852nd Bombardment Squadron

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852nd Bombardment Squadron
Distinguished Unit Citation
Insignia
852nd Bombardment Squadron emblem[1]
Fuselage code[1]3Q

The 852nd Bombardment Squadron is a former

V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated at McChord Field
, Washington in September 1945.

History

Training in the United States

The 852nd Bombardment Squadron was activated 1 October 1943 at

471st Bombardment Group.[4] Key personnel of the unit departed the United States on 11 April, while the crews began ferrying the squadron's B-24s via the southern ferry route on 21 April.[5]

Combat in Europe

The squadron was assembled at

oil refineries, shipyards, depots and other industrial targets. Its targets included Berlin, Bielefeld, Cologne, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Hanover, Kassel and Magdeburg. On one occasion, the squadron was tasked with attacking German General Staff headquarters at Zossen, south of Berlin.[3][5]

In August 1944, the

The squadron was occasionally diverted from the strategic bombing campaign. It supported ground forces during

Rhine River; and it attacked supply lines and fortifications during the Battle of the Bulge. The squadron supported Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine and Allied forces driving across Germany.[3] The squadron's final combat mission was flown on 25 April 1945.[5]

Following

V-E Day, the squadron began flying its aircraft back to the United States on 17 June 1945. The ground echelon sailed on the RMS Queen Mary on 6 July, arriving in New York City five days later.[5] The squadron reassembled at McChord Field, Washington later that month and was inactivated there on 8 September.[2]

Lineage

  • Constituted as the 852nd Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 14 September 1943
Activated on 1 October 1943
Inactivated on 8 September 1945[2]

Assignments

  • 491st Bombardment Group, 1 October 1943 – 8 September 1945[2]

Stations

  • Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, 1 October 1943
  • El Paso Army Air Field, Texas, 11 November 1943 – 1 January 1944
  • Ketteringham Hall (Sta 147),[9] England (ground echelon), 1 January 1944[5]
  • RAF North Pickenham (Sta 143),[9] England (ground echelon), March 1944[d]
  • Pueblo Army Air Base, Colorado, (air echelon) 1 January 1944[5]
  • RAF Metfield (Sta 366),[10] England, c. 25 April 1944
  • RAF North Pickenham (Sta 143),[9] England, 15 August 1944 – 5 July 1945
  • McChord Field, Washington, 17 July – 8 September 1945[11]

Aircraft

  • Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1943–1945[2]

Awards and campaigns

Award streamer Award Dates Notes
Distinguished Unit Citation
26 November 1944 Misburg[2]
Campaign Streamer Campaign Dates Notes
Air Offensive, Europe 25 April 1944 – 5 June 1944 [2]
Air Combat, EAME Theater 25 April 1944 – 11 May 1945 [2]
Normandy 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 [2]
Northern France 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 [2]
Rhineland 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 [2]
Ardennes-Alsace 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 [2]
Central Europe 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 [2]

See also

References

Notes

Explanatory notes
  1. ^ Aircraft is Consolidated B-24D-30-CO Liberator, serial 42-40123, She Devil in 1944.
  2. 448th Bombardment Groups
    . Blue, p. 82.
  3. ^ The squadron's assigned target was obscured by cloud cover and it returned to base without bombing. Blue, p. 85.
  4. ^ Ketteringham Hall and North Pickenham were apparently only nominal bases. Ketteringham Hall was station headquarters for the 2nd Bombardment Division. Ground personnel for the 491st Group were actually located at the four stations of the division's groups. Although North Pickenham was selected to be the 491st Group's initial station in England, this choice was revoked and the squadron ground echelons did not move until April, when they gathered at Metfield. Freeman, p. 261.
Citations
  1. ^ a b Watkins, pp. 118-119
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 782
  3. ^ a b c d Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 360-261
  4. ^ a b Blue, p. 80
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Freeman, p. 261
  6. ^ Blue, p. 82
  7. ^ Blue, p. 83
  8. ^ Blue, p. 90
  9. ^ a b c Station number in Anderson, p. 21.
  10. ^ Station number in Anderson, p. 26
  11. ^ Station information in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 782, except as noted.

Bibliography

Public Domain 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.
  • Blue, Alan G. "Ringmasters: A History of the 491st Bombardment Group (H)" (PDF). AAHS Journal. 9 (2). American Aviation Historical Society. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  • 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
    . Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  • 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
    . 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. .