577th Strategic Missile Squadron
577th Strategic Missile Squadron | |
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Distinguished Unit Citation | |
Insignia | |
577th Strategic Missile Squadron emblem[b][1] | ![]() |
World War II fuselage code[2] | DC |
The 577th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive
The unit was first established in January 1943 as the 577th Bombardment Squadron. After training with
On 1 July 1961, the squadron went on
History
World War II
Organization and training
The squadron was first activated at
Combat in the European Theater
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/579th_Bombardment_Squadron_-_B-24_Liberator.jpg/220px-579th_Bombardment_Squadron_-_B-24_Liberator.jpg)
The ground echelon arrived in the United Kingdom on 30 July and arrived at
The squadron participated in the heavy attacks against the German aircraft manufacturing industry during
The squadron was sometimes diverted from its strategic mission to perform
Return to the United States and inactivation
The squadron flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945.
Reserve operations
The squadron was reactivated at
Intercontinental ballistic missile squadron
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/577th_Strategic_Missile_Squadron_-_SM-65F_Atlas_Missile.png/220px-577th_Strategic_Missile_Squadron_-_SM-65F_Atlas_Missile.png)
The squadron was redesignated the 577th Strategic Missile Squadron and organized in June 1961 at
- Missile sites
- 577–1 2.2 mi NNE of Lugert, Oklahoma 34°55′32″N 099°15′35″W / 34.92556°N 99.25972°W
- 577–2 3.8 mi SSE of Cambridge, Oklahoma 35°01′34″N 099°10′14″W / 35.02611°N 99.17056°W
- 577–3 0.8 mi SE of Mountain Park, Oklahoma 34°41′16″N 098°56′27″W / 34.68778°N 98.94083°W
- 577–4 2.1 mi WSW of Cache, Oklahoma 34°36′56″N 098°39′39″W / 34.61556°N 98.66083°W
- 577–5 4.0 mi NNE of Manitou, Oklahoma 34°33′44″N 098°57′43″W / 34.56222°N 98.96194°W
- 577–6 2.2 mi NNE of Frederick, Oklahoma 34°26′18″N 099°00′53″W / 34.43833°N 99.01472°W
- 577–7 4.8 mi SE of Ranchland, Texas 34°21′43″N 099°19′27″W / 34.36194°N 99.32417°W
- 577–8 0.6 mi NE of Creta, Oklahoma 34°31′36″N 099°32′24″W / 34.52667°N 99.54000°W
- 577–9 3.7 mi NNW of Gould, Oklahoma 34°41′05″N 099°50′02″W / 34.68472°N 99.83389°W
- 577–10 6.2 mi SW of Mangum, Oklahoma 34°49′04″N 099°35′26″W / 34.81778°N 99.59056°W
- 577–11 1.0 mi NE of Willow, Oklahoma 35°03′43″N 099°29′49″W / 35.06194°N 99.49694°W
- 577–12 2.7 mi WSW of Granite, Oklahoma 34°57′13″N 099°25′37″W / 34.95361°N 99.42694°W
On 20 October 1962, after the detection of Soviet missiles in Cuba, Strategic Air Command (SAC) directed the squadron to reinstate all "degraded" missiles to alert status.[f] SAC directed that this be done "as covertly as possible", for it was not until 22 October that President John F. Kennedy announced the presence of the Soviet missiles publicly. Atlas F missiles used for operational readiness training would be put on alert as soon as liquid oxygen became available,[17] All squadron missiles were placed on alert during the crisis.[18]
The Atlas squadron at Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York lacked sufficient qualified crews to man its sites and bring its missiles to alert status. SAC directed the 577th to send two crews to augment the 556th Strategic Missile Squadron on 29 October and two more crews three days later. These crews remained at Plattsburgh until 17 November.[19] On 15 November, SAC directed that the squadron would be permitted to remove one of its missiles from alert to perform operational training and "shakedown" testing.[20] From 3 November the number of alert missiles was reduced until on 29 November the number was the same as before the crisis.[21]
On 14 May 1964, during a propellant loading exercise at the squadron's Site 577-6, an explosion occurred that destroyed the launch complex.[22] The missile involved had been turned over to engineers from General Dynamics for modification and the exercise was being performed in conjunction with the return of the missile to SAC control.[23]
On 19 November 1964, Secretary of Defense
Lineage
- Constituted 577th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 15 January 1943
- Activated on 26 January 1943
- Inactivated on 13 September 1945
- Redesignated 577th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 13 August 1947
- Activated in the reserve on 25 August 1947
- Inactivated on 27 June 1949
- Redesignated 577th Strategic Missile Squadron (ICBM-Atlas) and activated on 25 January 1961 (not organized)
Assignments
- 392nd Bombardment Group, 26 January 1943 – 13 September 1945
- 392nd Bombardment Group, 25 August 1947 – 27 June 1949
- Strategic Air Command, 25 January 1961 (not organized)
- 11th Bombardment Wing (later 11th Strategic Aerospace Wing), 1 June 1961 – 25 March 1965[26][27]
Stations
- Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, 26 January 1943
- Biggs Field, Texas, 1 March 1943
- Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico, 18 April – 18 July 1943
- RAF Wendling (AAF-118),[28] England, 1 August 1943 – c. 7 June 1945
- Charleston Army Air Field, South Carolina, 23 June – 13 September 1945
- Adams Field, Arkansas, 25 August 1947 – 27 June 1949
- Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, 1 June 1961 – 25 March 1965[29][30]
Aircraft and missiles
- Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1943–1945
- Convair SM-65F Atlas, 1961–1965[26]
Awards and campaigns
Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Distinguished Unit Citation |
24 February 1944 | 577th Bombardment Squadron Gotha, Germany[1] |
Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
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Air Offensive, Europe | 31 July 1943 – 5 June 1944 | 577th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
![]() |
Air Combat, EAME Theater | 31 July 1943 – 11 May 1945 | 577th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
![]() |
Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 577th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
![]() |
Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 577th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
![]() |
Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 577th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
![]() |
Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 577th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
![]() |
Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 577th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
See also
References
Notes
- Explanatory notes
- ^ Missile is Convair SM-65F Atlas No. 56, at Site 577-11, Willow, Oklahoma.
- ^ Approved 1 February 1962. Description: On a disc per pale
- ^ Aircraft is Ford built Consolidated B-24H-1-FO Liberator, serial 42-7479. This aircraft was lost on the 4 January 1944 mission to Kiel, Germany, with the loss of the entire crew.
- ^ In February 1963, Strategic Air Command bombardment wings that operated both bombers and missiles were redesignated strategic aerospace wings.
- ^ Earlier models of the Atlas had been placed on alert, but the F model with which the 577th was equipped was the first to be in a protected silo, although it had to be elevated above ground before it could be launched. Narducci, p. 10.
- ^ Degraded sorties included missiles withdrawn from alert for modifications and those being used for operational readiness training. Kipp, et al., p. 62.
- Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 670
- ^ Watkins, p. 82
- ^ a b c d e f Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 279-280
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons. pp. 670-671
- ^ a b c Freeman, p. 256
- ^ Freeman, pp. 90-91
- ^ Freeman, pp. 110-111
- ^ Freeman, p. 230
- ^ "Abstract, History of Adams Field, AR, Jul-Aug 1946". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ See Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 670 (no aircraft listed as assigned during this period).
- ^ "Abstract, Mission Project Closeup, Continental Air Command". Air Force History Index. 27 December 1961. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
- ^ Knaack, p. 25
- ^ Narducci, pp. 9-10
- ^ SAC Missile Chronology, p. 17
- ^ SAC Missile Chronology, p. 24
- ^ SAC Missile Chronology, p. 31
- ^ Kipp, et al., pp. 62-63
- ^ SAC Missile Chronology, p. 37
- ^ Kipp, et al., pp. 74-75
- ^ Kipp, et al., p. 70
- ^ Kipp, et al., p. 66
- ^ SAC Missile Chronology, p. 44
- ^ "Accidents, Site 6, Frederick.Oklahoma, Thursday, May 14, 1964". AtlasMissileSilo.com. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ SAC Missile Chronology, p. 45
- ^ a b SAC Missile Chronology, p. 47
- ^ a b c Lineage information through May 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 670.
- ^ Ravenstein, p. 26
- ^ Station number in Anderson, p.20.
- ^ Station information through May 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 670, except as noted.
- ^ Mueller, p. 4
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. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- 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.
- 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.
- Narducci, Henry M. (1988). Strategic Air Command and the Alert Program: A Brief History. Offutt AFB, NE: Office of the Historian, Strategic Air Command. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- 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 0-7643-1987-6.
- SAC Missile Chronology 1939-1988 (PDF). Offutt AFB, NE: Office of the Historian, Strategic Air Command. 1990. ISBN 978-1521159439. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- Brewer, Landry (2017). "The Missiles of Oklahoma: Southwest Oklahoma's Role in the American Cold War Nuclear Arsenal, 1960-65" [OCLC 655582328.