37th Tactical Missile Squadron

Last updated

37th Tactical Missile Squadron
CIM-10 Bomarc missile battery.jpg
CIM-10 BOMARC missile battery
Active1942-1944, 1944-1946, 1960-1972
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  United States
BranchFlag of the United States Air Force.svg  United States Air Force
Rolebombardment training, strategic bombardment, surface-to-air missile
Size squadron
Motto(s)Semper Vigilans
(Latin for 'Always Watchful') (1960-1972)
Engagements Pacific Theater
Decorations Distinguished Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
37th Air Defense Missile Squadron emblem 37th Tactical Missile Squadron.PNG
680th Bombardment Squadron emblem [lower-alpha 1] [1] 680th Bombardment Sq emblem.png
537th Bombardment Squadron emblem [lower-alpha 2] [2] 537 Bombardment Sq emblem.png

The 37th Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last active as the 37th Air Defense Missile Squadron, assigned to the 23d Air Division, stationed near Kincheloe Air Force Base, Michigan, where it was inactivated on 31 July 1972.

Contents

After inactivation, the squadron was consolidated with two World War II bomber squadrons, the 537th Bombardment Squadron, a training unit active from 1942 to 1944, and the 680th Bombardment Squadron, which flew Boeing B-29 Superfortresses in the strategic campaign against Japan. The 680th was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions. The consolidated squadron has not been active.

History

World War II training unit

The squadron was first activated as the 537th Bombardment Squadron at Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah as one of the four squadrons of the 382d Bombardment Group in late 1942. [2] It moved to Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, where it was equipped with Consolidated B-24 Liberators and served as an operational training unit until late March 1943. The operational training unit program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups." [3] It then moved to Pocatello Army Air Field, Idaho and became a replacement training unit. [2] Replacement training units were also oversized, but focused on training individual pilots and aircrews. [3] Its personnel were withdrawn circa 3 December 1943 as it moved to Muroc Army Air Field, California and it remained a paper unit until it was inactivated in March 1944. [2]

World War II Combat in the Pacific

The second time the unit was activated, it was as the 680th Bombardment Squadron in December 1944 as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment squadron at Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico. [4] The 680th was equipped with later-model B-29As, with only minor differences than the original B-29 model built by Boeing with some revised engine nacelles and pneumatically-operated bomb-bay doors which could be snapped shut in less than a second.[ citation needed ] When its training at Alamogordo was completed. the squadron moved to North Field (Tinian) in the Mariana Islands of the Central Pacific Area in June 1945 [4] and joined the XXI Bomber Command of Twentieth Air Force. Its arrival boosted the 504th Bombardment Group to its full authorization of three bombardment squadrons. Its mission was the strategic bombardment of the Japanese Home Islands and the destruction of Japan's war-making capability.

504th Bombardment Group over Mount Fuji 1945 504th Bombardment Group over Mount Fuji 1945.jpg
504th Bombardment Group over Mount Fuji 1945

The squadron flew low level nighttime incendiary raids until the end of the war in August 1945, [5] attacking major Japanese cities, causing massive destruction of urbanized areas. Also flew mining operations against enemy shipping in Korean shipping lanes, the Shimonoseki Strait and harbors of the Inland Sea, for which it received a Distinguished Unit Citation. [5] Also conducted raids against strategic objectives, bombing aircraft factories, chemical plants, oil refineries, and other targets in Japan. The squadron flew its last combat missions on 14 August when hostilities ended.[ citation needed ] Afterwards, its B-29s dropped relief food and supplies to Allied prisoner of war camps in Japan and Manchuria, flew show of force missions over Japan and missions to evaluate the damage inflicted on Japan by bombardment operations. [5] The squadron was largely demobilized on Tinian during the fall of 1945.[ citation needed ] It moved to Clark Field in the Philippines, where it was inactivated in March 1946 [4] and its low-hour aircraft were flown to storage depots in the United States.[ citation needed ]

Cold War air defense

The squadron was activated for a third time on 1 March 1960 as the 37th Air Defense Missile Squadron [6] It initially monitored the construction of the BOMARC missile facility near Raco, Michigan. [7] The squadron moved to the missile site and was operational by 1 June 1961. [7] By the end of 1961 the squadron stood alert using its complement of 24 IM-99B BOMARC surface to air antiaircraft missiles. [7] During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the full squadron stood alert for 27 days. [7] The squadron was tied into a Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) direction center which could use analog computers to process information from ground radars, picket ships and airborne aircraft [8] to accelerate the display of tracking data at the direction center to quickly direct the missile site to engage hostile aircraft. [9] As the strategic bomber threat to the United States diminished, so did the need for the BOMARC missile and the squadron was inactivated on 31 July 1972. [7] The BOMARC missile site was located 19 miles northwest of Kincheloe Air Force Base at 46°20′53″N084°48′18″W / 46.34806°N 84.80500°W / 46.34806; -84.80500 (37th ADMS) . Although geographically separated from the base, it was an off base facility of Kinchloe and received administrative and logistical support from Kinchloe.

Consolidation

The three squadrons were consolidated as the 37th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985 while remaining inactive. [7]

Lineage

537th Bombardment Squadron
Activated on 3 November 1942
Inactivated on 31 March 1944 [10]
Consolidated with the 37th Air Defense Missile Squadron and the 680th Bombardment Squadron as the 37th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985 [7]
680th Bombardment Squadron
Activated on 4 December 1944 [4]
Inactivated on 15 June 1946 [4]
Consolidated with the 37th Air Defense Missile Squadron and the 680th Bombardment Squadron as the 37th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985 [7]
37th Air Defense Missile Squadron
Activated on 1 March 1960 [6]
Inactivated on 31 July 1972 [6]
Consolidated with the 537th Bombardment Squadron and the 680th Bombardment Squadron as the 37th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985 [7]

Assignments

Stations

Awards and campaigns

Award streamerAwardDatesNotes
Streamer PUC Army.PNG Distinguished Unit Citation Japan and Korea, 27 July − 14 August 1945680th Bombardment Squadron [4] [7] [lower-alpha 3]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 30 August 1965 − 3 March 196737th Air Defense Missile Squadron [11]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award31 March 1971 − 31 March 197237th Air Defense Missile Squadron [12]
Campaign StreamerCampaignDatesNotes
Streamer AC.PNG American Theater without inscription3 November 1942 − 31 March 1944537th Bombardment Squadron [2]
Streamer APC.PNG Air Offensive, Japan15 June 1945 – 2 September 1945680th Bombardment Squadron [4]
Streamer APC.PNG Western Pacific15 June 1945 – 2 September 1945680th Bombardment Squadron [4]

Aircraft and Missiles

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">487th Air Expeditionary Wing</span> Military unit

The 487th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. As a provisional unit, it may be activated or inactivated at any time. The unit's last known assignment was in 2003 at Cairo West Air Base, Egypt, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">485th Air Expeditionary Wing</span> Military unit

The 485th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. As a provisional unit, the 485 AEW may be inactivated or activated at any time by Air Combat Command. The wing was last known to be active during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 at Tabuk Regional Airport, Saudi Arabia, in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">504th Bombardment Group</span> Military unit

The 504th Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">346th Bombardment Group</span> Military unit

The 346th Bombardment Group is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to the 316th Bombardment Wing at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, where it was inactivated on 30 June 1946. The group was originally a heavy bomber training unit, but was inactivated in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces training units in 1944. It was reorganized as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress group later that year. It moved to Okinawa in 1945, but arrived too late to participate in combat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">25th Attack Group</span> Military unit

The 25th Attack Group is an active United States Air Force unit, stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It was activated in February 2018 as a Geographically Separate Unit to operate unmanned aerial vehicles and is assigned to the 432d Wing, which is located at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. As of 2020, the group manages five MQ-9 Reaper attack squadrons, as well as the 25th Operations Support Squadron, which provides intelligence, weather, and administrative support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">864th Bombardment Squadron</span> Military unit

The 864th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 494th Bombardment Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, where it flew Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses under Strategic Air Command. It was inactivated on 2 April 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">35th Bombardment Squadron</span> Military unit

The 35th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was activated in January 1940 as the United States built up its armed forces prior to World War II. In the fall of 1941, it deployed to the Caribbean and, following the attack on Pearl Harbor engaged in antisubmarine patrols. Following the transfer of the land based antisubmarine mission to the Navy, and with the lessening of threats to the Panama Canal, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was disbanded in June 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">26th Tactical Missile Squadron</span> Military unit

The 26th Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was activated in 1959 as the 26th Air Defense Missile Squadron to provide missile air defense for New England and was stationed at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, where it was inactivated on 30 April 1972. It received its current name in 1985. when it was consolidated with the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, a World War II unit that provided reconnaissance support for ground units in training until it was disbanded in 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">488th Tactical Missile Wing</span> Military unit

The 488th Tactical Missile Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was formed by the consolidation of the 488th Bombardment Group and the 588th Tactical Missile Group in 1985, but has not been active since consolidation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">716th Bombardment Squadron</span> Military unit

The 716th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 449th Bombardment Wing at Kincheloe Air Force Base, Michigan, where it was inactivated on 30 September 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">541st Bombardment Squadron</span> Military unit

The 541st Bombardment Squadron is the former name of the 541st Special Operations Squadron, an inactive United States Air Force (USAF) unit. During World War II the 541st served as a heavy bomber training unit until inactivated in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces training units. The squadron was redesignated in 1985, when it was consolidated with two other units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">421st Air Refueling Squadron</span> Military unit

The 421st Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 41st Air Division at Yokota Air Base, Japan, where it was inactivated on 18 February 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">17th Training Squadron</span> Military unit

The 17th Training Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The squadron performed water survival training in Florida from 1971 until it was inactivated in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">902nd Air Refueling Squadron</span> Military unit

The 902d Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 70th Bombardment Wing at Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where it was inactivated on 31 December 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">919th Air Refueling Squadron</span> Military unit

The 919th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 306th Bombardment Wing, stationed at McCoy Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 30 June 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">601st Bombardment Squadron</span> Military unit

The 601st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the 398th Bombardment Group, and served in combat in the European Theater of Operations, flying its last mission in late April 1945. The squadron moved to Drew Field, Florida, where it was inactivated on 1 September 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Air Defense Missile Squadron</span> Military unit

The 6th Air Defense Missile Squadron was an air defense unit of the United States Air Force. It was assigned to the New York Air Defense Sector of Aerospace Defense Command, at Suffolk County Air Force Base, New York, where it was inactivated on 15 December 1964. The squadron had its headquarters at Suffolk County Air Force Base, while the firing batteries of the squadron were at the nearby Suffolk County Air Force Base Missile Annex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">30th Tactical Missile Squadron</span> Military unit

The 30th Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. In 1985 the squadron was formed by combining three United States Air Force and Army Air Forces units that had served in World War II and the Cold War into a single unit with a common heritage. However, the combined unit has not since been active.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Tactical Missile Squadron</span> Military unit

The 1st Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 585th Tactical Missile Group at Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, where it was inactivated on 18 June 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">24th Tactical Missile Squadron</span> Military unit

The 24th Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last active as the 74th Air Defense Missile Squadron assigned to the 23d Air Division of Aerospace Defense Command, stationed near Duluth Municipal Airport, Minnesota, where it was inactivated in 1972. The squadron's earliest predecessor was active early in World War II as an antisubmarine unit in the Caribbean and Europe until its mission was transferred to the United States Navy. During the Cold War it was a training unit for Matador cruise missiles. Its most recently active predecessor was an air defense missile squadron in the northern United States from 1960 to 1972.

References

Explanatory notes
  1. ↑ Apparently never approved. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 705
  2. ↑ Approved 23 November 1943. Description: Over and through a light yellow disc, border light green,a black panther striking, proper in front of two aerial bombs in saltire.
  3. ↑ Maurer and AF Pamphlet 900-2 also credit the 680th with a second award on 28 May 1945, however this citation was earned by the 504th Bombardment Group and its component squadrons before the 680th arrived in the Pacific Theater and has been deleted in the most recent AFHRA source.
Citations
  1. ↑ Casseday, Robert. "504 Bomb Group WW2". geocities.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 643-644
  3. 1 2 Craven & Cate, Introduction, p. xxvi
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Maurer, Combat Squadrons. p. 705
  5. 1 2 3 Maurer, Combat Units p. 368
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cornett & Johnson, p. 150
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Shaw,Frederick J., Lineage and Honors History, 37th Tactical Missile Squadron, 1 August 1989
  8. ↑ Winkler & Webster, p. 39
  9. ↑ Winkler & Webster, p. 3
  10. 1 2 Lineage through 1944 in Masurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 643-644.
  11. ↑ AF Pamphlet 900-2, Vol. I, p. 448
  12. ↑ AF Pamphlet 900-2, Vol II, p. 175

Bibliography

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.