393rd Bomb Squadron

"393d Bombardment Squadron" redirects here. For the 393d Bombardment Squadron (Medium) of 1942, see6th Air Defense Missile Squadron.

393rd Bomb Squadron
393rd Bomb SquadronB-2 Spiriton approach for landing
Active	1944–1990; 1993–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Strategic Bombing
Part of	Air Force Global Strike Command
Engagements	Pacific Theater Kosovo War Global War on Terrorism
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit AwardwithCombat "V" Device Air Force Meritorious Unit Award Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
Insignia
393rd Bomb Squadron emblem
393rd Bombardment Squadron emblem

B-29 painted to look likeThe Great Artisteof the 393rd Bombardment Squadron of the 509th Bomb Group at Walker AFB New Mexico.

The393rd Bomb Squadronis part of the509th Bomb WingatWhiteman Air Force Base,Missouri. It operatesNorthrop Grumman B-2 Spiritnuclear-capable strategic bomber aircraft.

The squadron was first organized in March 1944 as the393rd Bombardment Squadron.In November 1944, the squadron transferred to the509th Composite Groupand began training for the delivery ofnuclear weapons.In May 1945, it deployed to the Mariana Islands, where it became the only unit to usenuclear weaponsincombat,when its aircraft dropped atomic bombs onHiroshima and Nagasakion 6 August 1945 and 9 August 1945. AfterV-J Day,the squadron returned to the United States, and was stationed atRoswell Army Air Field,New Mexico.

During the early years of theCold War,the squadron was involved inOperation Crossroads,nuclear weapons testing onBikini Atoll,and has continued to operate nuclear-capable aircraft since then. At Roswell, the squadron upgraded toBoeing B-50 Superfortressesand later, to jet poweredBoeing B-47 Stratojets.WhenWalker Air Force Baseclosed in 1958, the squadron and its B-47s moved toPease Air Force Base,New Hampshire. At Pease, it replaced its B-47s withBoeing B-52 Stratofortressesin 1966, and in 1970, became one of only twowingsinStrategic Air Commandto equip with theGeneral Dynamics FB-111.

With the phaseout of the FB-111 and closure of Pease, the squadron moved as a paper unit toWhiteman Air Force Base,Missouri in 1990. In 1993, it began to receive Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and became operational as the only regular Air Force unit to operate these aircraft.

History

The 393rd Bomb Squadron was activated as aBoeing B-29 Superfortresssquadron in early 1944; trained under theSecond Air Force.Due to a shortage of B-29s, the squadron was initially equipped with formerII Bomber CommandBoeing B-17 Flying Fortressespreviously used for trainingheavy bomberreplacement personnel as engineering flaws were being worked out of the B-29. The squadron was then reassigned for advanced training and received B-29s atFairmont Army Air Field,Nebraska during the late spring and summer of 1944.

509th Composite Group

In December 1944 reassigned as the only operational B-29 squadron tothe 509th Composite GroupatWendover Field,Utah in December. Aircraft were refitted to theSilverplateconfiguration becoming atomic bomb capable under a highly classified program. They were then deployed toNorth Field (Tinian)in late May 1945, flying non-combat missions practicing atomic bomb delivery techniques. The squadron was the only unit in the world to ever carry out and delivernuclear weaponsincombat,as they dropped thefirst atomic bombonHiroshima,Japan, on 6 August 1945, and thesecond atomic bombonNagasaki,Japan, on 9 August 1945.

Reassigned to the United States in November 1945, it became part ofContinental Air Forces(later Strategic Air Command). The unit was deployed toKwajalein Atollin 1946 to carry outOperation Crossroadswhich was a series of atomic bomb tests onBikini Atollin July.

Strategic Air Command

The squadron began upgrading to the newBoeing B-50 Superfortress,an advanced version of the B-29 in 1949. The B-50 gave the unit the capability to carry heavy loads of conventional weapons faster and farther as well as being designed for nuclear deployment missions if necessary. The squadron deployed to SAC airfields in England, and toAndersen Air Force Base,Guamon long-term deployments in the 1950s.

By 1951, the emergence of the SovietMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15interceptor in the skies of North Korea signalled the end of the propeller-driven B-50 as a first-line strategic bomber. Received new, swept-wingBoeing B-47 Stratojetsin 1955 which were designed to carry nuclear weapons and to penetrate Soviet air defenses with their high operational ceiling and near supersonic speed. The squadron flew the B-47 for about a decade but by the mid-1960s it had become obsolete and vulnerable to new Soviet air defenses. The squadron began to send its Stratojets toAMARCatDavis-Monthan Air Force Base,Arizona for retirement in 1965.

The squadron was scheduled for inactivation; it instead receivedBoeing B-52D Stratofortressesin 1965. It rotated aircraft and crews to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam in support ofSoutheast AsiaOperation Arc Lightoperations between 1966 and 1969. The squadron was not operational from November 1969 to June 1971. Re-equipped withGeneral Dynamics FB-111nuclear-capable medium bombers in 1970, the squadron operated until retirement in 1990.

It was reactivated in 1993 as the first operationalNorthrop Grumman B-2 Spiritstealth bomber squadron.

Operations and decorations

• Combat operations: Combat in Western Pacific, 1 Jul – 14 Aug 1945. Only squadron trained for atomic warfare in World War II. Participated in atomic bomb tests on Bikini Atoll, Jul 1946, while deployed on Kwajalein. Rotated aircraft and crews to Andersen AFB, Guam, in support of Southeast Asia Operations, 1966–1969.
• Campaigns: World War II: Air Offensive, Japan; Eastern Mandates; Western Pacific. Vietnam War; Global War on Terror.
• Decorations:Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards:Apr – 1 Oct 1968; 1 Jul 1977 – 30 Jun 1979; 1 Jul 1981 – 30 Jun 1982; 1 Jul 1982 – 30 Jun 1984; 1 Jul 1988 – 30 Jun 1990.Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm:5 Mar – 14 Oct 1969.

Lineage

• Constituted as the393d Bombardment Squadron,Very Heavy on 28 February 1944

Activated on 11 Mar 1944

Redesignated393d Bombardment Squadron,Medium on 2 July 1948

Redesignated393d Bombardment Squadron,Heavy on 2 April 1966

Redesignated393d Bombardment Squadron,Medium on 1 December 1969

Inactivated on 30 September 1990

• Redesignated393d Bomb Squadronon 12 March 1993

Activated on 27 August 1993

Assignments

• 504th Bombardment Group,11 March 1944
• Second Air Force,25 November 1944
• 509th Composite Group(later 509th Bombardment Group), 17 December 1944 (attached to509th Bombardment Wing,17 November 1947 – 14 Sept 1948 and after 1 February 1951)
• 509th Bombardment Wing, 16 June 1952 – 30 September 1990
• 509th Operations Group, 27 Aug 1993– present

Stations

• Dalhart Army Air Field,Texas, 11 March 1944
• Fairmont Army Air Field, Nebraska, 12 March 1944
• Wendover Field, Utah, 14 September 1944 – 26 April 1945
• North Field, Tinian, 30 May–17 October 1945
• Roswell Army Air Field(later Walker Air Force Base), New Mexico, 6 November 1945

Deployed toBucholz Army Airfield,Kwajalein,Marshall Islands,1 May–July 1946;RAF Mildenhall,England, 4 June–2 September 1952; Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, 18 June–c. 18 September 1953 and 10 July–8 October 1954;RAF Upper Heyford,England, 26 January–30 April 1956

• Pease Air Force Base,New Hampshire, 1 July 1958 – 30 September 1990
• Whiteman Air Force Base,Missouri, 27 August 1993 – present

Aircraft

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (1944)
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress (1944–1952)
• Boeing B-50 Superfortress (1949–1955)
• Boeing B-47 Stratojet (1955–1965)

• Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (1966–1969)
• General Dynamics FB-111A Aardvark (1970–1990)
• Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit (1993–present)

See also

• Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• List of B-52 Units of the United States Air Force

References

Notes

Explanatory notes

Citations

Bibliography

This article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom theAir Force Historical Research Agency

• Endicott, Judy G. (1998).Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995 and USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995(PDF).Air Force History and Museums Program. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ASINB000113MB2.Retrieved2 July2014.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961].Air Force Combat Units of World War II(PDF)(reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN0-912799-02-1.LCCN61060979.Retrieved17 December2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969].Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II(PDF)(reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN0-405-12194-6.LCCN70605402.OCLC72556.Retrieved17 December2016.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977.Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN0-912799-12-9.Retrieved17 December2016.
• Watkins, Robert A. (2013).Insignia and Aircraft Markings of the U.S. Army Air Force In World War II.Vol. V, Pacific Theater of Operations. Atglen,PA: Shiffer Publishing, Ltd.ISBN978-0-7643-4346-9.