460th Bombardment Squadron
The 460th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 333d Bombardment Group, stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. It was inactivated on 28 May 1946.
| 460th Bombardment Squadron | |
|---|---|
 Maintenance on a B-29 Superfortress at Kadena Air Base | |
| Active | 1942–1944; 1944; 1944–1946 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Engagements | Pacific Theater |
| Insignia | |
| 460th Bombardment Squadron emblem (approved 17 April 1945)[1] |  |
History
Training unit
Established as a B-24 Liberator very heavy bomb squadron in 1944. Mission was as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) under II Bomber Command training B-24 replacement pilots and aircrew.
Deployment to the Pacific
The squadron was again activated at Dalhart on 7 July 1944, but this time was assigned to the 333d Bombardment Group. The 333d Group was also a former heavy bomber training unit that had been inactivated in the spring of 1944[2] in a general Army Air Forces reorganization of its training and support units.[3] It was reactivated in July as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress group. The squadron trained with Superfortresses until June 1945, when it departed for the Pacific to become an element of Eighth Air Force, which was organizing on Okinawa[4] as a second very heavy bomber air force in the Pacific. However, the squadron did not arrive at its combat station, Kadena Airfield, until it was too late to participate in combat. The squadron flew show-of-force missions and its aircraft helped evacuate prisoners of war from Japan to airfields in the Philippines. The unit was inactivated on 28 May 1946.[1][2]
Lineage
- Constituted as the 460th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 1 July 1942
- Activated on 6 July 1942
- Inactivated on 1 April 1944
- Redesignated 460th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy
- Activated on 1 April 1944
- Inactivated on 10 May 1944
- Activated on 7 July 1944
- Inactivated on 28 May 1946[1]
Assignments
- 330th Bombardment Group, 6 July 1942 – 1 April 1944
- 330th Bombardment Group, 1 April 1944 – 10 May 1944
- 333d Bombardment Group, 7 July 1944 – 28 May 1946[1]
Stations
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Aircraft
- Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1942–1944
- Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1944–1946[1]
References
- Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 566-567
- Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 213-214
- See Goss, p. 75 (details of 1944 reorganization).
- Maurer, Combat Units, p. 463
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
- Goss, William A. (1955). "The Organization and its Responsibilities, Chapter 2 The AAF" (PDF). In Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L. (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN 48003657. OCLC 704158. 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. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. 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. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.