529th Bombardment Squadron

The 529th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 380th Bombardment Wing, based at Plattsburgh AFB, New York. It was inactivated on 25 June 1966.

History
Established in late 1942 as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomb squadron; trained under Second Air Force in Texas, and later in Colorado. Deployed to the Southwest Pacific Area (SPA) in April 1943, being assigned to Fifth Air Force in Australia.

From airfields in Australia, the squadron reached out to the Japanese installations in the Netherlands East Indies. Moved to the Philippines where the squadron operated in early 1945, then to Okinawa where combat operations ended after the Japanese Capitulation in August. After the war, squadron personnel were demobilized and returned to the United States, the B-24s sent to reclamation in the Philippines. Inactivated as a paper unit in early 1946.

In 1947, the squadron was reactivated as a reserve unit of the Strategic Air Command at MacDill Field, Florida. The squadron remained an inactive reserve unit until 1951 when the squadron was inactivated.

The squadron was again activated in 1955 as part of the 380th Strategic Aerospace Wing and equipped with the B-47 Stratojet. Flying the B-47, the squadron took a place as part of SAC's nuclear deterrent to war 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 obsolete and vulnerable to new Soviet air defenses. The squadron began to send its stratojets to AMARC at Davis-Monthan AFB for retirement, being inactivated in 1966.

Lineage

 * Constituted 529th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 October 1942
 * Activated on 3 November 1942
 * Inactivated on 20 February 1946


 * Redesignated 529th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 3 July 1947
 * Activated in the reserve on 17 July 1947
 * Inactivated on 27 June 1949


 * Redesignated 529th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 20 May 1955
 * Activated on 11 July 1955
 * Inactivated 25 June 1966

Assignments

 * 380th Bombardment Group, 3 November 1942-20 February 1946
 * Attached to: Royal Australian Air Force, 28 April 1943 - 28 February 1945


 * 380th Bombardment Group, 17 July 1947-27 June 1949
 * 380th Bombardment Wing, 11 July 1955-25 June 1966

Stations

 * Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, 3 November 1942
 * Biggs Field, Texas, 2 December 1942
 * Lowry Field, Colorado, 4 March-19 Apx 1943
 * Manbulloo Airfield, Australia, 28 April 1943
 * Long Airfield (Long Strip), Australia, c. 7 November 1943
 * RAAF Base Darwin, Australia, C. 10 July 1944
 * San Jose, Mindoro, 28 February 1945
 * Motobu Airfield, Okinawa, 12 August 1945
 * Fort William McKinley, Luzon, C. 28 November 1945-20 February 1946
 * Jacksonville Airport, Florida, 17 July 1947-27 June 1949
 * Plattsburgh AFB, New York, 11 July 1955-25 June 1966

Aircraft

 * B-24 Liberator, 1942–1945
 * B-29 Superfortress, 1947–1949
 * B-47 Stratojet, 1955–1966

Operational history
Combat in Southwest and Western Pacific, c. 21 May 1943-24 July 1945. Reserve B-29 squadron (1947–1949). SAC Medium bomber (B-47) squadron (1955–1965) inactivated when B-47 was withdrawn from service.