736th Bombardment Squadron
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The 736th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 454th Bombardment Wing at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, where it was inactivated on 2 July 1969 as the United States reduced its inventory of older Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses..
736th Bombardment Squadron | |
---|---|
Active | 1943–1945; 1947–1951; 1952–1953; 1963–1969 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Role | Heavy bomber |
Nickname(s) | The Professionals (1966-1969) |
Motto(s) | Ever Alert (1963-1969) |
Engagements | Mediterranean Theater of Operations |
Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
Insignia | |
Patch with 736th Bombardment Squadron emblem[lower-alpha 2] | |
736th Bombardment Squadron emblem |
The squadron was first activated in June 1943. After training in the United States with the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, the squadron deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, participating in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. It earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for its combat operations. Following V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States for conversion as a very heavy bomber unit, but was inactivated instead.
The squadron was activated in the reserves in 1947, but does not appear to have been fully staffed or equipped. In 1949, it moved to Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, where it became a corollary of the active duty unit there. It was mobilized for the Korean War in May 1951, but its personnel were used as fillers for other units and it was inactivated. It was redesignated the 736th Troop Carrier Squadron and again activated in the reserve in 1952, but was inactivated the following year and its personnel and equipment transferred to another unit.
In 1963, the squadron returned to the heavy bomber mission and was activated at Columbus as part of a Strategic Air Command program to continue the histories of World War II combat units.