444th Air Expeditionary Squadron

The 444th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 320th Bombardment Wing, stationed at March Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 15 September 1960.

World War II
Established in mid-1942 as a Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber group. Trained under Third Air Force in Florida, deployed to England under the VIII Air Support Command, 3d Bombardment Wing.

Operated against targets on the continent during early fall of 1942; deployed to North Africa as part of Twelfth Air Force after Operation Torch landings in Algeria in November. Flew tactical bombing missions against Axis forces in North Africa until the end of the Tunisian Campaign in May 1943. Participated in the Sicilian and Italian Campaigns; liberation of Corsica and Sardinia and the Invasion of Southern France. Supported Allied ground forces in the Western Allied Invasion of Germany, spring 1945 and becoming part of the United States Air Forces in Europe Army of Occupation in Germany, fall 1945. Personnel demobilized in Germany and the squadron inactivated as a paper unit in December 1945.

Reserves
Reactivated in the reserves in 1947. Never manned or equipped.

Strategic Air Command
From 1958, the Boeing B-47 Stratojet wings of Strategic Air Command (SAC) began to assume an alert posture at their home bases, reducing the amount of time spent on alert at overseas bases. The SAC alert cycle divided itself into four parts: planning, flying, alert and rest to meet General Thomas S. Power’s initial goal of maintaining one third of SAC’s planes on fifteen minute ground alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. To implement this new system B-47 wings reorganized from three to four squadrons. The 444th was activated at March Air Force Base as the fourth squadron of the 320th Bombardment Wing. In September, the phaseout of the B-47 be accelerated resulted in the squadron and 320th Wing being inactivated on 15 September 1960, with the aircraft were sent to AMARC storage at Davis-Monthan.

Lineage

 * Constituted 444th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 19 June 1942
 * Activated on 1 July 1942
 * Redesignated 444th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 9 October 1944
 * Inactivated on 8 December 1945


 * Redesignated 444th Bombardment Squadron, Light on 26 May 1947
 * Activated in the reserve on 9 July 1947
 * Inactivated on 27 June 1949


 * Redesignated 444th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 6 October 1958
 * Activated on 1 January 1959
 * Discontinued on 15 September 1960

Assignments

 * 320th Bombardment Group, 1 July 1942 – 4 December 1945
 * 320th Bombardment Group, 9 July 1947 – 27 June 1949
 * 320th Bombardment Wing, 1 January 1959 – 15 September 1960

Stations

 * MacDill Field, Florida, 1 July 1942
 * Drane Field, Florida, 8–28 August 1942
 * RAF Hethel (AAF-114), England, 12 September 1942
 * RAF Tibenham (AAF-124), England, 1 October 1942
 * Oran Es Sénia Airport, Algeria, 9 January 1943
 * Tafaraoui Airfield, Algeria, 28 January 1943
 * Montesquieu Airfield, Algeria, 14 April 1943
 * Massicault Airfield, Tunisia, 29 June 1943
 * El Bathan Airfield, Tunisia, 28 July 1943


 * Decimomannu Airfield, Sardinia, Italy, 9 November 1943
 * Alto Airfield, Corsica, France, 20 September 1944
 * Dijon-Longvic Airfield (Y-9), France, 11 November 1944
 * Dôle-Tavaux Airfield (Y-7), France, 2 April 1945
 * Berghof, Germany, 19 June 1945
 * AAF Station Herzogenaurach (R-29), 3 September 1945
 * Clastres Airfield, France (A-71), c. October-27 November 1945
 * Camp Shanks, New York, 4–6 December 1945
 * Mitchel Field, New York, 9 July 1947 – 27 June 1949
 * March Air Force Base, California, 1 January 1959 – 15 September 1960

Aircraft

 * Martin B-26 Marauder, 1942–1945
 * Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1959–1960