16th Bombardment Squadron: Difference between revisions

16th Bombardment Squadron
16th Bombardment Squadron
	Emblem of the 16th Bombardment Squadron
Active	1944-1946
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces
Type	Bombardment

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Revision as of 04:00, 2 March 2012

The 16th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 16th Bombardment Group stationed at Northwest Field, Guam.

History

Activated 1 April 1944 at Dalhart Army Airfield, Texas. Initially equipped with B-17 Flying Fortresses for training, due to shortage of B-29 Superfortresses. Moved to Fairmont Army Airfield, Kansas, in August 1944 and equipped with B-29B limited production aircraft.

After completion of training deployed to Central Pacific Area (CPA), assigned to XXI Bomber Command, Northwest Field (Guam) for operational missions. B-29Bs were standard production aircraft stripped of most defensive guns to increase speed and bomb load, The tail gun was aimed and fired automatically by the new AN/APG-15B radar fire control system that detected the approaching enemy plane and made all the necessary calculations.

Mission of the squadron was the strategic bombardment of the Japanese Home Islands. Dntered combat on 16 June 1945 with a bombing raid against an airfield on Moen. Flew first mission against the Japanese home islands on 26 June 1945 and afterwards operated principally against the enemy's petroleum industry. Flew primarily low-level, fast attacks at night using a mixture of high-explosive and incendary bombs to attack targets.

Flew last combat mission on 15 August 1945, later flew in "Show of Force" mission on 2 September 1945 over Tokyo Bay during formal Japanese Surrender. Inactivated on Guam 15 April 1946, personnel returned to the United States and aircraft sent to storage in Southwest United States.

Lineage

Constituted 16th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 28 March 1944

Activated on 1 April 1944

Inactivated on 15 April 1946

Assignments

16th Bombardment Group, 1 April 1944-15 April 1946

Stations

Dalhart Army Airfield, Texas, 1 April 1944
Fairmont Army Airfield, Nebraska, 15 August 1944-7 March 1945
Northwest Field, Guam, 14 April 1945-15 April 1946.

Aircraft

B-17 Flying Fortress, 1944
B-29B Superfortress, 1944–1946

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0-89201-097-5

External links

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 ==History==
-Established as a [[B-29 Superfortress]] bomb group in [[Texas]].  Trained initially with [[B-17 Flying Fortress]]es due to lack of B-29s for operational training.  Reassigned to [[Nebraska]] in August 1944, received Bell B-29B Superfortresses for fast low-level bomb runs.   Reassigned to [[Marianas]] and engaged in strategic bombardment missions over [[Japan]].
+Activated 1 April 1944 at [[Dalhart Army Airfield]], Texas.  Initially equipped with [[B-17 Flying Fortress]]es for training, due to shortage of [[B-29 Superfortress]]es.    Moved to [[Fairmont Army Airfield]], Kansas, in August 1944 and equipped with B-29B limited production aircraft.
+After completion of training deployed to Central Pacific Area (CPA), assigned to [[XXI Bomber Command]], [[Northwest Field (Guam)]] for operational missions.  B-29Bs were standard production aircraft stripped of most defensive guns to increase speed and bomb load, The tail gun was aimed and fired automatically by the new AN/APG-15B radar fire control system that detected the approaching enemy plane and made all the necessary calculations.
-The squadron entered combat on 16 June 1945 with a bombing raid against an airfield on [[Moen (island)|Moen]]. Flew first mission against the Japanese home islands on 26 June 1945 and afterward operated principally against the enemy's petroleum industry.  Squadron usually flew unescorted, attacking at night.  Participated in final B-29 mission of the war, attacking the Nippon Oil Refinery at Tsuchizaki on 15 August 1945.
+Mission of the squadron was the strategic bombardment of the [[Japanese Home Islands]].  Dntered combat on 16 June 1945 with a bombing raid against an airfield on [[Moen]]. Flew first mission against the Japanese home islands on 26 June 1945 and afterwards operated principally against the enemy's petroleum industry.  Flew primarily low-level, fast attacks at night using a mixture of high-explosive and incendary bombs to attack targets.
-After the war the group dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners gf war in Japan, Manchuria, and Korea, and participated in several show-of-force missions over Japan.   Squadron demobilized in Guam during the fall of 1945, aircraft returned to the United States and sent to storage depots.    Inactivated as a paper unit in April 1946.
+Flew last combat mission on 15 August 1945, later flew in "Show of Force" mission on 2 September 1945 over [[Tokyo Bay]] during formal Japanese Surrender. Inactivated on Guam 15 April 1946, personnel returned to the United States and aircraft sent to storage in Southwest United States.
 ===Lineage===