| Unit Name: | 352d Bombardment Squadron |
| Dates: | 1942–1945; 1946–1964 |
| Role: | Bombardment |
| Motto: | Determined[1] |
| Battles: |
|
| Decorations: |
|
| Identification Symbol Label: | Patch with 352d Bombardment Squadron emblem |
The 352d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 301st Bombardment Wing at Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio, where it was inactivated on 8 June 1964.
During World War II, the 352d Bombardment Squadron was a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress squadron, assigned to the 301st Bombardment Group of Fifteenth Air Force. It earned two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first in 1943, the second in 1944. It returned to the United States following V-E Day to train as a very heavy bomber unit, but the end of the war in the Pacific resulted in its inactivation.
The squadron was activated in Strategic Air Command (SAC)in 1946, assuming the personnel and equipment of another squadron, which was inactivated. It served under SAC until inactivating, and earned an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for the period of 1 January 1961 to 31 December 1962.
The squadron was organized at Geiger Field, Washington as one of the four Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress squadrons of the 301st Bombardment Group in February 1942.[2] [3] In late May, it moved to Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico, although the air echelon operated from Muroc Army Air Base, flying antisubmarine patrols off the California coast until early June 1942. The ground echelon moved to Virginia to prepare for movement overseas, leaving for Fort Dix and the Port of Embarkation on 19 July. The air echelon left for Brainard Field, Connecticut in late June. The squadron ferried its Flying Fortresses via the North Atlantic ferry route as part of Operation Bolero, the build up of American forces in the United Kingdom.[1] [4] The squadron and its companion squadrons of the 301st Group were the first B-17F unit to arrive in England.[5]
The ground and air echelons were reunited at RAF Chelveston on 19 August 1942. The squadron flew its first mission on 5 September 1942. From England it attacked targets primarily in France, including submarine pens, airfields, railroad targets, and bridges. On 14 September, the 301st Group and its squadrons were reassigned to XII Bomber Command in preparation for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, but they continued to operate under the control of VIII Bomber Command. Between 20 and 23 November 1942, the air echelon moved forward to bases in southeastern England, from which it flew directly to Tafaraoui Airfield, Algeria. The ground echelon sailed for Algeria from Liverpool on 8 December 1942.[3] [4]
Until August 1943, the squadron operated from airfields in Algeria, bombing docks, shipping facilities, airfields and marshalling yards in Tunisia, Sicily, and Sardinia. It also attacked enemy ships operating between Sicily and Tunisia. On 6 April 1943, the squadron withstood heavy flak from shore defenses and enemy vessels, when it attacked a merchant convoy near Bizerte, Tunisia that was carrying supplies essential for the Axis defense of Tunisia. For this mission it was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC). In May and June, it participated in Operation Corkscrew, the bombing and invasion of Pantelleria, prior to the invasion of Sicily.[3]
Starting in July 1943, the squadron began flying numerous missions to targets in Italy, moving forward to Oudna Airfield, Tunisia in early August. In November 1943, strategic and tactical air forces in the Mediterranean were divided and the squadron became part of Fifteenth Air Force. It moved to Italy in December 1943 and in February 1944 it was established at Lucera Airfield, Italy, from which it would conduct combat operations for the remainder of the war. From its Italian base, it concentrated on the strategic bombing campaign against Germany, attacking oil centers, lines of communications, and industrial areas in Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. On 23 February 1944, it participated in an attack on the Messerschmitt aircraft factory at Regensburg, succeeding despite "viscous" attacks by enemy interceptors. For this mission, it was awarded a second DUC.[3]
The 352d also flew air support missions near Anzio and Monte Cassino, provided cover for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France and the advance of the Red Army in the Balkans and the Allied advances in the Po Valley.[3] It engaged in shuttle bombing missions to airfields in the Soviet Union during the summer of 1944.[6]
Following V-E Day, the squadron remained in Italy until July 1945. In August, it was designated as a "very heavy" unit in preparation for conversion to the Boeing B-29 Superfortress and deployment to Pacific Theater. Before the squadron arrived at its planned training base, Pyote Army Air Field, Texas, Japan had surrendered and there was no need for additional bomber units. The squadron was inactivated in October 1945, shortly before Pyote ended training operations and became an aircraft storage depot.[1] [7]
The squadron was reactivated in 1946 as a Strategic Air Command strategic bombardment squadron, assuming the personnel and Boeing B-29 Superfortresss of the 789th Bombardment Squadronl, which was simultaneously inactivated. It deployed to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany, July–August 1948; to RAF Scampton, England, October 1948-January 1949; and to RAF Stations Lakenheath and Sculthorpe, May–November 1950 for "show of force" missions in Europe as a result of the Berlin Blockade by the Soviet Union and rising Cold War tensions in Europe. The squadron deployed to Far East Air Forces in February 1951, flying combat missions over North Korea; attacking strategic industrial and military targets during the Korean War.
It returned to the United States in June 1952 and transitioned to the Boeing B-47 Stratojet with the removal of the B-29 as a combat aircraft from the inventory. The squadron moved to Lockbourne Air Force Base in 1958. It added Electronic Countermeasures as an ancillary mission in 1961.
The unit was inactivated and closed in 1964 with the fleet-wide retirement of the B-47 aircraft.
Activated on 3 February 1942
Redesignated 352d Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 20 August 1943
Redesignated 352d Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 5 August 1945
Inactivated on 15 October 1945
Redesignated 352d Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 28 May 1948[8]
Inactivated on 8 June 1964[9]