568th Strategic Missile Squadron
568th Strategic Missile Squadron | |
---|---|
Distinguished Unit Citation | |
Insignia | |
568th Strategic Missile Squadron emblem[note 1][1] | |
568th Bombardment Squadron emblem[2] | |
World War II fuselage identification code[2] | BI |
The 568th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive
The squadron was first activated during
History
World War II
Activation and training in the United States
The
Combat in the European Theater
The squadron arrived at its combat station,
On 14 October 1943, the squadron carried out an attack on the
The squadron was occasionally diverted from the
Return to the United States and inactivation
Just prior to and after
Reserve operations
The squadron was activated in the
Intercontinental ballistic missiles
The squadron was redesignated the 568th Strategic Missile Squadron, organized at
The squadron was deployed in a 3x3 configuration, which meant a total of nine missiles were divided into three sites. Each site had three ICBMs ready to launch at any given time. Its three missile sites were:
- 568-A, 8 miles N of Schrag, Washington 47°11′16″N 118°49′22″W / 47.18778°N 118.82278°W
- 568-B, 4 miles SSW of Warden, Washington 46°55′00″N 119°03′17″W / 46.91667°N 119.05472°W
- 568-C, 6 miles SE of Frenchman Hills, Washington 46°54′26″N 119°45′19″W / 46.90722°N 119.75528°W
In May 1963, Headquarters USAF decided that Titan I missiles were to be phased out between 1965 and 1968. One year later,
Lineage
- Constituted as the 568th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 15 January 1943
- Activated on 26 January 1943
- Redesignated 568th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 20 August 1943
- Inactivated on 28 August 1945
- Redesignated 568th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 28 January 1947
- Activated in the reserve on 27 February 1947
- Inactivated on 27 June 1949
- Redesignated 568th Strategic Missile Squadron and activated on 24 October 1960 (not organized)
Assignments
- 390th Bombardment Group, 26 January 1943 – 28 August 1945
- Second Air Force, 27 February 1947
- Tenth Air Force, 1 July 1948 – 27 June 1949
- Strategic Air Command, 24 October 1960 (not organized)
- 4170th Strategic Wing, 1 April 1961
- 462d Strategic Aerospace Wing, 1 February 1963 – 25 March 1965[15][17]
Stations
- Geiger Field, Washington, 26 January 1943
- Great Falls Army Air Base, Montana, 6 June-5 July 1943
- RAF Framlingham (AAF-153),[18] England, 26 July 1943 – 6 August 1945
- Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, 14–28 August 1945
- Lowry Field (later Lowry Air Force Base), Colorado, 27 February 1947 – 27 June 1949
- Larson Air Force Base, Washington, 1 April 1961 – 25 March 1965[19][16]
Aircraft and missiles
Awards and campaigns
Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Distinguished Unit Citation |
17 August 1943 | Germany 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
Distinguished Unit Citation | 14 October 1943 | Germany 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Air Offensive, Europe | 26 July 1943 – 5 June 1944 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
Air Combat, EAME Theater | 26 July 1943 – 11 May 1945 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] | |
Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 568th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
See also
- List of United States Air Force missile squadrons
- B-17 Flying Fortress units of the United States Army Air Forces
References
Notes
- Explanatory notes
- Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 665-666
- ^ a b Watkins, pp. 80-81
- ^ Freeman, p.53
- ^ a b c d e Maurer, Combat Groups, pp. 277-278
- ^ a b Freeman, pp. 255-256
- ^ Freeman, pp. 67-68
- ^ Freeman, p. 78
- ^ "Abstract, History 2468 Air Force Reserve Training Center, Jul-Nov 1948". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ See Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 665-666 (no aircraft listed as assigned to the squadron from 1947 to 1949).
- ^ "Abstract, Mission Project Closeup, Continental Air Command". Air Force History Index. 27 December 1961. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
- ^ Knaack, p. 25
- ^ Mueller, pp. 335-337 (list of units stationed at Lowry by year).
- ^ SAC Missile Chronology, p. 37
- ^ SAC Missile Chronology, pp. 40, 44, 46-47
- ^ a b c Lineage, including assignments and aircraft, through March 1953 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 665-666
- ^ a b c SAC Missile Chronology, p. 47
- ^ Ravenstein, p. 256
- ^ Station number in Anderson, p. 22.
- ^ Station information through March 1953 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 665-666, 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 7 July 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2.
- 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.
- Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
- 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.