849th Strategic Missile Squadron

The 849th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 703d Strategic Missile Wing at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado, where it was inactivated on 1 July 1961 and its assets transferred to another squadron that was simultaneously activated.

849th Strategic Missile Squadron
490th Bombardment Group B-17G Flying Fortresses in formation during a mission
Active1943-1945; 1960-1961
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Roleintercontinental ballistic missile
Insignia
World War II fuselage code[1][note 1]W8

The squadron was first activated in 1943 as the 849th Bombardment Squadron. After training in the United States, it deployed to the European Theater of Operations and participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. Following V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was inactivated in November 1945. It was activated as an intercontinental ballistic missile squadron in 1960.

History

World War II
490th Bombardment Group B-24 Liberator

The squadron was first activated at Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah on 1 October 1943 as one of the four original squadrons of the 490th Bombardment Group. In December, it moved to Mountain Home Army Air Field, Idaho, where it began training with Consolidated B-24 Liberators. The 849th left its training base on 9 April 1944 for the European Theater of Operations.[2][3] The ground echelon departed the Port of Embarkation at Camp Shanks, New York, sailing on the SS Nieuw Amsterdam on 11 April and arriving in the United Kingdom on 25 April. The air echelon flew its planes along the southern ferry route beginning on 12 April.[4]

The squadron arrived at RAF Eye,[note 2] its combat station, on 28 April[2] and began combat operations on 31 May 1944. Its initial missions were flown to prepare for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, as the squadron concentrated on targets in France. It supported the landings on D-Day and attacked coastal defenses, airfields, rail lines and vehicles near the landings. It flew close air support missions to assist British forces near Caen in July and American forces near Brest in September. It was withdrawn from combat on 6 August 1944, to convert to the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress as the 93d Combat Bombardment Wing transitioned to make the 3d Bombardment Division an all B-17 unit.[3][4]

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.[2]

Strategic missile operations
Titan I Missiles at Lowry AFB

The squadron was redesignated the 849th Strategic Missile Squadron and organized at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado in August 1960, where it was assigned to the 703d Strategic Missile Wing. The squadron began to train with the SM-68 Titan I intercontinental ballistic missile, but was nonoperational. On 1 July 1961, the squadron was inactivated and its assets transferred to the 725th Strategic Missile Squadron, which was simultaneously activated at Lowry.[2][5][6]

Lineage
  • Constituted as the 849th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 14 September 1943
Activated on 1 October 1943
Redesignated 849th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 1944
Inactivated on 7 November 1945
  • Redesignated 849th Strategic Missile Squadron (ICBM-Titan) and activated on 29 February 1960 (not organized)
Organized on 1 August 1960
Discontinued and inactivated on 1 July 1961[2]

Assignments
  • 490th Bombardment Group, 1 October 1943 – 7 November 1945
  • Strategic Air Command, 29 February 1960
  • 703d Strategic Missile Wing, 1 August 1960 – 1 July 1961[2]

Stations
  • Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah, 1 October 1943
  • Mountain Home Army Air Field, Idaho, 4 December 1943 – 9 April 1944
  • RAF Eye (AAF-138),[7] England, 27 April 1944 – c. 26 August 1945
  • Drew Field, Florida 3 September–7 November 1945
  • Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado, 1 August 1960 – 1 July 1961[8]

Aircraft and missiles
  • Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1944[2]
  • Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1944–1945[2]
  • SM-68 Titan I, 1960-1961[5]

Campaigns
Campaign Streamer Campaign Dates Notes
Air Offensive, Europe28 April 1944–5 June 1944849th Bombardment Squadron[2]
Air Combat, EAME Theater28 April 1944ť–11 May 1945849th Bombardment Squadron[2]
Normandy6 June 1944–24 July 1944849th Bombardment Squadron[2]
Northern France25 July 1944–14 September 1944849th Bombardment Squadron[2]
Rhineland15 September 1944–21 March 1945849th Bombardment Squadron[2]
Ardennes-Alsace16 December 1944–25 January 1945849th Bombardment Squadron[2]
Central Europe22 March 1944–21 May 1945849th Bombardment Squadron[2]

See also

References

Notes
Explanatory notes
  1. Although assigned the fuselage code, the squadron did not display the code until after the war had ended. Watkins, pp. 116-117.
  2. Eye had been built by US Army aviation engineers as a heavy bomber base. Anderson, p. 6.
Citations
  1. Watkins, pp.116-117
  2. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 780-781
  3. Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 359-360
  4. Freeman, p. 261
  5. Ravenstein, pp. 292-293
  6. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 721-722
  7. Station number in Anderson, p. 21.
  8. Station information in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 780-781, except as noted.

Bibliography

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

  • 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.
  • 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 0-7643-1987-6.
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