500th Bombardment Squadron

500th Bombardment Squadron
500th Bombardment Squadron
Active	1942-1959
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Bombardment
Part of	Tactical Air Command

"Pannell Job" North American B-25D-5-NA Mitchell 41-30024 Over Wake Island on May 11, 1944.

The 500th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 345th Bombardment Wing, based at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 25 June 1959.

History

Established as a B-25 Mitchell medium bomber group in late 1942; trained under Third Air Force in the southeast United States. Deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO), in June 1943 being assigned to Fifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific Area.

Engaged in combat operations initially during the New Guinea Campaign, attacking enemy targets in New Guinea in support of General MacArthur's campaign, using B-25s for low-level strafing attacks. B-25s were modified with extra fuel tanks to increase range with extra .50 caliber machine guns installed in the noses of the aircraft. Squadron engaged in combat over New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, Northern Solomon Islands, the Southern Philippines and Leyte. Also flew long-distance attacks over Southeastern China, Formosa and Japan before the Japanese Capitulation in August 1945. Squadron demobilized on Okinawa during the fall of 1945, inactivated on 19 December.

Reactivated in 1954 as part of Tactical Air Command. Equipped with B-26's and later with B-57'S. Trained to maintain combat proficiency in locating, attacking, and destroying targets from all altitudes and under all conditions of weather and light including deployment to Dhahran Airfield, Saudi Arabia 16 July-21 October 1958.

Inactivated on 25 June 1959 as part of the phaseout of the B-57.

Lineage

• Constituted 500th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 3 September 1942

Activated on 8 September 1942

Inactivated on 19 December 1945

Redesignated 500th Bombardment Squadron (Tactical) on 22 March 1954

Activated on 19 July 1954

Inactivated on 25 June 1959.

Assignments

• 345th Bombardment Group, 8 September 1942 – 19 December 1945
• 345th Bombardment Group, 19 July 1954
• 345th Bombardment Wing, 8 October 1957 – 25 June 1959

Stations

• Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina, 8 September 1942
• Walterboro Army Airfield, South Carolina, 6 March-16 April 1943
• Jackson Airfield (7 Mile Drome), New Guinea, 5 June 1943
• Dobodura Airfield Complex, New Guinea, 1 January 1944
• Nadzab Airfield Complex, New Guinea, 23 February 1944
• Mokmer Airfield, Biak, Netherlands East Indies, 23 July 1944
• Dulag Airfield, Leyte, Netherlands East Indies

Operated from Mokmer Airfield, Biak, 10 November 1944

• Tacloban Airfield, Leyte, Philippines, 27 December 1944
• San Marcelino Airfield, Luzon, Philippines, 12 February 1945
• Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, 10 May 1945
• Ie Shima Airfield, Ryukyu Islands, 27 July-1 December 1945
• Fort Lewis, Washington, 17–19 December 1945
• Langley AFB, Virginia, 19 July 1954 – 25 June 1959

Aircraft

• B-25 Mitchell, 1942–1945
• B-26 Invader, 1954–1955
• B-57B Canberra, 1955–1959

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• 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.