The squadron was redesignated as an intercontinental ballistic missile squadron, activated in June 1960, and equipped with the SM-68 Titan I intercontinental ballistic missile, with a mission of nuclear deterrence. The squadron was inactivated as part of the phaseout of the Titan I ICBM on 25 March 1965.
Once transition to the B-17 was completed on 24 August, the squadron concentrated on strategic bombing, attacking oil refineries, airfields, marshalling yards, and factories manufacturing aircraft and armored vehicles. It participated in raids against Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Hanover, Kassel, Merseburg and Münster.[3] On occasion, the squadron was diverted from the strategic bombing campaign. It attacked enemy lines of communication during the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 through January 1945. In the last month of the war in Europe, it carried out interdiction missions to support advancing ground forces.[3] The squadron's last combat mission was flown on 20 April 1945.[4]
Following V-E Day, the squadron carried food to flooded areas of the Netherlands and transported prisoners of war to Allied repatriation centers.[3] The air echelon began flying its planes back to the United States on 6 July 1945. The ground echelon sailed from Southampton on the RMS Queen Elizabeth on 26 August 1945.[4] The unit regrouped at Drew Field, Florida in September. It was inactivated there on 7 November 1945.[1]
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Squadron
HGM-25A Titan I Missile Sites
The squadron was organized at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota in December 1960 as the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, a SM-68 Titan Iintercontinental ballistic missile launch squadron and assigned to the 28th Bombardment Wing.[6] The squadron was deployed in a 3x3 configuration, which meant a total of nine missiles were divided into three sites.[citation needed] Each missile base had three missiles ready to launch at any given time. The squadron was reassigned to the newly established 44th Strategic Missile Wing on 1 January 1962.[6] It operated three missile sites:
850-A, 4 miles NNW of Wicksville, South Dakota 44°08′10″N 102°37′02″W / 44.13611°N 102.61722°W / 44.13611; -102.61722 (850-A)
850-B, 5 miles SSE of Hermosa, South Dakota 43°46′34″N 103°08′46″W / 43.77611°N 103.14611°W / 43.77611; -103.14611 (850-B)
850-C, 10 miles SE of Sturgis, South Dakota 44°23′51″N 103°18′48″W / 44.39750°N 103.31333°W / 44.39750; -103.31333 (850-C)
Between 8 and 15 April 1963, the squadron became the first missile squadron to be the subject of a SAC Operational Readiness Inspection. The squadron, however, did not pass the inspection.[7]On 19 November 1964, Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara announced the phase-out of remaining first-generation SM-65 Atlas and Titan I missiles by the end of June 1965. Consequently, the Titan Is of the 850th began to be removed from alert status on 4 January 1965.[8] The last missile was shipped out on 12 February,[citation needed] and the squadron was declared nonoperational on 15 February.[6] The Air Force subsequently inactivated the squadron on 25 March.[9]
Lineage
Constituted as the 850th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 14 September 1943
Activated on 1 October 1943
Redesignated 850th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 1944
Inactivated on 7 November 1945
Redesignated 850th Strategic Missile Squadron (ICBM-Titan) and activated on 22 June 1960 (not organized)
^Approved 11 September 1962. Description: On a circular representation of a target, Air Force golden yellow and black, water areas, light blue and land areas silhouetted black, surmounted palewise throughout by an Air Force golden yellow missile in upward flight.
^Although assigned the fuselage code, the squadron did not display the code until after the war had ended. Watkins, pp. 116-117.
^Aircraft is Douglas Aircraft built Consoldated B-24H-30-DT, serial 42-51211. This aircraft was destroyed in a taxi accident on 18 October 1944. Baugher, Joe (14 May 2023). "1942 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
^Eye had been built by US Army aviation engineers as a heavy bomber base. Anderson, p. 6.
^Aircraft is Douglas Aircraft built Boeing B-17G-75-DL Flying Fortress, serial 44-83254, Old Doc Stork This plane survived the war and was stored at South Plains Army Air Field, Texas until sold for scrap in July 1946. Baugher, Joe (10 June 2023). "1944 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 31 July 2023..
^Maurer omits the organization date in the lineage portion of the entry for the squadron, however he does give it as the start date for both assignment and station history. Cf. Mueller, p. 155 (dates stationed at Ellsworth).
Citations
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m nMaurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 780
^Watkins, pp.116-117
^ a b c d eMaurer, Combat Units, pp. 359-360
^ a b c dFreeman, p. 261
^Freeman, p. 263
^ a b c dRavenstein, p. 74
^SAC Missile Chronology, p. 39. The 567th Strategic Missile Squadron was the first missile squadron to pass an ORI, later that month. Ibid., p. 40.
^SAC Missile Chronology, p. 46
^ a b cSAC Missile Chronology, p. 47
^ a b cLineage information, including assignments, aircraft and missiles, through May 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 780
^ a b c dStation number in Anderson.
^Station information through May 1963 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 780, except as noted.
^Mueller, p. 155
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
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. ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2.
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.
Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force In World War II. Vol. I (VIII) Bomber Command. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-1987-7.
SAC Missile Chronology 1939-1988 (PDF). Offutt AFB, NE: Office of the Historian, Strategic Air Command. 1990. ISBN 978-1521159439. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
Further reading
Warren, Maj Harris G. (June 1947). "Special Operations: AAF Aid to European Resistance Movements 1943-1945, USAF Historical Study No. 121 (formerly AAF Reference History No. 21)" (PDF). Army Air Force Historical Office. Retrieved 29 October 2018.