834th Bombardment Squadron

The 834th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 486th Bombardment Group, stationed at Drew Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945.

History
The squadron was established as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber squadron 14 September 1943 and trained under the Second Air Force. It was part of the 486th Bombardment Group along with the 823d, 825th and 826th Squadrons.

In March 1944, after several months of training, the squadron was deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), being assigned to Eighth Air Force in England. From its base at RAF Sudbury, the squadron began flying long-range strategic bombing missions over Nazi Germany and occupied Europe, attacking enemy military and industrial targets primarily in Germany.

The squadron became known as the "Zodiac Squadron" from the pictures of the zodiac figures painted on their noses. A commercial artist named Brinkman, from Chicago, was responsible for the pin-up nose art of the B-24 Liberators. Valant, Gary M. Classic Vintage Nose Art. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Lowe and B. Hould, an imprint of Borders, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0-681-22744-3. pages 13-15. In November 1944 unit re-equipped with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and reassigned from 2d to 4th Bombardment Division. It continued strategic bombardment attacks on enemy targets until German capitulation in May 1945.

Personnel were largely demobilized during the summer of 1945; small cadre from the squadron returned to the United States assigned to Drew Field, Florida. It was scheduled for re-equipping and re-manning as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress Very Heavy Bomb squadron for deployment to Western Pacific. However, the Japanese capitulation in August 1945 led to the squadron's inactivation 7 November 1945.

Stations

 * McCook Army Airfield, Nebraska, 20 September 1943
 * Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, 9 November 1943-9 March 1944
 * RAF Sudbury, England, 5 April 1944-August 1945
 * Drew Field, Florida, 3 September-7 November 1945.