461st Bombardment Squadron
| 461st Bombardment Squadron | |
|---|---|
|
Emblem of the 461st Bombardment Squadron | |
| Active | 1942-1946 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Type | Bombardment |
The 461st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 346th Bombardment Group stationed at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa. It was inactivated on 30 June 1946.
History
Established as a heavy bombardment squadron in 1942. Mission was as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) under II Bomber Command training B-17 and B-24 replacement pilots and aircrew.
Redesignated a B-29 Superfortress operational squadron in August 1944. Trained under Second Air Force; deployed to the Western Pacific, being assigned to the new Eighth Air Force. Arrived in Okinawa but Japanese Capitulation led to drawdown of Eighth Air Force and the squadron never was engaged in combat.
Flew show-of-force missions over Occupied Japan and aircraft helped evacuate prisoners of war from Japan and China to airfields in the Philippines. Personnel demobilized and aircraft flown to storage in the United States in May 1946 and the unit was inactivated as a paper unit in Okinawa on 30 June.
Lineage
- Constituted 461st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 1 Jul 1942
- Activated on 6 Jul 1942
- Inactivated on 1 Apr 1944
- Redesignated 461st Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 4 Aug 1944
- Activated on 18 Aug 1944
- Inactivated on 30 Jun 1946
Assignments
- 331st Bombardment Group, 6 Jul 1942-1 Apr 1944
- 346th Bombardment Group, 18 Aug 1944-30 Jun 1946.
Stations
- Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah, 6 Jul 1942
- Casper Army Air Field, Wyoming, 15 Sep 1942-1 Apr 1944
- Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 18 Aug 1944
- Pratt Army Airfield, Kansas, 12 Dec 1944-29 Jun 1945
- Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, 13 Aug 1945-30 Jun 1946
Aircraft
- B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942-1943, 1945
- B-24 Liberator, 1943-1944
- B-29 Superfortress, 1945-1946
- C-46 Commando, 1946
References
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.