424th Bombardment Squadron
Military unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 424th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 307th Bombardment Wing at Lincoln Air Force Base, Nebraska, where it was inactivated on 1 January 1962.
424th Bombardment Squadron | |
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Active | 1942–1945; 1953–1954; 1958–1962 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Role | Bombardment |
Engagements | South Pacific Theater, Southwest Pacific Theater[1] |
Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Philippine Presidential Unit Citation[1] |
Insignia | |
424th Bombardment Squadron emblem[lower-alpha 2][1] |
The squadron was first activated in April 1942 as the 34th Reconnaissance Squadron, one of the original four squadrons of the 307th Bombardment Group, but was redesignated the 424th Bombardment Squadron shortly afterwards. After training in the United States, it deployed to the Pacific, serving mainly in the Southwest Pacific Theater. The squadron earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for its actions in combat. Following V-J Day, it returned to the United States for inactivation.
The squadron was activated as a light bomber crew training unit during the Korean War, replacing an Air National Guard unit that had been mobilized for the war and was returning to state control. It was inactivated and its personnel and equipment transferred to another unit in connection with the upgrade of the unit to jet bombers. It was activated again in 1958 when Strategic Air Command (SAC) expanded its Boeing B-47 wings from three to four squadrons. When SAC's alert commitment changed, it was inactivated in 1962. [citation needed]