846th Bombardment Squadron

The 846th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 489th Bombardment Group. It was inactivated at March Field, California on 17 October 1945.

History
Activated in September 1943 as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomb squadron by Second Air Force, training in Utah the until being deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO); being assigned to VIII Bomber Command in England in May 1944. Squadron entered combat on 30 May 1944, in the period immediately before the D-Day landings. Took part in strategic bombing campaign over Europe. Also supported the D-Day landings and the massive aerial attack that preceded the breakthrough at St. Lo. The unit was also used to carry food to liberated France and to the rapidly advancing Allied troops during August and September 1944 and to carry supplies to the Allied troops in Holland during Operation Market Garden.

In November-December 1944 the squadron was withdrawn to the United States, where it began to prepare to deploy to the Pacific. In March 1945 it was redesignated as a Very Heavy bombardment unit, and converted to the B-29 Superfortress, but the war ended before it could be deployed with the new aircraft. The unit was inactivated on 17 October 1945.

Lineage

 * Constituted 846th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 14 Sep 1943
 * Activated on 1 Oct 1943
 * Redesignated 846th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 17 Mar 1945
 * Inactivated on 16 Oct 1945.

Assignments

 * 489th Bombardment Group, 1 Oct 1943-17 Oct 1945

Stations

 * Wendover Field, Utah, 1 October 1943 – 3 April 1944
 * RAF Halesworth (AAF 365), England, c. 1 May – November 1944 (Station 365)
 * Bradley Field, Connecticut 12 December 1944
 * Lincoln Army Airfield, Nebraska, c. 17 December 1944
 * Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas c. 18 February 1945


 * Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, 3 April 1945
 * Fairmont Army Airfield, Nebraska c. 13 July 1945
 * Fort Lawton, Washington 23 August 1945
 * March Field, California 2 September – 17 October 1945

Aircraft

 * B-24 Liberator, 1943-1944
 * B-29 Superfortress, 1945.