550th Strategic Missile Squadron

550th Strategic Missile Squadron
550th Strategic Missile Squadron
	Distinguished Unit Citation
Insignia
550th Strategic Missile Squadron emblem
Late 550th Bombardment Squadron emblem
Early 550th Bombardment Squadron emblem
World War II fuselage code	SG

The 550th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive

Schilling Air Force Base, Kansas. The squadron was equipped with the SM-65F Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile

, with a mission of nuclear deterrence. The squadron was inactivated on 25 June 1965 as part of the phaseout of the Atlas.

The squadron was first activated during

V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was inactivated. The squadron was activated in the reserve

from 1947 to 1949, but does not appear to have been fully manned or equipped.

Kearney Army Air Field, Nebraska in May 1943 and ferried its Flying Fortresses to England via the northern ferry route. The ground echelon left for the port of embarkation and sailed on the RMS Queen Elizabeth on 1 July 1943.^[4]

Combat in Europe

385th Bombardment Group B-17G Flying Fortress^[c]

The squadron assembled at its combat station,

4th Combat Bombardment Wing through heavy opposition to attack an airplane repair facility at Zwickau. An estimated 200 enemy fighters attacked the bomber stream, heavily disordering its formation. The bombers were able to reform and achieved a high degree of accuracy with their bombs. For this attack, the 550th received a second DUC.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Strategic industrial targets for the squadron in Germany included the

Chartres Airfield, France.^[5]

The squadron was occasionally diverted from the strategic bombing mission to perform

Saint Lo. In late December 1944 and early January 1945, it carried out attacks on German fortifications and transportation to support forces engaged in the Battle of the Bulge. As the Allies made their final thrust through France into Germany, it attacked troop concentrations and communications targets.^[5]

The squadron flew its last mission on 20 April 1945.

Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota on 28 August 1945.^[1]^[5]^[4]

Air Force reserve

On 15 September 1947, the squadron was activated under

439th Troop Carrier Wing.^[11]

Intercontinental ballistic missile squadron

The squadron was redesignated the 550th Strategic Missile Squadron and organized at

Lincoln Air Force Base, Nebraska were the first Atlas F units to organize.^[12] The squadron was assigned twelve missiles, based in a 1 x 12 configuration: twelve independent widely dispersed launch sites comprised the missile squadron. In June 1962, the first operational sites for the Atlas F ICBMs were accepted by SAC and in September the squadron was declared operational.^{[citation needed}

]

The Atlas F was the final and most advanced version of the Atlas and was stored in a vertical position inside underground concrete and steel silos. When stored, the Atlas F sat atop an elevator. If a missile was placed on alert, it was fueled with RP-1 (kerosene) liquid fuel, which could be stored inside the missile for extended periods. If a decision was made to launch the missile, the missile was raised to the surface and the liquid oxygen tank was filled. The launch would occur shortly after completion of this process. The exposure on the surface that this procedure entailed was the great weakness of the Atlas F. It was exposed and vulnerable during this time. The Titan II and Minuteman missiles could be launched from within their silos, thereby eliminating this vulnerability. Also, since the Titan did not use a cryogenic fuel or oxidizer, and the Minuteman was a solid fuel rocket, they could be stored fully fueled and ready to launch within a very few minutes.^[citation needed]

The squadron operated twelve missile sites of one missile at each site (12 total):

550–1 : 2.8 mi S of Wells, Kansas : 39°05′56″N 097°32′36″W / 39.09889°N 97.54333°W

550–2 : 3.2 mi W of Abilene, Kansas : 38°56′55″N 097°15′22″W / 38.94861°N 97.25611°W

550–3 : 2.5 mi WNW of Chapman, Kansas : 38°59′03″N 097°03′57″W / 38.98417°N 97.06583°W

550–4 : 5.1 mi W of Elmo, Kansas : 38°40′24″N 097°19′21″W / 38.67333°N 97.32250°W

550–5 : 7.0 mi SSE of Lindsborg, Kansas : 38°28′34″N 097°38′24″W / 38.47611°N 97.64000°W

550–6 : 1.8 mi ENE of Mitchell, Kansas : 38°23′29″N 098°04′04″W / 38.39139°N 98.06778°W

550–7 : 1.5 mi NW of Carneiro, Kansas : 38°45′07″N 098°03′06″W / 38.75194°N 98.05167°W

550–8 : 2.3 mi ENE of Wilson, Kansas : 38°50′04″N 098°26′05″W / 38.83444°N 98.43472°W

550–9 : 4.4 mi NNW of Beverly, Kansas : 39°04′04″N 098°00′56″W / 39.06778°N 98.01556°W

550–10 : 1.5 mi ENE of Tescott, Kansas : 39°01′10″N 097°51′02″W / 39.01944°N 97.85056°W

550–11 : 8.7 mi WSW of Aurora, Kansas : 39°24′42″N 097°40′49″W / 39.41167°N 97.68028°W

550–12 : 3.7 mi NE of Minneapolis, Kansas : 39°09′52″N 097°39′51″W / 39.16444°N 97.66417°W

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, on 20 October 1962, SAC directed that the squadron's missiles that were not on alert for modifications be placed on alert status "as covertly as possible." Training was suspended and missiles being used for operational training were to be placed on alert as soon as liquid oxygen became available.^[f] From 3 November the number of alert missiles was reduced until on 29 November the number was the same as before the crisis. As tensions eased, on 15 November normal training resumed.^[13]

On 1 December 1964, the first Atlas F missile at Schilling was removed from alert status.^{[citation needed]} The squadron became nonoperational on 11 March 1965^[14] and was inactivated on 25 June 1965.^[15]

Lineage

Constituted as the 550th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 25 November 1942

Activated on 1 December 1942

Redesignated 550th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 20 August 1943

Inactivated on 28 August 1945

Redesignated 550th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 25 August 1947

Activated in the reserve on 15 September 1947

Inactivated on 27 June 1949

Redesignated 550th Strategic Missile Squadron (ICBM-Atlas) and activated on 22 July 1960 (not organized)

Organized on 1 April 1961^[16]

Inactivated on 25 June 1965^[15]

Assignments

385th Bombardment Group, 1 December 1942 – 28 August 1945
Second Air Force, 15 September 1947
Tenth Air Force, 1 July 1948
First Air Force, 15 August 1948
Tenth Air Force, 1 December 1948 – 27 June 1949
Strategic Air Command, 22 July 1960 (not organized)
310th Bombardment Wing (later 310th Strategic Aerospace Wing), 1 April 1961 – 25 June 1965^[16]^[14]

Stations

Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, 1 December 1942
El Paso Army Air Field, Texas, 4 January 1943
Geiger Field, Washington. 1 February 1943
Great Falls Army Air Base
, Montana, 11 March – 7 June 1943
RAF Great Ashfield (AAF-155),^[17] England, 29 June 1943 – 6 August 1945

Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, 14–28 August 1945
Selfridge Field (later Selfridge Air Force Base), Michigan, 15 September 1947 – 27 June 1949
Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, 1 October 1960
Schilling Air Force Base, Kansas, 1 April 1961 – 25 June 1965^[15]^[18]

Aircraft and missiles

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1945
Convair SM-65F (later HGM-16F) Atlas, 1961–1965^[16]^[15]

Awards and campaigns

Award streamer	Award	Dates	Notes
	Distinguished Unit Citation	17 August 1943	Germany, 550th Bombardment Squadron^[1]
	Distinguished Unit Citation	12 May 1944	Zwickau, Germany 550th Bombardment Squadron^[1]

Campaign	Dates	Notes
Air Offensive, Europe	29 June 1943 – 5 June 1944	550th Bombardment Squadron^[1]
Air Combat, EAME Theater	29 June 1943 – 11 May 1945	550th Bombardment Squadron^[1]
Normandy	6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944	550th Bombardment Squadron^[1]
Northern France	25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944	550th Bombardment Squadron^[1]
Rhineland	15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945	550th Bombardment Squadron^[1]
Ardennes-Alsace	16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945	550th Bombardment Squadron^[1]
Central Europe	22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945	550th Bombardment Squadron^[1]

References

Notes

Explanatory notes

^ Approved 12 September 1962. Description: On an irregular octagon Air Force golden yellow, an Air Force blue isosceles triangle, one point up, spattered with twelve white stars and charged with a white cloud formation, details Air Force blue; issuing from the cloud and flying respectively to the three corners of the triangle, three white missiles, exhaust red and white; all surmounted by three electrons in orbit, red and white; on an Air Force golden yellow area, a green olive branch in dexter and a red lightning bolt in sinister.
^ The code letters were apparently not widely used by the squadron until 1945. Watkins, pp. 70-71; Freeman, p. 288.
^ Aircraft in the foreground is Boeing B-17G-40-BO Flying Fortress, serial 42-97079 Dozy Doats GX-B. It was shot down on a mission to Spandau, Germany on 6 October 1944. Missing Air Crew Report 9521.
^ Half the fighter escorts missed the scheduled rendezvous, the other half returned to England at the limit of their fuel supplies before the heaviest interceptor attacks began. Freeman, p. 68.
^ One of the food missions counted as a combat mission when the unit was fired on. Freeman, p. 254.
^ For safety reasons, training missiles used liquid nitrogen, rather than liquid oxygen in their propellant tanks. Kipp, et al., pp. 62-63

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 654
^ Watkins, pp. 70-71
^ Freeman, p. 288
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Freeman, p. 254
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 272-273
^ Freeman, p. 68
^ Freeman, p. 142
^ "Abstract, Mission Project Closeup, Continental Air Command". Air Force History Index. 27 December 1961. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
^ See Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 651-652 (no aircraft listed as assigned during this period).
^ Knaack, p. 25
^ Ravenstein, pp. 236-237
^ SAC Missile Chronology, p. 30
^ Kipp, et al., pp. 62-63, 66, 70-71
^ ^a ^b Ravenstein, pp. 158-159
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d SAC Missile Chronology, p. 48
^ ^a ^b ^c Lineage, including assignments, aircraft and missiles, through March 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 654.
^ Station number in Anderson.
^ Station information through March 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 654, except as noted.

Bibliography

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

Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2
.

Kipp, Robert; Peake, Lynn; Wolk, Herman. "Strategic Air Command Operations in the Cuban Crisis of 1962, SAC Historical Study No. 90 (Top Secret NOFORN, FRD, redacted and declassified)". Strategic Air Command. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
Knaack, Marcelle Size (1978). Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems (PDF). Vol. 2, Post-World War II Bombers 1945-1973. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
ISBN 0-912799-59-5
. Retrieved 17 December 2016.

Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
LCCN 61060979
.

Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
OCLC 72556
.

Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
ISBN 0-912799-12-9
. Retrieved 17 December 2016.

Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force In World War II. Vol. I (VIII) Bomber Command. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd.
ISBN 978-0-7643-1987-7
.

SAC Missile Chronology 1939-1988 (PDF). Offutt AFB, NE: Office of the Historian, Strategic Air Command. 1990.
ISBN 978-1521159439
. Retrieved 29 January 2018.

[1] Approved 12 September 1962. Description: On an irregular octagon Air Force golden yellow, an Air Force blue isosceles triangle, one point up, spattered with twelve white stars and charged with a white cloud formation, details Air Force blue; issuing from the cloud and flying respectively to the three corners of the triangle, three white missiles, exhaust red and white; all surmounted by three electrons in orbit, red and white; on an Air Force golden yellow area, a green olive branch in dexter and a red lightning bolt in sinister.

[5] The code letters were apparently not widely used by the squadron until 1945. Watkins, pp. 70-71; Freeman, p. 288.

[8] Aircraft in the foreground is Boeing B-17G-40-BO Flying Fortress, serial 42-97079 Dozy Doats GX-B. It was shot down on a mission to Spandau, Germany on 6 October 1944. Missing Air Crew Report 9521.

[9] Half the fighter escorts missed the scheduled rendezvous, the other half returned to England at the limit of their fuel supplies before the heaviest interceptor attacks began. Freeman, p. 68.

[12] One of the food missions counted as a combat mission when the unit was fired on. Freeman, p. 254.

[18] For safety reasons, training missiles used liquid nitrogen, rather than liquid oxygen in their propellant tanks. Kipp, et al., pp. 62-63

[Maurer550BS-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 654

[Watkins-3] Watkins, pp. 70-71

[4] Freeman, p. 288

[Freeman254-6] Freeman, p. 254

[Maurer385BG-7] Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 272-273

[10] Freeman, p. 68

[11] Freeman, p. 142

[13] "Abstract, Mission Project Closeup, Continental Air Command". Air Force History Index. 27 December 1961. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

[14] See Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 651-652 (no aircraft listed as assigned during this period).

[15] Knaack, p. 25

[16] Ravenstein, pp. 236-237

[17] SAC Missile Chronology, p. 30

[19] Kipp, et al., pp. 62-63, 66, 70-71

[Ravenstein310SAW-20] Ravenstein, pp. 158-159

[Chronology48-21] SAC Missile Chronology, p. 48

[Maurer550BS2-22] Lineage, including assignments, aircraft and missiles, through March 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 654.

[23] Station number in Anderson.

[24] Station information through March 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 654, except as noted.

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