The 542d 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 383d Bombardment Group

383d Bombardment Group

The 383d Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Army Service Forces, being stationed at Camp Azna, California. It was inactivated on 3 January 1946....

 stationed at Peterson Field

Peterson Field

Peterson Field is a public-use airport located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Plains, a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. It is privately owned by G. Thomas Peterson.- Facilities and aircraft :...

, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. It was inactivated on 1 April 1944.

History

Squadron activated in late 1942 as a B-17 Flying Fortress Operational Training Unit for pilots and aircrews. Transitioned in April 1943 to a B-24 Liberator Replacement Training Unit. Inactivated in April 1944 when heavy bombardment training was discontinued.

Lineage

• Constituted as 542d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 October 1942

Activated on 3 November 1942

Inactivated on 1 April 1944.

Stations

• Salt Lake City AAB, 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...
  
  , 3 November 1942
• Rapid City AAB, South Dakota
  South Dakota
  South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
  
  , 12 November 1942
• Ainsworth AAF
  Ainsworth Army Airfield
  Ainsworth Municipal Airport is a public use airport located six nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Ainsworth, in Brown County, Nebraska, United States...
  
  , Nebraska
  Nebraska
  Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
  
  , 13 December 1942
• Rapid City AAB, South Dakota
  South Dakota
  South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
  
  , 26 April 1943
• Geiger Field, Washington, 20 June 1943
• Peterson Field
  Peterson Field
  Peterson Field is a public-use airport located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Plains, a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. It is privately owned by G. Thomas Peterson.- Facilities and aircraft :...
  
  , Colorado
  Colorado
  Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
  
  , c. 26 October 1943-1 April 1944.

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