845th Bombardment Squadron

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845th Bombardment Squadron
European Theater of Operations
Insignia
Fuselage code[1]T4

The 845th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive

March Field
, California on 17 October 1945.

History

Training in the United States

The 845th Bombardment Squadron was activated as a

Eighth Air Force.[3]

Combat in Europe

The squadron entered combat on 30 May 1944 with an attack on Oldenburg, Germany.[5] It then concentrated on striking targets in France to prepare for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. The 845th supported the landings on 6 June 1944, and afterward bombed coastal defenses, airfields, bridges, railroads, and V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket launch sites (Operation Crossbow) in the campaign for France. It participated in the saturation bombing of German lines just before Operation Cobra, the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July.

The 845th began flying

Orleans/Bricy Airfield to deliver supplies.[7]

Redeployment for the Pacific

The squadron was part of the first group in Eighth Air Force selected for redeployment to the Pacific theater and became non-operational on 14 November 1944, with most of its B-24s assigned to other groups in England. It was relieved of assignment in the European Theater on 29 November 1944, and returned to the United States.[4][5]

The 845th Squadron returned to

Lincoln Army Air Field, Nebraska. At Lincoln it again became part of Second Air Force. On 22 January 1945, the squadron's personnel were informed that previous plans for refresher training had been cancelled and instead the squadron and its associated 369th Air Service Group were retrained as Boeing B-29 Superfortress combat and support units. However Second Air Force did not receive redesignation orders for the group until 17 March, until which time they were compelled to maintain duplicate rosters and tables of organization, one for a heavy bombardment group of four squadrons, and one for a very heavy bombardment group of three squadrons. The readiness date for the group air echelon was set back from 1 March to 1 August 1945.[citation needed] The squadron moved to Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas in mid-February to re-equip with the B-29,[4] and was redesignated the 845th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy in March.[3]

The group was alerted for movement overseas in the summer of 1945, but with the

Japanese surrender, the squadron was inactivated on 17 October 1945.[3]

Lineage

  • Constituted 845th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 14 September 1943
Activated on 1 October 1943
Redesignated 845th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 17 March 1945
Inactivated on 17 October 1945[2]

Assignments

  • 489th Bombardment Group, 1 October 1943 – 17 October 1945[2]

Stations

Aircraft

  • Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1943-1944
  • Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1945[2]

Campaigns

Campaign Streamer Campaign Dates Notes
Air Offensive, Europe c. 22 April 1943-5 June 1944 845th Bombardment Squadron[2]
Normandy 6 June 1944-24 July 1944 845th Bombardment Squadron[2]
Northern France 25 July 1944-14 September 1944 845th Bombardment Squadron[2]
Rhineland 15 September 1944-November 1944 845th Bombardment Squadron[2]

See also

References

Notes

  1. Ford Motors
    built Consolidated B-24H-15-FO Liberator, serial 42-94759, The Sharon D.

Citations

  1. ^ Watkins, p. 114
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 779
  3. ^ a b c d e f Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 358–359
  4. ^ a b c d Freeman, p. 261
  5. ^ a b c Freudenthal, Charles H. "498th Bomb Group Museum:History of the 489th Bomb Group". 489th-bomb-group-museum.org. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  6. ^ Freeman, p. 175
  7. ^ Freeman, p. 172
  8. ^ Station number in Anderson, p. 25.
  9. ^ Station information in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 779, except as noted.

Bibliography

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

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