19th Antisubmarine Squadron

The 19th Antisubmarine Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 479th Antisubmarine Group, based at RAF Podington, England. It was inactivated on 29 January 1944.

Lineage

 * Constituted 363d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 January 1942
 * Activated on 15 July 1942
 * Redesignated 19th Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy) on 29 November 1942
 * Disbanded on 11 November 1943.

Assignments

 * 304th Bombardment Group, 15 July 1942
 * 25th Antisubmarine Wing, 30 December 1942
 * Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, 8 June 1943
 * 479th Antisubmarine Group, 8 July – 11 November 1943.

Stations

 * Salt Lake City AAB, Utah, 15 July 1942
 * Geiger Field, Washington, 15 September 1942
 * Ephrata, Washington, 1 October 1942
 * Langley Field, Virginia, 29 October – 19 March 1943
 * RCAF Station Gander, Newfoundland, 19 March – c. 25 June 1943
 * RAF St Eval, England, C. 30 June 1943
 * RAF Dunkeswell, England, 6 August 1943
 * RAF Podington, England, 11 November 1943.

Aircraft

 * B-17 Flying Fortress 1942
 * B-24 Liberator, 1942–1944.

Operational history
The squadron received its personnel in July 1942 and began training on the US west coast. It then operated with Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, being reassigned to the 25th Antisubmarine Wing at Langley Field, Virginia. It used B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators to fly patrols along the east coast.

Reassigned to RCAF Station Gander, Newfoundland to fly antisubmarine patrols over the North Atlantic, it also provided convoy escort duties. The squadron moved to RAF St Eval in England in late June 1943 due to requests by RAF Coastal Command to provide submarine patrols south of England and over the Bay of Biscay.

The squadron's most effective antisubmarine patrols were conducted from 18 July to 2 August 1943, the period in which the unit made nearly all of its attacks on enemy U-boats. After that time the enemy avoided surfacing during daylight and adopted a policy of evasion, but the squadron continued its patrols, often engaging Luftwaffe fighter interceptor aircraft such as the Junkers Ju 88, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Messerschmitt Bf 110) in combat. The Focke-Wulf 200 was also encountered.

The 19th was moved to RAF Dunkeswell in Dorset during early August 1943 and ended operations in October 1943 after aerial antisubmarine missions were turned over to the United States Navy. B-24s reassigned to Navy Patrol Bomber Squadron VPB-103, Fleet Air Wing 7 at Dunkeswell were redesignated PB4Ys.