353d Bombardment Squadron

It was established as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombardment squadron in early 1942, and trained under Second Air Force. It flew antisubmarine patrols off the California coast from, late May to early June 1942, then over the Mid-Atlantic coast during June to July 1942.

353d Bomb Squadron B-17F 42-3025

The squadron was deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in August 1942, being assigned to VIII Bomber Command, one of the first B-17 heavy bomb squadrons assigned to England. It was engaged in strategic bombardment operations over occupied Europe, attacking enemy military and industrial targets.It was rReassigned to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) as part of the Operation Torch invasion of North Africa. It was assigned to Twelfth Air Force and operated from desert airfields in Algeria and Tunisia during the North African and Tunisian campaign. It was assigned to the Northwest African Strategic Air Force during the invasion of Sicily and later Italy in 1943. It was allocated to Fifteenth Air Force for strategic bombing of Nazi Germany and occupied Europe. It attacked enemy targets primarily in the Balkans, Southern France, Southern Germany, and Austria from southern Italy. It engaged in shuttle bombing missions to airfields in the Soviet Union during the summer of 1944.

Personnel were largely demobilized after German capitulation in May 1945. The squadron was reassigned to the United States and was programmed for conversion to B-29 Superfortress operations and deployment to Pacific Theater. These plans were canceled after Japanese capitulation in August 1945. The aircraft were sent to storage and the unit was inactivated largely as a paper unit in October 1945.

It was reactivated in 1946 as a Strategic Air Command B-29 strategic bombardment squadron. It was deployed to Fürstenfeldbruck AB, Germany, July–August 1948; to RAF Station Scrampton, England, October 1948 – January 1949; and to RAF Stations Lakenheath and Sculthorpe, May–November 1950 for "show of force" missions in Europe as a result of the Berlin Blockade by the Soviet Union and rising Cold War tensions in Europe. The squadron was deployed to Far East Air Forces in February 1951, flying combat missions over North Korea, and attacking strategic industrial and military targets during the Korean War.

The squadron returned to the United States in June 1952, equipped with YRB-47B Stratojet long-range reconnaissance aircraft. It was used for strategic reconnaissance missions until 1953, when production RB-47E aircraft were received. It flew reconnaissance missions on a worldwide basis. Operations of the unit were still classified. It was suspected that the squadron was deployed frequently to Thule AB, Greenland and flew missions deep into the heart of the Soviet Union, taking a photographic and radar recording of the routes attacking SAC B-52 bombers would follow to reach their targets.

The squadron was inactivated in 1964 with phaseout of the B-47 from the inventory.

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Units of the Mediterranean Theater of Operations

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.