23d Bomb Squadron

The 23d Bomb Squadron (23 BS) is a United States Air Force unit, assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing. It is stationed at Minot AFB, North Dakota. The mission of the 23BS is to fly the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress long range bomber. The squadron stands ready to deploy and fly its B-52Hs to enforce national security policy by being ready to deliver overwhelming nuclear or conventional firepower to destroy targets, worldwide, at any time.

The squadron is one of the oldest in the United States Air Force, its origins dating to 16 June 1917, being organized at Kelly Field, Texas. It deployed to England as part of the American Expeditionary Forces, being engaged as an aircraft repair squadron during World War I. The squadron saw combat during World War II, and became part of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the Cold War.

Unit Patch
The insignia is a blue disk with a black volcano with red lava flowing from the crater, extending upward as red and yellow rays intermingling with clouds. On the front are five black bombs signifying the 23 BS with three on the dexter (right) side, and two on the sinister (left) side. The patch was approved on 30 September 1931.

On 27 December 1935 fate stepped in, and the unit was actually tasked to drop twenty 600-pound bombs in the path of the flow of lava from Mauna Loa volcano, thus saving the city of Hilo, Hawaii, from destruction. It is worn proudly by all members and is a constant reminder of their heritage.

World War I
Originally organized on 16 June 1917 as the 18th Aero Squadron but redesignated 23d six days later, the 23d supported World War I air combat operations serving as an aircraft and engine repair depot organization. Demobilized shortly after the Armistice with Germany (Compiègne).

Inter-war years
The 23d was reborn in 1921 and spent the decades of the 1920s and 1930s stationed in Hawaii. There, the squadron flew a number of bomber types, most notably the Keystone bomber series and later the Douglas B-18 Bolo. It was during the squadron’s stay in Hawaii that the event signified by the squadron patch took place. On 27 December 1935, the Mauna Loa volcano on the island of Hawaii erupted, threatening the city of Hilo. Six Keystones of the 23d used precision bombing tactics to drop twenty 600-pound bombs in the path of the volcano’s lava flow, thus saving the city of Hilo by diverting the lava away from the city.

World War II
Part of the 5th Bombardment Group, the 23d fought its way across the Southwest Pacific during World War II. The 23d initially flew Boeing B-17E Flying Fortresses into combat, replacing those with Consolidated B-24 Liberators by early 1943. Long-range over-water missions were the squadron’s forte, and in April 1944 the squadron won its first of two Distinguished Unit Citations for flying the longest over-water bombing mission ever flown to date, some 1,300 miles each way, to bomb the Japanese base at Woleai Island. After winning a second DUC for another long range strike against oil refineries on Borneo on 30 September 1944, the 23d found itself in the Philippines at the close of the war.

Cold War
After a brief period in the Far East after the war, the 23d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron relocated to Travis AFB, Calif., in 1949. There, the squadron flew global strategic reconnaissance missions with Boeing RB-29 Superfortresses from 1949–51, Convair RB-36F Peacemakers from 1951–53, and RB-36Hs from 1953-55. On 1 October 1955, the squadron was again redesignated 23d Bombardment Squadron and reverted to training for long range nuclear strike missions with the same RB-36Hs. On 13 February 1959, the 23d entered the jet age when it received its first Boeing B-52G Stratofortress and also entered the missile age, as the B-52Gs were equipped with the then-new Stand-off AGM-28 Hound Dog and ADM-20 Quail decoy missiles. The squadron flew the B-52G from Travis until July 1968.

On 25 July 1968, the 23d moved, without personnel or equipment, to Minot AFB, where it absorbed the personnel, equipment, and B-52H bombers of the inactivating 720th Bombardment Squadron. The 23d has been combat ready in B-52Hs since that time, continuously adding improvements in avionics, weapons, and tactics to its arsenal. In 1973, the squadron was the first unit to receive the AGM-69 SRAM (Short Range Attack Missile). In 1980, the 23d gained the Offensive Avionics System, and led Strategic Air Command’s venture into modern conventional war fighting as the lead unit for the Strategic Projection Force, in support of the U.S. Rapid Deployment Force. During the 1980s, the squadron pioneered night vision goggle tactics. The 23d added the AGM-86B ALCM (Air Launched Cruise Missile) in 1989 and the AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile (ACM) in 1994.

Lineage

 * Organized as 18th Aero Squadron (I)* on
 * Redesignated 23d Aero Squadron (Repair) on 22 June 1917
 * Demobilized on 22 March 1919


 * Reconstituted, and consolidated (1924) with 23d Squadron, which was authorized on 30 August 1921, organized on 1 October 1921, redesignated 23d Bombardment Squadron on 25 January 1923
 * Redesignated: 23d Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 6 December 1939
 * Redesignated: 23d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 20 November 1940
 * Redesignated: 23d Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, on 6 March 1944
 * Redesignated: 23d Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy, on 30 April 1946
 * Inactivated on 10 March 1947


 * Redesignated 23d Reconnaissance Squadron, Very Long Range, Photographic, on 16 September 1947
 * Activated on 20 October 1947
 * Redesignated: 23d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Photographic, on 16 June 1949
 * Redesignated: 23d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Heavy, on 14 November 1950
 * Redesignated: 23d Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, on 1 October 1955
 * Redesignated: 23d Bomb Squadron on 1 September 1991.

* Another 18th Aero Squadron was activated at Rockwell Field, California on 20 August 1917. It was later re-designated as the 18th Observation Squadron on 25 January 1923. It was last inactivated as the 408th Bombardment Squadron on 1 January 1962.

Assignments

 * Unknown, 16 June 1917-22 March 1919
 * Ninth Corps Area, 1 October 1921
 * 5th Group (Observation) (later, 5th Group [Pursuit and Bombardment]; 5th Group [Composite]; 5th Composite Group), 29 March 1922
 * 19th Bombardment Group, 8 May 1929
 * Attached to 5th Composite [later, 5th Bombardment] Group, 8 May 1929-11 October 1938


 * 5th Bombardment Group, 12 October 1938-10 March 1947
 * 5th Reconnaissance, (later, 5th Strategic Reconnaissance) Group, 20 October 1947
 * Attached to: 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 18–24 August 1948
 * Attached to: 32d Composite Wing, 24 August 1948-16 March 1949
 * Attached to: 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 1–17 June 1949
 * Attached to: 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 10 February 1951-15 June 1952


 * 5th Strategic Reconnaissance, (later, 5th Bombardment) Wing, 16 June 1952
 * 5th Operations Group, 1 September 1991–present

Stations

 * Camp Kelly, Texas, 16 June 1917
 * Hazelhurst Field, New York, 5 September 1917-6 July 1918
 * Thetford Airdrome, England, c. 25 July 1918
 * Detachments at Hucknall Torkard and Salisbury, c. 18 August-c. 5 November 1918


 * Duxford Airdrome, England, 2 September 1918
 * Codford Airdrome, England, 5 November 1918
 * Cherbourg, France, 11 November 1918
 * St Maixent, France, 18 November 1918
 * St Nazaire, France, c. 29 January-20 February 1919
 * Garden City, New York, c. 8–22 March 1919
 * March Field, California, 1 October 1921-21 March 1922
 * Luke Field, Hawaii Territory, 29 March 1922
 * Hickam Field, Hawaii Territory, 1 January 1939
 * Mokuleia Airfield, Hawaii Territory, 24 March-3 November 1942
 * Pallikulo Bay Airfield, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 1 December 1942-3 January 1944
 * Air echelon operated from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 31 March-24 August 1943, and 21 October-7 December 1943


 * Munda Airfield, New Georgia, Solomon Islands, 9 January 1944
 * Momote Airfield, Los Negros, Admiralty Islands, 16 April 1944
 * Wakde Airfield, Netherlands East Indies, c. 20 August 1944
 * Kornasoren (Yebrurro) Airfield, Noemfoor, Schouten Islands, c. 30 September 1944
 * Wama Airfield, Morotai, Netherlands East Indies, c. 16 October 1944
 * Guiuan Airfield, Samar, Philippines, 20 February 1945
 * Clark Field, Luzon, December 1945-10 March 1947; 20 October 1947
 * Kadena AB, Okinawa, 15 May 1948
 * Yokota AB, Japan, 16 March-2 May 1949
 * Fairfield-Suisun AFB, California, 19 May 1949
 * Topeka (later, Forbes) AFB, Kansas, 1 June 1949
 * Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, 25 June 1949
 * Fairfield-Suisun (later, Travis) AFB, California, 1 November 1949
 * Deployed at Andersen AFB, Guam, 14 January-12 April 1955


 * Minot AFB, North Dakota, 25 July 1968–present

Aircraft

 * In addition to NBS-1, included JN-6, DH-4 and others during period 1922-1929
 * Primarily B-4, B-5, and LB-6 during period 1929-1937
 * B-12, 1937–1939
 * B-18 Bolo, 1938–1942
 * B-17 Flying Fortress, 1941–1943
 * B-24 Liberator, 1943–1945
 * C-46 Commando, 1947–1948
 * B/FB-17 Flying Fortress, 1947–1948
 * F-2 Flying Fortress, 1947–1948
 * RB-29 Superfortress, 1948–1951
 * RB-36 Peacekeeper, 1951–1955; B/RB-36, 1955–1958
 * B-52 Stratofortress, 1959–present