The 435th Bombardment Squadron, also known as the "Kangaroo" Squadron, is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was formed in Australia in March 1942 as the 40th Reconnaissance Squadron and participated in combat in the Southwest Pacific Theater until November, when it was withdrawn from combat and returned to the United States, where it acted as a Replacement Training Unit until October 1943, when its personnel and equipment were withdrawn.
The squadron was activated in April 1944 as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit, but was inactivated six weeks later, when B-29 groups reorganized from four to three squadrons. It activated again later that summer, and trained with B-29s until une 1945, when it deployed to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, just before V-J Day. It remained on Okinawa until it was inactivated on 28 May 1946.
The following month the squadron was redesignated the 435th Bombardment Squadron. In May, the squadron participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea, staging through Port Moresby, New Guinea and attacking the Japanese fleet.[3] A report from a B-17 of the squadron of sighting an aircraft carrier convinced American naval commanders that fleet carriers were accompanying the Japanese invasion force.[10]
It raided enemy transportation and communications targets and Japanese ground forces during th invasion of Papua New Guinea. It was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for bombing airdromes, ground installations and shipping near New Britain and Rabaul from 7 to 12 August 1942. The squadron was withdrawn from combat in November 1942 and returned to the United States on paper.[2][3]
Training unit
The squadron reorganized at Pyote Army Air Base, Texas in January 1943 and began operations as a B-17 Replacement Training Unit in February.[2] Replacement training units were oversized units which trained aircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters.[11] It stopped its training activities in October 1943, when its personnel were withdrawn. However it remained active as a paper unit until 1 April 1944, when it was inactivated in a general reorganization by the Army Air Forces of its training activities in the United States.[2]
Return to the Pacific with B-29s
The squadron was reactivated the same day at Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress squadron. However, B-29 groups were reorganized from four squadrons of 7 airplanes into three squadrons of 10 planes each,[12] and the squadron was inactivated on 10 May 1944.[2]
New B-29 groups were being formed, and the squadron was again activated at Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas on 7 July 1944, and assigned to the 333d Bombardment Group. The 333d Group was a former heavy bomber training unit that had been inactivated in the spring of 1944.[13] 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[14] 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.[2][13]
Lineage
Formed as the 40th Reconnaissance Squadron on 14 March 1942 by authority of the War Department but apparently without formal constitution and activation
Redesignated 435th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 22 April 1942
Inactivated on 1 April 1944
Redesignated 435th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy and activated on 1 April 1944
↑ Approved 6 May 1943. Description: On a blue disc, border white, a kangaroo leaping proper, in front of a large white cloud formation, peering through a telescope grasped in the forelegs and holding a large gold aerial bomb in a loop of the tail.
↑ Aircraft is Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress, serial 41-2656, Chief Seattle It was assigned to the squadron on 29 May 1942. It was Lost over Buna, Papua New Guinea, 14 August 1942 on a reconnaissance mission, its crew was missing in action.
Cate, James L. (1953). "The Twentieth Air Force and Matterhorn, Chapter 5, Exit Matterhorn". In Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II(PDF). Vol.V, The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN48003657. OCLC704158. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). "Introduction". The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol.VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. p.xxxvi. LCCN48003657.
D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. New York, NY: Devin-Adair Co. ASINB0006AUP2C. ISBN0-8159-5302-X.
The 331st Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 315th Bombardment Wing, being stationed at Northwest Field, Guam. It was inactivated on 15 April 1946.
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.
The 382d Bombardment Group is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last stationed at Camp Anza, California, where it was inactivated on 4 January 1946. The group was active from 1942 to 1944 as a heavy bomber training unit. It was reorganized as a very heavy bomber unit and trained for deployment overseas. However, it arrived at its overseas station too late to see combat, and returned to the United States, where it was inactivated.
The 383d Bombardment Group is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last stationed at Camp Anza, California, where it was inactivated on 4 January 1946. The group was active from 1942 to 1944 as a heavy bomber training unit. It was reorganized as a very heavy bomber unit and trained for deployment overseas. However, it arrived at its overseas station too late to see combat, and returned to the United States, where it was inactivated.
The 396th Bombardment Group is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was active during World War II as a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Operational Training Unit, training newly organized units, then as a Replacement Training Unit for aircrews. It was inactivated in 1944 in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces training units..
The 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron is part of the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base, Japan. It operates the E-3 Sentry aircraft conducting airborne command and control missions.
The 309th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Continental Air Command, assigned to Twelfth Air Force at Hensley Field, Texas. It was inactivated on 27 June 1949.
The 769th Bombardment Squadron is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to the 462d Bombardment Group at MacDill Field, Florida, where it was inactivated on 31 March 1946. The squadron was first activated in 1943, and became one of the earliest Boeing B-29 Superfortress units. It moved to the China Burma India Theater in April 1944 and participated in the first attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the 1942 Doolittle Raid on 15 June 1944. It earned three Distinguished Unit Citations. The squadron moved to Tinian with the rest of the 58th Bombardment Wing in April 1945 and continued its participation in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan until V-J Day. In November 1945, it returned to the United States, where it was inactivated in April 1946.
The 770th Bombardment Squadron is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to the 462d Bombardment Group at MacDill Field, Florida, where it was inactivated on 31 March 1946. The squadron was first activated in 1943, and became one of the earliest Boeing B-29 Superfortress units. It moved to the China Burma India Theater in April 1944 and participated in the first attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the 1942 Doolittle Raid in June 1944. It earned its three Distinguished Unit Citations. The squadron moved to Tinian with the rest of the 58th Bombardment Wing in April 1945 and continued its participation in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan until V-J Day. In November 1945, it returned to the United States, where it was inactivated.
The 395th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was part of Second Air Force, serving as a heavy bomber training unit from February 1943 until it was inactivated on 1 April 1944 in a reorganization of Army Air Forces training units..
The 88th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. During World War II, the group served as a training unit for Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress units and aircrews. It was inactivated in May 1944, when the Army Air Forces reorganized its training units, replacing units like the 88th that were organized under rigid tables of organization.
The 507th Bombardment Squadron is a former unit of the United States Army Air Forces. It was briefly activated in the spring of 1944, then activated again in the summer as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit. It trained for active service during World War II, but moved to its combat station of Kadena Airfield, Okinawa too late in the war to undertake combat missions. It remained on the island until it was inactivated on 28 May 1946.
The 460th Bombardment Squadron was a unit of the United States Army Air Forces. From 1942 to 1944, it was a heavy bomber training unit, and was inactivated in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces support organizations. It was then assigned to the 333d Bombardment Group and trained with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. It deployed to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa in 1945, but arrived in the combat theater too late to participate in the war. It was inactivated on 28 May 1946.
The 68th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 305th Bombardment Wing at Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana, where it was inactivated on 25 March 1965.
The 467th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It served during World War II as an Operational Training Unit, and later as a Replacement Training Unit. It was inactivated at Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas in the spring of 1944 in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces support and training units in the United States.
The 702d Tactical Air Support Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was part of the 601st Tactical Air Control Wing at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, from 1969 until it was inactivated on 30 November 1975.
The 461st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 346th Bombardment Group at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, where it was inactivated on 30 June 1946. From 1942 the squadron served as a Replacement Training Unit for heavy bomber aircrews. It was inactivated in the spring of 1944 in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces training units. The squadron was activated again in 1944 as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit. Although it deployed to the Pacific, it arrived too late to see combat service.
The 463d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 346th Bombardment Group at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, where it was inactivated on 30 June 1946. From 1942 the squadron served as a replacement training unit for heavy bomber aircrews. It was inactivated in the spring of 1944 in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces training units. The squadron was activated again in 1944 as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit. Although it deployed to the Pacific, it arrived too late to see combat service.
The 464th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 382d Bombardment Group at Camp Anza, California, where it was inactivated on 4 January 1946. From activation in 1942 the squadron served as a replacement training unit for heavy bomber aircrews. It was inactivated in the spring of 1944 in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces training units. The squadron was activated again in September 1944 as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit. Its ground echelon deployed to the Pacific in 1945, but arrived too late to see combat.
The 333d Special Operations Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was active from July 1968 through March 1970 at Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam. In 1985, the wing was consolidated with the 333d Bombardment Group as the 333d Special Operations Wing.
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.
United States 
United States Air Force 
