717th Bombardment Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 717th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. Its last was assigned to the 4245th Strategic Wing, stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base
, Texas
. It was inactivated on 1 February 1963.
B-24 Liberator
replacement training unit. Converted in September 1943 for operational training and deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
(MTO) as a B-24 strategic bombardment squadron, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force
in southern Italy
. Flew combat missions over enemy targets in southern Europe
, Germany
, Austria
, France
and in the Balkans
.
Returned to the United States in May 1945, being converted to a Very Heavy B-29 Superfortress
squadron; programmed for deployment to the Western Pacific to conduct strategic bombardment missions over Japan
. Japanese capitulation in August 1945 canceled deployment orders, reassigned to Continental Air Command
(Later Strategic Air Command
).
Reassigned to Alaska Territory
in late 1946. Mission changed from strategic bombardment training to strategic reconnaissance and mapping; engaging in very long range reconnaissance missions in the Bering Straits; North Pacific coast and Arctic Ocean
coastline of the Soviet Union
. Squadron performed charting and other mapping missions, most likely including ferret and ELINT missions, possibly overflying Soviet airspace.
Squadron returned to the Continental United States in 1947, being equipped with B-36 Peacemaker strategic bombers, both in the bomber and strategic reconnaissance versions. Undertook strategic bombardment training missions on a global scale, including strategic reconnaissance missions with the RB-36s until 1957 when returned to strategic bombardment training. Re-equipped in 1957 with B-52D Stratofortress.
In 1960 was reassigned to SAC provisional 4245th Strategic Wing, being re-equipped with B-52D Stratofortress intercontinental heavy bombers. Was reassigned to Sheppard AFB, Texas
by SAC to disperse its heavy bomber force. Conducted worldwide strategic bombardment training missions and providing nuclear deterrent. Was inactivated in 1963 when SAC inactivated its provisional Strategic Wings, redesignating them permanent Air Force Wings. Squadron was inactivated with aircraft/personnel/equipment being redesignated 864th Bombardment Squadron
in an in-place, name-only transfer.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. Its last was assigned to the 4245th Strategic Wing, stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base
Sheppard Air Force Base
Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the largest training base and most diversified in Air Education and Training Command...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It was inactivated on 1 February 1963.
History
Established in spring 1943 as a Second Air ForceSecond Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
replacement training unit. Converted in September 1943 for operational training and deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
Mediterranean Theater of Operations
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army was originally called North African Theater of Operations and is an American term for the conflict that took place between the Allies and Axis Powers in North Africa and Italy during World War II...
(MTO) as a B-24 strategic bombardment squadron, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force
Fifteenth Air Force
The Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
in southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Flew combat missions over enemy targets in southern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
.
Returned to the United States in May 1945, being converted to a Very Heavy B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
squadron; programmed for deployment to the Western Pacific to conduct strategic bombardment missions over Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Japanese capitulation in August 1945 canceled deployment orders, reassigned to Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...
(Later Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
).
Reassigned to Alaska Territory
Alaska Territory
The Territory of Alaska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 24, 1912, until January 3, 1959, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alaska...
in late 1946. Mission changed from strategic bombardment training to strategic reconnaissance and mapping; engaging in very long range reconnaissance missions in the Bering Straits; North Pacific coast and Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
coastline of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Squadron performed charting and other mapping missions, most likely including ferret and ELINT missions, possibly overflying Soviet airspace.
Squadron returned to the Continental United States in 1947, being equipped with B-36 Peacemaker strategic bombers, both in the bomber and strategic reconnaissance versions. Undertook strategic bombardment training missions on a global scale, including strategic reconnaissance missions with the RB-36s until 1957 when returned to strategic bombardment training. Re-equipped in 1957 with B-52D Stratofortress.
In 1960 was reassigned to SAC provisional 4245th Strategic Wing, being re-equipped with B-52D Stratofortress intercontinental heavy bombers. Was reassigned to Sheppard AFB, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
by SAC to disperse its heavy bomber force. Conducted worldwide strategic bombardment training missions and providing nuclear deterrent. Was inactivated in 1963 when SAC inactivated its provisional Strategic Wings, redesignating them permanent Air Force Wings. Squadron was inactivated with aircraft/personnel/equipment being redesignated 864th Bombardment Squadron
864th Bombardment Squadron
The 864th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 494th Bombardment Wing, based at Sheppard AFB, Texas...
in an in-place, name-only transfer.
Lineage
- Constituted 717th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 6 April 1943
- Activated on 1 May 1943
- Redesignated: 717th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 23 May 1945
- Redesignated: 717th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 28 May 1948
- Redesignated: 717th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 16 May 1949
- Redesignated: 717th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (Photographic) on 1 April 1950
- Redesignated: 717th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy) on 16 July 1950
- Redesignated: 717th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 1 October 1955
- Discontinued, and inactivated on 1 February 1963, personnel/aircraft/equipment redesignated as 864th Bombardment Squadron864th Bombardment SquadronThe 864th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 494th Bombardment Wing, based at Sheppard AFB, Texas...
Assignments
- 449th Bombardment Group, 1 May 1943
- 28th Bombardment (later Strategic Reconnaissance) Group28th Operations GroupThe 28th Operations Group is the flying component of the United States Air Force 28th Bomb Wing, stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota....
, 4 August 1946 - 28th Strategic Reconnaissance (later Bombardment) Wing28th Bomb WingThe 28th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force. It is stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota...
, 16 June 1952 - 4245th Strategic Wing, 20 February 1960 – 1 February 1963.
Stations
- Davis-Monthan Field, ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, 1 May 1943 - Alamogordo Army Air Field, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, 5 July 1943 - Bruning Army AirfieldBruning Army AirfieldBruning Army Airfield was a flight training installation of the United States Army Air Forces used during World War II and located in northeast Thayer County, Nebraska, at coordinates 40°20'25" North, 97°25'42" West, approximately six miles east of Bruning....
, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, 12 September – 26 November 1943 - Grottaglie Airfield, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, c. 6 January 1944 – 15 May 1945 - Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, 29 May 1945
- Dalhart Army Air Field, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 24 July 1945 - Grand Island Army AirfieldGrand Island Army AirfieldGrand Island Army Airfield was a United States Army Air Forces airfield which operated from 1942 to 1946. After its closure, the base was reopened as Central Nebraska Regional Airport.-History:...
, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, 8 September 1945 – 6 October 1946 - Elmendorf Field, Alaska TerritoryAlaska TerritoryThe Territory of Alaska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 24, 1912, until January 3, 1959, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alaska...
, 20 October 1946 – 24 April 1947 - Rapid City Army Air Base, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, 3 May 1947 - Sheppard AFB, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 20 February 1960-1 February 1963
Aircraft
- B-24 LiberatorB-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
, 1943–1945 - B-17 Flying Fortress, 1945
- B/RB-29 Superfortess, 1946–1950
- B/RB-36 Peacemaker, 1949–1950; 1950–1957
- B-52D Stratofortess, 1957–1963