488th Bombardment Squadron

The 488th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 340th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.. It was inactivated on 1 September 1963.

488th Bombardment Squadron
Emblem of the 488th Bombardment Squadron (SAC)
Active	1942–1945; 1947–1949; 1952–1963
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Bombardment

World War II squadron emblem

B-25J-1 43-27900 "Bottoms-Up II", 488th Bombardment Squadron on landing approach to Gaudo Airfield, Italy in early 1944.

History

Established as a B-25 Mitchell medium bomber squadron in mid-1942, trained by Third Air Force in the southeastern United States. Deployed to IX Bomber Command in Egypt initially in March 1943 via Air Transport Command South Atlantic Route through Caribbean, Brazil, Liberia, Central Africa and Sudan, then reassigned to Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), and to XII Bomber Command in Tunisia. Supported Allied ground forces in Tunisian Campaign; participated in Invasions of Sicily and Italy during 1943, supporting Allied ground forces with tactical bombing of enemy targets. Participated in liberation of Corsica during the spring of 1944, then returned to Italy engaging in attacks on enemy ground forces and targets in the Po Valley during the spring of 1945.

This was the squadron Joseph Heller flew in as a bombardier, his experiences leading him to write the famous anti-war novel, Catch-22.

Personnel demobilized in Italy during summer of 1945; squadron returned to the United States, being prepared for deployment to Pacific Theater for use as a tactical bomb squadron in programmed Invasion of Japan. Japanese capitulation led to squadron's inactivation in November 1945.

Activated as an A-26 Invader squadron in the postwar Air Force reserves in 1947; inactivated in 1949 due to budget reductions.

Reactivated in October 1952 as a Strategic Air Command B-47 Stratojet squadron. Initially equipped with prototypes of the Boeing RB-47B Stratojet (YRB-47) to perform long-range photo-reconnaissance with a flight of B-29 Superfortress bombers assigned. In November 1953 began to receive production B-47E medium bomber aircraft; prototype reconnaissance aircraft already received exchanged for medium bomber versions. Participated in SAC REFLEX deployments to Europe and North Africa throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1963 with the phaseout of the B-47 the aircraft sent to storage at Davis–Monthan and inactivated.

Lineage

• Constituted 488th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 10 August 1942

Activated on 20 August 1942

Inactivated on 7 November 1945

• Redesignated 488th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 8 October 1947

Activated in the reserve on 31 October 1947

Inactivated on 19 August 1949

• Redesignated 488th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 3 October 1952

Activated on 20 October 1952

Inactivated on 1 September 1963

Assignments

• 340th Bombardment Group, 20 August 1942 – 7 November 1945; 31 October 1947 – 19 August 1949
• 340th Bombardment Wing, 20 October 1952 – 1 September 1963

Stations

Columbia AAB, South Carolina, 20 August 1942 Walterboro, South Carolina 30 November 1942 – 30 January 1943 RAF Kabrit, Egypt March 1943 Medenine Airfield, Tunisia March 1943 Sfax Airfield, Tunisia April 1943 Hergla Airfield, Tunisia 2 June 1943 Comiso Airfield, Sicily c. 2 August 1943 Catania Airport, Sicily 27 August 1943 San Pancrazio Airfield, Italy c. 15 October 1943

Foggia Airfield, Italy 19 November 1943 Pompeii Airfield, Italy c. 2 January 1944 Gaudo Airfield, Italy 23 March 1944 Alesani, Corsica, France c. 15 April 1944 Rimini Airfield, Italy c. 7 April-16 July 1945 Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina 9 August 1945 Columbia AAB, South Carolina 2 October – 7 November 1945 Tulsa Municipal Airport, Oklahoma, 31 October 1947 – 19 August 1949 Sedalia (later Whiteman) AFB, Missouri, 20 October 1952 – 1 September 1963

Aircraft

• B-25 Mitchell, 1942–1945
• A-26 Invader, 1947–1949
• YRB-47 Stratojet, 1954–1955
• B-47 Stratojet, 1955–1963

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• 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.

External links

• Joseph Heller find a grave