485th Bombardment Squadron

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485th Bombardment Squadron
Distinguished Unit Citation[1]
Insignia
485th Bombardment Squadron emblem[a]

The 485th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive

501st Bombardment Group at Northwest Field, Guam
, where it was inactivated on 10 June 1946.

The squadron's first predecessor was organized as the 73rd Aero Squadron. After training in the United States, it moved to France in the spring of 1918. It was renumbered as the 485th Aero Squadron in February 1918. It remained in France following the Armistice until returning to the United States in May 1919 for demobilization.

The squadron's second predecessor was formed in the

Organized Reserves
in 1925 as the 485th Bombardment Squadron. These two units were consolidated in 1936. Along with all other Organized Reserve units, the squadron was disbanded in May 1942.

The third squadron, and the second to be named the 485th Bombardment Squadron, was organized in March 1944 as a

V-J Day
, the squadron remained in the Pacific until inactivating in 1946.

History

World War I

Romorantin Airdrome

The first predecessor of the

Newport News, Virginia on 4 March 1918.[3]

The squadron landed at

Chatenay-sur-Seine in early September before the squadron joined it to begin construction of the new post there.[5][1]

After the

Mitchel Field, New York, where it was demobilized in May 1919.[1]

Organized Reserves

The 485th Bombardment Squadron was constituted in the fall of 1924 as an

Patterson Field, its members were authorized to train with planes assigned to the regular army at those locations. Members of reserve units during this time usually performed their training as individuals attached to other units, rather than as a unit.[8]

On 5 December 1936, the squadron was consolidated with the 485th Aero Squadron. However, a few months later, in June 1937, it became inactive when its personnel were withdrawn. The squadron, along with other existing Air Corps reserve units, was disbanded on 31 May 1942, shortly after the United States entered World War II.[1][6]

World War II

The 485th Bombardment Squadron was activated on 11 March 1944 at

Harvard Army Air Field, Nebraska. At Harvard the 505th's squadrons began to equip with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses for training due to the lack of Boeing B-29 Superfortresses.[9] In late April, it was consolidated with the reserve 485th Bombardment Squadron.[1] Starting in April 1944, however, B-29 groups reorganized from four squadrons of 7 airplanes into three squadrons of 10 planes each.[10] As a result of this reorganization, the 485th was inactivated.[1]

The squadron was activated at Dalhart a second time on 1 June 1944. This time it was assigned to the

501st Bombardment Group. In August, the 501st Group and its squadrons moved to Harvard Army Air Field, Nebraska and began to equip with Superfortresses. The squadron completed its training and departed for the Pacific on 7 March 1945.[1][11]

The squadron was equipped with the Bell Aircraft manufactured B-29B, which was designed to save weight by removing all of the guns and sighting equipment used on other B-29s, except the tail gun, allowing the B-29B to fly a little higher and a little further. The B-29B also had two new radar units installed, the AN/APQ-7 Eagle radar for bombing and navigation and the AN/APG-15 for aiming the tail gun. These two radar units gave the B-29B a distinctive shape as the APQ-7 antenna appeared as a small wing under the fuselage, between the two bomb bay doors and the APG-15 added a ball shaped antenna to the tail of the aircraft below the tail guns.[12]

The squadron arrived at its combat station,

Distinguished Unit Citation.[1][11]

Following

prisoners of war in Japan, Korea, Manchuria and China. It remained at Northwest Field until May 1946, when it became non-operational, and was inactivated there on 10 June 1946.[1][11][13]

Lineage

485th Aero Squadron
  • Organized as the 73d Aero Squadron on 14 August 1917
Redesignated 73d Aero Squadron (Construction) c. 20 August 1917[14]
Redesignated 485th Aero Squadron (Construction) on 1 February 1918[15]
Demobilized on 20 May 1919
  • Reconstituted and consolidated with the 485th Bombardment Squadron on 5 December 1936[1][6]
485th Bombardment Squadron (Organized Reserves)
  • Constituted as the 485th Bombardment Squadron on 31 March 1924 and allotted to the Organized Reserves
Activated September 1925 (personnel assigned)
Consolidated with the 485th Aero Squadron on 5 December 1936[6]
Inactivated June 1937 (personnel withdrawn)[6]
Disbanded on 31 May 1942
  • Reconstituted and consolidated with the 485th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 21 April 1944[16]
485th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy
  • Constituted as the 485th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 28 February 1944
Activated on 11 March 1944.
  • Consolidated with the 485th Bombardment Squadron on 21 April 1944
Inactivated on 10 May 1944
  • Activated on 1 June 1944
Inactivated on 10 June 1946[1]

Assignments

  • Unknown, 14 August 1917 – March 1918[c]
  • Air Service Production Center No. 2, c. 25 March 1918
  • Air Service Spares Depot, c. 21 September 1918 – January 1919
  • Unknown, January–20 May 1919[d]
  • 348th Bombardment Group, c. September 1925 [6]
  • Fifth Corps Area, June 1937 – 31 May 1942
  • 505th Bombardment Group, 11 March–10 May 1944
  • 501st Bombardment Group, 1 June 1944 – 10 June 1946[17]

Stations

Aircraft

Awards and campaigns

Award streamer Award Dates Notes
Distinguished Unit Citation
 6 July–13 July 1945 Japan, 485th Bombardment Squadron[1]
Campaign Streamer Campaign Dates Notes
Theater of Operations c. 25 March 1918–1919 485th Aero Squadron[1]
Air Offensive, Japan 14 April 1945–2 September 1945 485th Bombardment Squadron[1]
Eastern Mandates 14 April 1945–14 April 1944 485th Bombardment Squadron[1]
Western Pacific 17 April 1945–2 September 1945 485th Bombardment Squadron[1]

References

Notes

Explanatory notes
  1. ^ Approved 26 June 1945. Description: On a grayed dark blue green disc, flecked with gray clouds in base and three, yellow, five-point stars at chief, sinister fess, and base points, within a black border, a caricatured vari-colored bird in reverse flight wearing a radio headset and peering into a radar 'scope while adjusting dials on set with right foot, and holding a red, blue and yellow aerial bomb in the claws of the left foot, all emitting speed lines toward dexter.
  2. 73rd Aero Squadron
    (Service) the same month. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 268-269.
  3. ^ Probably Post Headquarters, Kelly Field until 21 December 1917, then Aeronautical Supply Depot and Concentration Camp.
  4. ^ Probably Aviation General Supply Depot.
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 582-583
  2. ^ 485th Aero Squadron History, pp. 1-2
  3. ^ 485th Aero Squadron History, p. 2
  4. ^ 485th Aero Squadron History, pp. 2-3
  5. ^ 485th Aero Squadron History, p. 7
  6. ^ a b c d e f Clay, p. 1521
  7. ^ Clay, p. 1339
  8. ^ Clay, p. 1364
  9. ^ Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 368-369
  10. ^ Cate, p.122-123
  11. ^ a b c Maurer, Combat Units, p. 367
  12. ^ Marshall[page needed]
  13. ^ Stephens, Maj Tonia (14 June 2017). "501 Combat Support Wing (USAFE)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  14. ^ 485th Aero Squadron History, p. 13
  15. ^ Parenthetical designation in Order of Battle of the Land Forces, p. 1013
  16. ^ Lineage information in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 582-583, except as noted.
  17. ^ Assignment information in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 582-583, except as noted.

Bibliography

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

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