wing, based at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. The unit was inactivated on 1 January 1962.
History
Formed at Kelly Field, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
as the 38th Aero Squadron after the United States' entry into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Not deployed to Europe, remained in the United States, being assigned to Chanute Field, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, duties undetermined. Demobilized and inactivated in December 1918.
Reactivated in 1933 as the 38th Pursuit Squadron, at Selfridge Field
Selfridge Field
Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens.-Units and organizations:...
in 1933; reassigned to March Field, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1936, redesignated as a reconnaissance squadron and was equipped with a mixture of B-18 Bolo medium bombers; observation aircraft and Northrup A-17A attack dive bombers, all used for reconnaissance. Performed reconnaissance and photographic missions in support of flood-relief operations in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, 2–5 March 1938.
Ordered to Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in November 1941 to reinforce air defenses of the Commonwealth due to rising tensions between the Japanese Empire and the United States. Air echelon departed on 6 November 1941 en route to Philippine Islands, arrived Hickam Field, THawaii Territory, during Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941; ground echelon departed San Francisco aboard ship, 6 December 1941, turned around and returned to March Field on 9 December 1941. In Hawaii, the remains of the air echelon flew patrol and search missions in mid-Pacific under direction of the Hawaiian (later Seventh) Air Force, later departing for Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where the pilots were organized into other squadrons, the B-18s being used for non-combat duties. Ground personnel reassigned to other squadrons at March; the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron becoming a paper unit.
Assigned administratively to the 19th Bombardment Group at 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....
in late February 1942. Reequipped and remanned on 13 March 1942, absorbing the personnel and B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 31st Reconnaissance Squadron
31st Reconnaissance Squadron
The 31st Reconnaissance Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 303d Bombardment Group, stationed at Gowen Field, Idaho. It was inactivated on 16 March 1942.-History:...
, which was inactivated. Received new designation as 427th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) and deployed to Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
flying antisubmarine patrols over the Pacific coast. Completed training in southwest June–August 1942; deploying to European Theater of Operations
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...
(ETO) as one of the initial heavy bomber squadrons assigned to 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...
in 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...
, September 1942.
Engaged in long-ranger strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe and 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...
, September 1942-May 1945. The 427th was one of the most highly decorated squadrons in the Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
, attacking enemy military and industrial targets as part of the United States' air offensive against Nazi Germany. After the German Capitulation in May, 1945 was reassigned to Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
. Reassigned to Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, 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...
, the squadron used its B-17 bombers as transports, ferrying military personnel from locations in 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...
to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, then south to Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
in 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...
or to the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
for further transportation by other units. Inactivated in place in Morocco in late July 1945.
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 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...
, 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.
Lineage
- Organized as 38th Aero Squadron on 12 June 1917
- Redesignated Squadron A, Chanute Field, Illinois, on 13 July 1918
- Demobilized on 1 December 1918
- Reconstituted and consolidated (1933) with 38th Pursuit Squadron which was constituted on 24 March 1923
- Activated on 1 August 1933
- Redesignated: 38th Observation Squadron (Long Range, Light Bombardment), and inactivated, on 1 March 1935
- Redesignated: 38th Reconnaissance Squadron, and activated, on September 1936
- Redesignated: 38th Reconnaissance Squadron (Long Range) on 6 December 1939
- Redesignated: 38th Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy) on 20 November 1940
- Redesignated: 427th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 22 April 1942
- Inactivated on 25 July 1945
- Redesignated 427th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 20 August 1958
- Activated on 1 December 1958.
- Discontinued, and inactivated, on 1 January 1962.
Assignments
- Unknown , 1917–1918.
- 18th Pursuit Group18th Operations GroupThe 18th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 18th Wing, stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan....
- Attached to 1st Pursuit Group1st Operations GroupThe 1st Operations Group is the flying component of the 1st Fighter Wing, assigned to the USAF Air Combat Command. The group is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. The 1st Operations Group is the oldest major air combat unit in the United States Air Force, being a successor organization...
, 1 August 1933 – 1 March 1935- 1st (later 1st Bombardment) Wing1st Bombardment Wing (World War II)The 1st Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. It was the first wing formed in the reorganized United States Army Air Service, created in August 1919 to control three groups patrolling the border with Mexico after revolution broke out there. Its last assignment was with...
- 1st (later 1st Bombardment) Wing
- Attached to 19th Bombardment Group, 1 September 1936
- IV Bomber CommandIV Bomber CommandThe IV Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fourth Air Force, based at San Francisco, California. It was inactivated on 31 March 1944.-Lineage:...
- IV Bomber Command
- Associated with: 1st Photographic Group1st Photographic GroupThe 1st Photographic Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 311th Photographic Wing, stationed at Buckley Field, Colorado. It was inactivated on 5 October 1944.-History:...
, 10 Jun 1941-22 Apr 1942 (training) - Attached to 19th Bombardment Group, 19 September 1941
- Sierra Bombardment Group, 16 December 1941
- Fourth Air ForceFourth Air ForceThe Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
, 17 January 1942
- Attached to IV Bomber CommandIV Bomber CommandThe IV Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fourth Air Force, based at San Francisco, California. It was inactivated on 31 March 1944.-Lineage:...
, 26 January 1942 (Unmanned and unequipped)- 19th Bombardment Group, 25 February 1942
- Assumed personnel and equipment of 31st Reconnaissance Squadron31st Reconnaissance SquadronThe 31st Reconnaissance Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 303d Bombardment Group, stationed at Gowen Field, Idaho. It was inactivated on 16 March 1942.-History:...
(Inactivated), 13 March 1942 - Attached to 303d Bombardment Group303d Bombardment GroupThe 303d Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 303d Bombardment Wing, being stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. It was de-activated on 16 June 1952....
for training, 13 March 1942- 303d Bombardment Group303d Bombardment GroupThe 303d Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 303d Bombardment Wing, being stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. It was de-activated on 16 June 1952....
, 31 March 1942-25 July 1945 - 303d Bombardment Wing, 1 December 1958-1 January 1962.
- 303d Bombardment Group
Stations
- Camp Kelly, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 12 June 1917 - Chanute Field, IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, 25 August 1917 – 1 December 1918 - Selfridge Field, MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, 1 August 1933 – 1 March 1935 - March Field, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 1 September 1936 - Albuquerque AirportAlbuquerque International SunportAlbuquerque International Sunport is a public airport located 3 miles southeast of the central business district of Albuquerque, a city in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States. It is the largest commercial airport in the state, handling 5,888,811 passengers in 2009...
, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, 5 June – 22 November 1941
- Air echelon departed Hamilton Field, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 6 December 1941 arrived Hickam Field, HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
(Territory), 7 December 1941 enroute to Clark FieldClark Air BaseClark Air Base is a former United States Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located 3 miles west of Angeles City, about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Most of the squadron's aircraft were destroyed or seriously damaged in the Pearl Harbor Attack. The air echelon was subsequently dissolved and personnel assigned to other units - Ground echelon departed San Francisco aboard ship, 6 December 1941; returned 9 December 1941.
- Bakersfield AirportBakersfield Municipal AirportBakersfield Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles south of the central business district of Bakersfield, a city in Kern County, California, United States...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 17 December 1941 - Gowen FieldBoise AirportBoise Airport , also known as Boise Air Terminal or Gowen Field, is a joint civil-military, commercial and general aviation airport located three nautical miles south of downtown Boise in Ada County, Idaho, USA...
, IdahoIdahoIdaho 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....
, 13 March 1942
- Operated from Muroc AAF, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, (28 May – c. 14 June 1942)- Alamogordo AAF, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, 18 June 1942 - Biggs Field, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 7 August–22, 1942 - RAF MolesworthRAF MolesworthRAF Molesworth is a Royal Air Force station located near Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom with a history dating back to 1917.Its runway and flight line facilities were closed in 1973 and demolished to support ground-launched cruise missile operations in the early 1980s...
, EnglandEnglandEngland 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...
, 12 September 1942 - Casablanca Airfield, French MoroccoFrench MoroccoFrench 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...
, c. 31 May – 25 July 1945 - Davis-Monthan AFB, ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, 1 December 1958 – 1 January 1962.
- Alamogordo AAF, New Mexico
Aircraft
- Included JN-4, 1917–1918. Primarily P-26 during period 1933¬1935. In addition to B-10, B-17, and B-18, included OA-4, Y10A-8 and A-17 during period 1936–1941
- B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1945
- B-47 StratojetB-47 StratojetThe 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...
, 1958–1961.