524th Bombardment Squadron

The 524th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 379th Bombardment Wing. It was last stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan, and was inactivated on 15 June 1993.

History
Established in late 1947 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomb squadron; trained under Second Air Force. Deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in early 1943, being assigned to VIII Bomber Command in England.

Began long range strategic bombardment operations over enemy-held Europe on 19 May 1943; engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic targets such as industries, oil refineries, storage plants, submarine pens, airfields and communications centers in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Poland. Specific targets included a chemical plant in Ludwigshafen, an aircraft assembly plant in Brunswick, ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt and Leipzig, synthetic oil refineries at Merseburg and Gelsenkirchen, marshalling yards at Hamm and Reims and airfields in Mesnil au Val and Berlin.

On several occasions the squadron attacked interdiction targets and operated in support of ground forces. It bombed V-weapon sites, airfields, radar stations and other installations before the Normandy invasion in June 1944, bombed defended positions just ahead of the Allied landings on 6 June and struck airfields, rail choke points, and gun emplacements during the campaign that followed.

During the Northern France Campaign, the squadron bombed enemy positions to assist ground troops at St Lo during the breakthrough, 24–25 July 1944, attacked German communications and fortifications during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 - January 1945, and bombed bridges and viaducts in France and Germany to aid the Allied assault across the Rhine, February–March 1945, combat ending with the German Capitulation in May 1945.

Was reassigned to Air Transport Command and assigned to Casablanca, French Morocco, the squadron used its B-17 bombers as transports, ferrying military personnel from locations in France to Morocco, then south to Dakar in French West Africa or to the Azores for further transportation by other units. Inactivated in place in Morocco in late July 1945.

Was reactivated as a Strategic Air Command B-47 Stratojet squadron in 1955 at Homestead AFB, Florida. Trained with the B-47 and participated in worldwide deployments and SAC exercises. Beginning in October 1960, the squadron began transferring its B-47s to other SAC units and became non-operational. Reassigned to Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan and assumed the B-52H Stratofortresses and personnel of a provisional squadron. During the Vietnam War, aircrews and personnel were deployed to forward bases in the Western Pacific; engaging in combat operations over Indochina as part of Operation Arc Light, Linebacker I and Linebacker II. In 1977, the 524th exchanged their B-52Hs for the conventional bomb capable B-52G.

Retirement of the B-52G began in the late 1980s, however the Gulf War of 1990-1991 resulted in a temporary delay in the inactivation of B-52G units. The squadron deployed aircraft and personnel to Prince Abdullah AB in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. These planes were part of the 1708th Bombardment Wing (P), a provisional wing formed from B-52Gs out of Barksdale, Castle, Wurtsmith, and others. The planes arrived at dawn on the first day of the air war. One plane flew 29 missions out of Jeddah, the most of any bomber crew in the theater. During the Gulf War, 524th squadron aircraft carried the "Triangle K" tail flash in honor of their World War II predecessors and heritage.

After the end of the Gulf War, the squadron was inactivated in 1993.

Lineage

 * Constituted 524th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) On 28 Oct 1942
 * Activated on 3 Nov 1942
 * Inactivated on 25 Jul 1945


 * Redesignated 524th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 12 Jul 1955
 * Activated on 1 Nov 1955
 * Redesignated 524th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 9 Jan 1961
 * Inactivated on 15 Jun 1993

Assignments

 * 379th Bombardment Group, 3 Nov 1942 - 25 Jul 1945
 * 379th Bombardment Wing, 1 Nov 1955 - 15 Jun 1993

Stations

 * Geiger Field, Washington, 3 Nov 1942
 * Wendover Field, Utah, 19 Nov 1942
 * Sioux City Army Air Base, Iowa, 3 Feb-Apr 1943
 * RAF Kimbolton (AAF-117), England, 21 May 1943-12 June 1945
 * Casablanca Airfield, French Morocco, 17 Jun-25 July 1945
 * Homestead AFB, Florida, 1 Nov 1955
 * Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan, 9 Jan 1961-15 Jun 1993
 * Flight of aircraft and personnel deployed to 1708th Provisional Bombardment Wing, Prince Abdulla AB, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Aug 1990-Mar 1991 (Operation Desert Storm); additional aircraft and personnel deployed in Dec 1990-Mar 1991.

Aircraft

 * B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1945
 * B-47 Stratojet, 1956–1960
 * B-52H Stratofortress, 9 May 1961 - July 1977
 * B-52G Stratofortress, 2 May 1977 - 2 December 1992