The 834th Bombardment Squadron was activated at McCook Army Air Field, Nebraska on 20 September 1943 as one of the original squadrons of the 486th Bombardment Group. After organizing as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator unit, it moved to Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona in November and trained for combat. The squadron began deploying overseas in early March 1944.[2][3] Its air echelon flew its Liberators along the southern ferry route.[4]
The squadron arrived at its combat station, RAF Sudbury, the following month. The squadron became known as the "Zodiac Squadron" from the pictures of the zodiac figures painted on their noses. A commercial artist named Phil Brinkman, from Chicago, was responsible for the pin-upnose art of the B-24 Liberators.[5] It flew its first combat mission on May 7.[4] It conducted strategic bombing missions against industrial facilities, including oil refineries and petroleum storage facilities at Dollbergen, Hamburg and Merseburg and factories at Mannheim and Weimar. It also struck at transportation targets, such as marshalling yards near Köln, Mainz and Stuttgart; airfields at Kassel and Münster; and harbor installations at Bremen and Kiel.[3] On 19 July 1944, along with the other B-24 units of the 92d Bombardment Wing, the squadron was taken off operations and began conversion to the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. This would mark the beginning of the change of the 3d Bombardment Division to an all-B-17 unit. The group completed its conversion and resumed operations by 1 August, while its Liberators were sent to depots in England for eventual transfer as replacements to 2d Bombardment Division groups.[4][6]
486th Bombardment Group B-24s
The squadron was occasionally diverted from strategic targets to support ground forces. Preparing for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, it attacked bridges, V-weapons launch sites, and airfields. On D-Day it bombed gun positions. As Allied forces advanced across northern France in the summer of 1944, it attacked troop concentrations and road junctions. During Operation Market Garden, it struck gun positions near Arnhem to minimize losses among glider and paratroopers attempting to seize bridges across the Rhine River. In December 1944 and January 1945 it supported troops fighting the Battle of the Bulge. In the spring of 1945 it supported Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine.[3] The squadron flew its last mission on 21 April 1945.[4]
The squadron remained in England until August 1945, when it returned to the United States. Its aircraft began departing in early July, while its ground echelon sailed on the RMSQueen Elizabeth on 25 August, arriving in New York City six days later.[4] The 834th reassembled at Drew Field, Florida in September, but was inactivated there on 7 November 1945.[2]
Lineage
Constituted as the 834th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 14 September 1943
Activated on 20 September 1943
Redesignated 834th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 1944
↑The aircraft closest to the camera is squadron Boeing B-17G-75-BO Flying Fortress, serial 43-37891, Old Man's Folly. It was damaged while parked on 20 May 1945 and salvaged. Baugher, Joe (15 May 2023). "1943 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
↑ Identifiable is Ford Motors built Consolidated B-24M-5-FO Liberator, serial 44-50581. This aircraft survived the war and was sent to Kingman Army Air Field, Arizona on 3 January 1946 for scrapping. Baugher, Joe (10 June 2023). "1944 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
Freeman, Roger A. (1970). The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London, England, UK: Macdonald and Company. ISBN978-0-87938-638-2.
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