771st Bombardment Squadron
| 771st Bombardment Squadron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1943–1944 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Engagements | China Burma India Theater |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
The 771st Bombardment Squadron is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. The squadron was 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. In August 1944, it earned a Distinguished Unit Citation. It was inactivated on 12 October 1944, when the Army Air Forces reorganized its very heavy bomber groups to consist of three, rather than four squadrons.
History
Training in the United States
The squadron was first activated on 1 July 1943 at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas as one of the four original squadrons of the 462d Bombardment Group, and was intended to be one of the first units to fly the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. However, no B-29s were available to equip the squadron. it moved to Walker Army Air Field, Kansas at the end of the month. At Walker, it received its initial cadre from elements of the 40th Bombardment Group and began to fly a mix of Martin B-26 Marauders and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses.[1][2]
Operations from India and China
The squadron trained with the B-29 at Walker until March 1944, when it departed for its first overseas base, Piardoba Airfield, Bengal, India.[1] Once all elements of the 462d Group had arrived at Piardoba in June, the squadron became part of Twentieth Air Force, which reported directly to Headquarters, Army Air Forces, bypassing theater command. Initially, the squadron's bombers were used to airlift supplies over the Hump to forward bases in China, primarily to one at Chengtu Air Base, which would serve as its primary forward base.[2] It flew its first combat mission, an attack on targets in Bangkok, Thailand on 5 June 1944.[3][4]
Ten days later, the squadron took part in the first attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the 1942 Doolittle Raid. Attacks on Japan required staging through forward bases in China, and it took twelve flights by the bombers to transport enough fuel and munitions to the forward bases to prepare for one attack sortie. This limited attacks on Japan to one in ten days.[2] However, the squadron attacked iron plants, aircraft factories, naval installations, transportation centers and other targets in Japan.[3]
The squadron also attacked targets in Burma, China, Formosa and Indonesia. In August 1944, operating from a staging base in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), it mined the Musi River in Sumatra. On 20 August, the squadron attacked iron and steel works in Yawata, Japan in a daylight raid for which it earned its first Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC).[3] The Army Air Forces decided to reorganize its very heavy bombardment groups. Although it increased the number of aircraft assigned to each squadron, it reduced the number of squadrons in the group from four to three. The 771st Squadron was inactivated in this reorganization,[1], with most of its crews and planes being distributed to the other three squadrons of the 462d Group.
Lineage
- Constituted 771st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 19 May 1943
- Activated on 1 July 1943
- Redesignated 771st Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on November 1943
- Inactivated on 12 October 1944[1]
Assignments
- 462d Bombardment Group, 1 July 1943 – 12 October 1944[1]
Stations
- Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas, 1 July 1943
- Walker Army Air Field, Kansas, 28 July 1943 – c. 12 March 1944
- Piardoba Airfield, India, c. 16 April–12 October 1944[1]
Aircraft
- Martin B-26 Marauder, 1943
- Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1943–1944
- Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1944[1]
Awards and campaigns
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Distinguished Unit Citation | 20 August 1944 | Yawata, Japan[1] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
India-Burma | c. 16 April 1944–12 October 1944 | [1] |
|
China Defensive | c. 16 April 1944–12 October 1944 | [1] |
|
Air Offensive, Japan | 15 June 1944–12 October 1944 | [1] |
|
Western Pacific | 17 April 1945––12 October 1944 | [1] |
See also
- List of B-29 Superfortress operators
- B-17 Flying Fortress units of the United States Army Air Forces
- List of Martin B-26 Marauder operators
References
Notes
- Explanatory notes
- ^ Aircraft is Boeing B-29-10-BW Superfortress, serial 42-6347 "King Size". Taken in June 1944. This was one of forty-seven B-29s that completed the first combat mission over Japan on 15 June 1944. The aircraft survived the war, returned to the United States and was placed in storage. Reclamation was completed at Pyote Army Air Field on 21 December 1949.
- Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 746–747
- ^ a b c "462nd Bomb Group Historical Overview" (PDF). The New England Air Museum. 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 337–338
- ^ Robertson, Patsy (20 June 2010). "Factsheet Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (AFGSC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- 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.
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