715th Weapons Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 715th Weapons Squadron (715 WPS) is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. It was last assigned to the USAF Weapons School
at Whiteman Air Force Base
, Missouri
. It was inactivated 9 September 2005
The 715th Bomb Squadron was first activated on 6 April 1943 and saw its first combat in the European Theater of Operations over the skies of Germany in December of that year flying the B-24 Liberator. In 1946 the 715th transitioned to the B-29 and was reassigned to the 509th Composite Group, the same organization that ended the war in the Pacific with the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan. The 715th continued service flying the B-29, B-50, and B-47 until it was deactivated in 1966. The 715th was reactivated in 1970 at Pease AFB as the first operational FB-111 squadron.
heavy bomb squadron, trained under Second Air Force. Deployed to England
in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during November 1943, assigned to VIII Bomber Command
as a strategic bombardment squadron. Participated in the air offensive over Nazi Germany and Occupied Europe until German capitulation in May 1945. Personnel demobilized in England and returned to the United States; squadron reassigned to Second Air Force
and re-equipped with B-29 Superfortress
es, being trained for deployment to Pacific Theater. Japanese capitulation canceled deployment and was assigned to Fort Worth AAF, Texas as Continental Air Forces, later Strategic Air Command
squadron.
. B-29s modified into atomic capable silverplate configuration and stood nuclear alert. Began upgrading to the new B-50 Superfortress
, an advanced version of the B-29 in 1949. The B-50 gave the unit the capability to carry heavy loads of conventional weapons faster and farther as well as being designed for atomic bomb missions if necessary. Squadron deployed to SAC airfields in England
, and also to Andersen AFB, Guam
on long-term deployments in the 1950s.
By 1951, the emergence of the Soviet Mig-21 interceptor in the skies of North Korea
signaled the end of the propeller-driven B-50 as a first-line strategic bomber. The squadron moved into the jet age when it received new, swept wing B-47 Stratojet
s in 1955 which were designed to carry nuclear weapons and to penetrate Soviet air defenses with its high operational ceiling and near supersonic speed. The squadron flew the B-47 for about a decade when by the mid-1960s it had become obsolescent and vulnerable to new Soviet air defenses. The squadron began to send it's stratojets to AMARC at Davis-Monthan AFB for retirement in 1965, and the unit inactivated in 1966.
Reactivated as General Dynamics FB-111 strategic bomber squadron in 1970 when aircraft became part of SAC's nuclear deterrent force. Inactivated in 1990 with retirement of weapons system.
in May 2002. On 13 August 2003, the B-2 Division was re-designated as the 715th Weapons Squadron, and became an instructional squadron as part of USAF Weapons School
, 2003. The 715th WPS was a Geographically Separated Unit (GSU) of the 57th Wing
, assigned to Nellis AFB, Nevada. It was inactivated, and its assets re-designated as the 325th Weapons Squadron on 9 September 2005 due to budget cutbacks, being re-designated as part of the USAF Heritage program of preserving notable senior units.
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 USAF Weapons School
USAF Weapons School
The USAF Weapons School is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the 57th Wing. It is stationed at Nellis AFB, Nevada.-Mission:...
at Whiteman Air Force Base
Whiteman Air Force Base
Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately south of Knob Noster, Missouri; east-southeast of Kansas City, Missouri....
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. It was inactivated 9 September 2005
The 715th Bomb Squadron was first activated on 6 April 1943 and saw its first combat in the European Theater of Operations over the skies of Germany in December of that year flying the B-24 Liberator. In 1946 the 715th transitioned to the B-29 and was reassigned to the 509th Composite Group, the same organization that ended the war in the Pacific with the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan. The 715th continued service flying the B-29, B-50, and B-47 until it was deactivated in 1966. The 715th was reactivated in 1970 at Pease AFB as the first operational FB-111 squadron.
World War II
Activated in mid 1943 as a B-24 LiberatorB-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
heavy bomb squadron, trained under Second Air Force. Deployed 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 the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during November 1943, 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...
as a strategic bombardment squadron. Participated in the air offensive over Nazi Germany and Occupied Europe until German capitulation in May 1945. Personnel demobilized in England and returned to the United States; squadron reassigned to Second 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....
and re-equipped with 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...
es, being trained for deployment to Pacific Theater. Japanese capitulation canceled deployment and was assigned to Fort Worth AAF, Texas as Continental Air Forces, later 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...
squadron.
Cold War
Original host unit inactivated due to budget and personnel shortages in May 1946; squadron reassigned and consolidated into 509th Composite Group509th Composite Group
The 509th Composite Group was a United States Army Air Forces unit created during World War II, and tasked with operational deployment of nuclear weapons...
. B-29s modified into atomic capable silverplate configuration and stood nuclear alert. Began upgrading to the new 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...
, an advanced version of the B-29 in 1949. The B-50 gave the unit the capability to carry heavy loads of conventional weapons faster and farther as well as being designed for atomic bomb missions if necessary. Squadron deployed to SAC airfields 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...
, and also to Andersen AFB, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
on long-term deployments in the 1950s.
By 1951, the emergence of the Soviet Mig-21 interceptor in the skies of North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
signaled the end of the propeller-driven B-50 as a first-line strategic bomber. The squadron moved into the jet age when it received new, swept wing 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...
s in 1955 which were designed to carry nuclear weapons and to penetrate Soviet air defenses with its high operational ceiling and near supersonic speed. The squadron flew the B-47 for about a decade when by the mid-1960s it had become obsolescent and vulnerable to new Soviet air defenses. The squadron began to send it's stratojets to AMARC at Davis-Monthan AFB for retirement in 1965, and the unit inactivated in 1966.
Reactivated as General Dynamics FB-111 strategic bomber squadron in 1970 when aircraft became part of SAC's nuclear deterrent force. Inactivated in 1990 with retirement of weapons system.
Modern era
The Air Force Chief of Staff directed the creation of the B-2 Division, USAF Weapons SchoolUSAF Weapons School
The USAF Weapons School is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the 57th Wing. It is stationed at Nellis AFB, Nevada.-Mission:...
in May 2002. On 13 August 2003, the B-2 Division was re-designated as the 715th Weapons Squadron, and became an instructional squadron as part of USAF Weapons School
USAF Weapons School
The USAF Weapons School is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the 57th Wing. It is stationed at Nellis AFB, Nevada.-Mission:...
, 2003. The 715th WPS was a Geographically Separated Unit (GSU) of the 57th Wing
57th Wing
The 57th Wing is an operational unit of the United States Air Force Warfare Center, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.The 57 WG's mission is to provide well trained and well equipped combat forces ready to deploy into a combat arena to conduct integrated combat operations.-Mission:The 57...
, assigned to Nellis AFB, Nevada. It was inactivated, and its assets re-designated as the 325th Weapons Squadron on 9 September 2005 due to budget cutbacks, being re-designated as part of the USAF Heritage program of preserving notable senior units.
Lineage
- Constituted 715th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 6 April 1943
- Activated on 1 May 1943
- Redesignated: 715th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 5 August 1945
- Redesignated: 715th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 2 July 1948
- Discontinued, and inactivated, on 25 June 1966
- Activated on 1 January 1970
- Inactivated on 30 September 1990
- Redesignated 715th Weapons Squadron on 11 August 2003
- Activated and organized on August 13, 2003, assuming resources of B-2 Division, USAF Weapons School
- Inactivated and replaced by the 325th Weapons Squadron, 9 September 2005
Assignments
- 448th Bombardment Group, 1 May 1943
- 509th Composite (later, 509 Bombardment) Group509th Operations GroupThe 509th Operations Group is the flying component of the United States Air Force 509th Bomb Wing , assigned to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. It is equipped with all 20 of the USAF's B-2 Spirit stealth bombers...
, 6 May 1946
- Attached to 509th Bombardment Wing, 17 November 1947-14 September 1948 and 1 February 1951-15 June 1952
- 509th Bombardment Wing, 16 June 1952-25 June 1966; 1 January 1970-30 September 1990
- USAF Weapons SchoolUSAF Weapons SchoolThe USAF Weapons School is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the 57th Wing. It is stationed at Nellis AFB, Nevada.-Mission:...
, 13 August 2003-9 September 2005
Stations
- Gowen Field, 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....
, 1 May 1943 - Wendover Field, UtahUtahUtah 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...
, 4 July 1943 - Sioux City Army Air Base, IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, 11 September-7 November 1943 - RAF SeethingRAF SeethingRAF Seething is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 9 miles SE of Norwich in Norfolk.-Overview:Seething airfield was built in 1942-43 by John Laing & Son Ltd., to the standard Class A requirement for heavy bombers, the airfield had a main runway 6,000 ft. long...
(AAF-146), 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...
, 25 November 1943-5 July 1945 - Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth 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...
, 15 July 1945 - McCook Army AirfieldMcCook Army AirfieldMcCook Army Airfield was activated on 1 April 1943. It is located nine miles northwest of McCook, a city in Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States and is southwest of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was constructed in 1943...
, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska 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....
, 25 July 1945
- 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...
, 23 August 1945 - McCook Army AirfieldMcCook Army AirfieldMcCook Army Airfield was activated on 1 April 1943. It is located nine miles northwest of McCook, a city in Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States and is southwest of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was constructed in 1943...
, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska 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....
, 8 September 1945 - Fort Worth Army Air 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...
, 12 December 1945 - Roswell AAFld (later, Walker AFB), 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...
, 26 June 1946 - Pease AFB, New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, 1 July 1958-25 June 1966; 1 January 1970-30 September 1990 - Whiteman AFB, MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, 13 August 2003-9 September 2005
Aircraft
- B-24 LiberatorB-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
, 1943–1945 - B-29 SuperfortressB-29 SuperfortressThe 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...
, 1945–1951 - B-50 SuperfortressB-50 SuperfortressThe 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...
, 1950–1955 - 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...
, 1955–1965 - FB-111, 1971-1990
- B-2 SpiritB-2 SpiritThe Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with low observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen ...
, 2003-2005