12th Missile Squadron

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12th Missile Squadron
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
12th Strategic Missile Squadron emblem[note 1][1]
Patch with 12th Bombardment Squadron emblem (Approved 5 August 1957)[2]

The 12th Missile Squadron is a

LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile
, with a mission of nuclear deterrence.

Mission

The mission of the 341st Missile Wing is to provide combat-ready people and aerospace forces.[3]

History

World War II

B-18s of the 12th Bombardment Squadron flying over British Guiana

The 12th Bombardment Squadron was organized and activated at

St. Nicholas, and Antigua.[4][5]

Following the

22d Pursuit Squadron
.

All of this shuffling of aircraft was due, of course, to the exigencies of the

Lockheed PV-1 Venturas
of a Navy unit there provided continuous coverage for, amongst others, convoy GAT94 and its route from the time it entered the area.

As the anti-submarine war continuously shifted, the squadron moved to follow, leaving Dakota Field on 23 November to move to

North American B-25D Mitchells
and not fewer than 12 B-25Gs at Coolidge.

As the antisubmarine campaign eased, the unit became, essentially, a crew training outfit, although patrols were still flown in conjunction with this tasking. The Squadron ended its Caribbean tour on 24 March 1944 when it was transferred back to the United States and became a B-25 Mitchell Operational Training Unit at

Alamogordo Army Air Field
, New Mexico. On 20 June 1944, the 12th Bombardment Squadron was disbanded.

Strategic Air Command

"Eleven years later, on [1 September] 1955, the 12th Bombardment Squadron, Medium, was activated at

Abilene Air Force Base, Texas. Before being inactivated once more in 1961, the 12th’s Boeing B-47 Stratojets engaged in training.."[6]

Intercontinental ballistic missile squadron

Organized on 1 March 1962 as the 12th Strategic Missile Squadron, an

LGM-30A Minuteman Is in early 1962. "Upon organization, it became the second Minuteman ICBM squadron in the Air Force. During the mid-1960s the 12th replaced its 50 Minuteman I missiles with Minuteman IIs. The 12th was the first squadron at Malmstrom to undergo weapon system upgrade to Minuteman Mod[jargon]; and on [22 April] 1967, it was the first squadron to become fully operational with the new Minuteman II missiles under this program. The 12th was also the first squadron in the wing to undergo silo upgrade. By 1978, the Improved Launch Control System had replaced the Minuteman Mod system and the 12th SMS once again had the state-of-the-art weapon system."[6]

"In 1994, the 12 reorganized under the objective squadron concept. This reorganization took the three combat disciplines, ICBM operations, security police, and electromechanical maintenance, and combined them under the "one hat" of the missile squadron commander. In early June 1995, electromechanical Maintenance returned to the 341st Logistics Group."[6]

The 12th Missile Squadron led the way in removing Minuteman II missiles and replacing them with LGM-30G Minuteman III silos from the inactivating

321st Missile Wing at Grand Forks Air Force Base
, North Dakota in 1996; Minuteman IIs being retired. The new missile enhances capability, increases flexibility, and marks yet another system upgrade.

Lineage

  • Constituted as the 12th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 22 December 1939
Activated on 1 February 1940
  • Redesignated 12th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 7 May 1942
  • Redesignated 12th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 21 September 1943
Disbanded on 20 June 1944
  • Reconstituted and redesignated 12th Bombardment Squadron, Light on 10 March 1947
Activated in the reserve on 24 July 1947
Inactivated on 27 June 1949
  • Redesignated 12th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 7 June 1955
Activated on 1 September 1955
Discontinued and inactivated on 25 June 1961
  • Redesignated 12th Strategic Missile Squadron (ICBM-Minuteman) and activated on 22 September 1961 (not organized)
Organized on 1 March 1962

Assignments

  • 25th Bombardment Group, 1 February 1940 – 20 June 1944 (under operational control of Antilles Air Task Force and VI Fighter Command, 1 November 1942 – 20 June 1944)[7]
  • 341st Bombardment Group
    , 24 July 1947 – 27 June 1949
  • 341st Bombardment Wing, 1 September 1955 – 25 June 1961
  • Strategic Air Command, 22 September 1961 (not organized)
  • 341st Strategic Missile Wing, 1 March 1962
  • 341st Operations Group, 1 September 1991 – present[8]

Stations

  • Langley Field, Virginia, 1 February – 26 October 1940
  • Borinquen Field, Puerto Rico, 1 November 1940
  • Benedict Field,
    St Croix
    , c. 8 November 1941
  • Dakota Field, Aruba, c. 10 October 1942
Detachment operated from Borinquen Field, Puerto Rico, c. November 1942 – 23 November 1943
  • Coolidge Field, Antigua, 23 November 1943 – 24 March 1944
  • Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico, 6 April – 20 June 1944
  • Westover Field
    , Massachusetts, 24 July 1947
  • Bradley Field
    , Connecticut, 24 October 1947 – 27 June 1949
  • Abilene Air Force Base (later Dyess Air Force Base), Texas, 1 September 1955 – 25 June 1961
Deployed at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, 9 January – c. 4 April 1958
  • Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, 1 March 1962 – present[1]

Aircraft and missiles

  • Douglas B-18 Bolo, 1940–1944
  • North American B-25 Mitchell, 1943–1944
  • North American AT-6 Texan
    , 1947–1949
  • Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan
    , 1947–1949
  • Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1956–1961
  • LGM-30A/B Minuteman I, 1962–1968
  • LGM-30F Minuteman II, 1968–1991
  • LGM-30G Minuteman III, 1996 – present[1]

Awards and campaigns

Award streamer Award Dates Notes
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
 22 October 1962 – 31 December 1963 12th Strategic Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1975 – 30 June 1976 12th Strategic Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1976 – 30 June 1977 12th Strategic Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1979 – 30 June 1981 12th Strategic Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1988 – 30 June 1990 12th Strategic Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1990 – 30 June 1991 12th Strategic Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 September 1991 – 31 August 1993 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 September 1993 – 31 August 1994 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 September 1994 – 31 August 1995 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 October 1995 – 30 September 1996 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 October 1997 – 30 September 1999 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 October 1998 – 30 September 1999 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 October 2000 – 30 September 2002 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 October 2002 – 1 October 2003 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 January 2003 – 31 December 2003 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 October 2004 – 30 September 2006 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 October 2006 – 30 September 2008 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 October 2008 – 30 September 2009 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 October 2010 – 31 December 2011 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 January 2015 – 31 December 2015 12th Missile Squadron[1]
Campaign Streamer Campaign Dates Notes
Antisubmarine 7 December 1941 – 1 August 1943 12th Bombardment Squadron[1]

See also

References

Notes

Explanatory notes
  1. sinister chief, outlines and highlights white, details celeste, grasping a sword in pale, point to base, hilt and pommel Air Force golden yellow, blade white, shaded celeste, outlines and details dark gray, a red oval spot on the pommel, all between a red lightning flash edged white and a green olive branch, details Air Force golden yellow, pilewise
    . The date on which the emblem was reconfigured from a shield to a disc is not recorded.
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Haulman, Daniel L.; Bohannon, Shawn (16 April 2018). "Factsheet 12 Missile Squadron". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  2. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 64–65
  3. ^ "Malmstrom AFB Library: Fact Sheet 341st Missile Wing". 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs. 1 October 2015. Archived from the original on 8 January 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  4. ^ a b Conaway, William. "12th Bombardment Squadron (Medium)". VI Bomber Command in Defense of the Panama Canal 1941–45.
  5. ^ Maurer, Combat Units, [page needed]
  6. ^ a b c No byline (24 July 2011). "Weapons of Mass Destruction: 12th Missile Squadron (12 MS)". global security.org. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  7. ^ Conaway, William. "VI Bombardment Command History". Planes and Pilots of World War Two.
  8. ^ Assignment information in Haulman & Bohannon, except as noted)

Bibliography

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

External links
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