668th Bomb Squadron

The 668th Bomb Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 416th Operations Group. It was last stationed at Griffiss Air Force Base, New York and was inactivated on 1 January 1995.

History
Established in early 1943 as a B-25 Mitchell medium bomber Operational Training Squadron under the Third Air Force, it received A-20 Havoc light bombers and trained in ground attack and light bombardment tactics. It deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in early 1944, assigned to the Ninth Air Force in England.

From there, the squadron engaged in the tactical bombardment of enemy targets, mainly in the coastal areas of France and the Low Countries and attacked V-weapon sites in France. It flew a number of missions against airfields and coastal defenses to help prepare for D-Day. The unit supported the invasion in June 1944 by striking road junctions, marshalling yards, bridges, and railway overpasses. It assisted ground forces at Caen and St Lo in July and at Brest later in the summer, by hitting transportation facilities, supply dumps and radar installations. In spite of intense resistance, the group bombed bridges, railways, rolling stock and a radar station to disrupt the enemy's retreat through the Falaise gap between 6 and 9 August. The squadron assisted the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September. It supported the assault on the Siegfried Line by pounding transportation, warehouses, supply dumps and defended villages in Germany.

Converted to the A-26 Invader in November 1944, it attacked transportation facilities, strong points, communications centers and troop concentrations during the Battle of the Bulge, (from December 1944 to January 1945). The squadron also aided the Allied thrust into Germany by continuing its strikes against transportation, communications, airfields and storage depots between February and May 1945. It bombed flak positions in support of the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945. The unit demobilized in France after the German surrender during the summer of 1945; the squadron inactivated as a paper unit in November.

Activated as a Strategic Air Command (SAC) B-52 Stratofortress squadron in 1963, it replaced a provisional squadron at Griffiss AFB, New York. It conducted strategic bombardment training and air refueling operations to meet SAC commitments, including supporting SAC operations in the Far East and Southeast Asia with B-52 crews, June 1968–1975. It flew combat missions over Indochina as part of Operation Arc Light, Linebacker I and Linebacker II. The squadron deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990–1991 and flew combat missions over Iraq and Kuwait as part of Operation Desert Storm.

It was inactivated in 1995 at the time of the closure of Griffiss AFB.

Lineage

 * Constituted as the 668th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 25 Jan 1943
 * Activated on 5 Feb 1943
 * Inactivated on 11 Oct 1945


 * Redesignated the 668th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) and activated on 15 Nov 1962
 * Organized on 1 Feb 1963; receiving personnel/aircraft/equipment from 75th Bombardment Squadron (Inactivated)
 * Redesignated the 668th Bomb Squadron on 1 Jun 1992
 * Inactivated on 1 Jan 1995

Assignments

 * 416th Bombardment Group, 5 Feb 1943 – 11 Oct 1945
 * Strategic Air Command, 15 Nov 1962
 * 416th Bombardment Wing, 1 Feb 1963
 * 416th Operations Group, 1 Jun 1992 – 1 Jan 1995

Stations

 * Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma, 5 Feb 1943
 * Lake Charles Army Air Field, Louisiana, 4 Jun 1943
 * Laurel Army Airfield, Mississippi, 1 Nov 1943 – 1 Jan 1944
 * RAF Wethersfield (AAF-170), England, 2 Feb 1944
 * Melun Airfield (A-55), France, 25 Sep 1944
 * Laon/Athies Airfield (A-69), France, 10 Feb 1945
 * Cormeilles en Vexin Airfield (A-59), France, c. 25 May 1945
 * Laon/Athies Airfield (A-69), France, 27 Jul – 13 Sep 1945
 * Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts, 10–11 Oct 1945
 * Griffiss AFB, New York, 1 Feb 1963 – 1 Jan 1995
 * Flight of aircraft and personnel deployed to 1708th Provisional Bombardment Wing, Prince Abdulla AB, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Aug 1990–Mar 1991 (Operation Desert Storm)
 * Flight of aircraft and personnel deployed to 806th Provisional Bombardment Wing, RAF Fairford, England, Jan–Mar 1991 (Operation Desert Storm)

Aircraft

 * B-25 Mitchell, 1943
 * A-20 Havoc, 1943–1944
 * A-26 Invader, 1944–1945
 * B-52G/H Stratofortress, 1963–1995