420th Bombardment Squadron

The 420th Bombardment Squadron was unit in the United States Army Air Forces.[1] Its last assignment was with 382d Bombardment Group stationed at Camp Anza, California. It was inactivated on 4 January 1946 without seeing combat.[2]

420th Bombardment Squadron
Emblem of the 420th Bombardment Squadron
Active1942–1946
CountryUnited States
BranchUnited States Army Air Forces
TypeBombardment

History

The squadron was activated in early 1942 as a B-24 Liberator reconnaissance unit. It was redesignated as a heavy bomber Operational Training Unit (OTU), later becoming a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) for deployed combat units, assigned to II Bomber Command, then to III Bomber Command in 1943. The squadron was inactivated in April 1944 when heavy bomber training ended.

The 420th Bombardment Squadron was redesignated as a B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment Squadron in August 1944. The squadron was trained under the Second Air Force. Training was considerably delayed due to equipment shortages. They received B-29 aircraft in Kansas in late spring 1945. The ground echelon deployed to Northern Mariana Islands by ship in early August 1945; air echelon remained at the last training base in Kansas after Japanese Capitulation. The ground echelon remained in Marianas supporting other units aircraft and demobilization; the air echelon demobilized with new B-29 aircraft remaining in Kansas, eventually being assigned to postwar units. The entire unit inactivated by December 1945.

On 19 September 1985 the 420th Bombardment Squadron(Very Heavy), (an Inactive Squadron, that was last active 4 January 1946), was consolidated with the 920th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy. This action was directed by Department of the Air Force Letter DAF/MPM 662q Attachment 1 (Active Units), 19 September 1985.

Lineage

  • Constituted 30th Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy) on 28 January 1942
Redesignated 420th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 22 April 1942
Activated on 1 June 1942
Inactivated on 10 April 1944
  • Redesignated 420th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 4 August 1944
Activated on 19 September 1944
Inactivated on 4 January 1946

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft

References

  1. Maurer Maurer (1982). Combat Squadrons of the Air Force: World War II. Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center. p. 515.
  2. "A Tribute to the 382nd Bombardment Group (VH): Trained for Combat, But Didn't Get To Go". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2014.

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

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