World War II Initial organization and training The
squadron was activated at
Salt Lake City Army Air Base in July 1942 as the
338th Bombardment Squadron, one of the original squadrons of the
96th Bombardment Group. In early August the squadron moved to
Gowen Field, Idaho, where it received its initial
cadre, then, later that month to
Walla Walla Army Air Base, Washington to begin training with the
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. The air echelon of the squadron began ferrying their B-17s via the North Atlantic ferry route, stopping at
Presque Isle Army Air Field, Newfoundland, Iceland, then at
Prestwick Airport, Scotland on 4 April 1943. The ground echelon left Pyote on 16 April for
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey in the New York Port of Embarkation, sailing on the on 5 May and arriving in Scotland on 13 May.
Eighth Air Force decided to transfer its new
Martin B-26 Marauder units from
VIII Bomber Command to
VIII Air Support Command and concentrate them on bases closer to the European continent. As a result, the
322d Bombardment Group moved to Great Saling on 12 June, forcing the 96th Group and its squadrons to relocate to
RAF Snetterton Heath, which would be its combat station for the rest of the war. The squadron engaged in the
strategic bombing campaign against Germany. It attacked airdromes, aircraft factories, harbors, oil refineries, railway yards, shipyards, and other industrial targets in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Targets included airfields at
Bordeaux and
Augsburg;
marshalling yards at
Kiel,
Hamm,
Braunschweig, and
Gdynia; aircraft factories at
Chemnitz,
Hanover, and
Diósgyőr; oil refineries at
Merseburg and
Most, and chemical works in
Wiesbaden,
Ludwigshafen, and
Neunkirchen. The squadron formed part of the leading
45th Combat Bombardment Wing formation on very long-range mission against the
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 factory at
Poznań Heavy clouds led an entire wing and some combat boxes of the 45th Wing to abandon the mission and return to England. The 96th Group and one other combat box proceeded to the target and were surprised to find they were able to bomb visually, although the target was defended by intense
flak fire, earning the squadron its second DUC. In addition to strategic operations, the squadron participated in
air support and
interdiction missions. In the preparation for
Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, it bombed
coastal defenses, railway bridges, gun emplacements, and
field batteries in the battle area prior to and during
D-Day in June 1944. It attacked enemy positions in support of
Operation Cobra, the breakout at
Saint Lo in July 1944, aiding the campaign in France in August by striking roads and road junctions, and by dropping supplies to the
Maquis. During the early months of 1945, it attacked the communications supplying German armies on the western front. At Jackson, the squadron's training was supervised by the 4103rd AAF Base Unit (Reserve Training), later the 2588th AF Reserve Flying Training Center. As the post war Air Force took shape, the
National Guard was considered the first line of reserve. Reserve units like the 338th got what was left over after National Guard units received facilities, equipment and aircraft. Aircraft were allotted to reserve units as a means of maintaining flying proficiency, not for combat readiness and were overwhelmingly trainers, and no heavy bombers were ever assigned The allotment of units to the reserves was made only for planning purposes and mobilization plans called for personnel assigned to the squadron to be called to active duty during mobilization as individuals, not as a unit. In 1948,
Continental Air Command (ConAC) assumed responsibility for managing reserve and
Air National Guard units from ADC. President
Truman's reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of flying units in the Air Force, In May 1949, ConAC reorganized its operational reserve forces into 25
wings located at 23 reserve training centers, a reduction of 18 training centers. The new wings would be 20 troop carrier wings and 5 light bomber wings, since the National Guard was primarily a fighter force, and the Air Force did not have the resources to support medium or heavy bomber reserve units. With this reduction, the squadron was inactivated in June 1949. In January 1957, the squadron deployed to
Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, remaining there until April. Not long after its return, the squadron, along with the other operational and maintenance elements of the 96th Wing moved to
Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. In October 1957
Strategic Air Command (SAC) began
Operation Reflex. Reflex placed Stratojets and
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighters at bases closer to the Soviet Union for 90 day periods, although individuals rotated back to home bases during unit Reflex deployments. Although it did not deploy as a unit, the squadron provided crews and aircraft for Reflex operations. From 1958, SAC's Stratojet units began to assume an
alert posture at their home bases, reducing the amount of time spent on alert at overseas bases. General
Thomas S. Power set an initial goal of maintaining one third of SAC's planes on fifteen minute ground alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. The SAC alert commitment was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962. Squadron aircraft were configured for execution of the
Emergency War Order as soon as possible after dispersal. On 15 November 1/6 of the squadron's dispersed B-47s were recalled to their home base. On 21 November SAC went to DEFCON 3. The squadron's dispersed B-47s were recalled on 24 November. On 27 November SAC returned to normal alert posture. SAC was beginning to phase the B-47 our of its inventory, and the 338th was inactivated on 15 March 1963. On 1 April 1974, SAC established the 4018th Combat Crew Training Squadron at
Carswell Air Force Base, Texas as a training unit for
Boeing B-52D Stratofortresses and assigned it to the
7th Bombardment Wing. With the entry of the
Rockwell B-1 Lancer into the inventory and the phase out of older model B-52s, in March 1985, the squadron moved to
Dyess Air Force Base, Texas to become the crew training unit for the "Bone", and was reassigned to the 96th Bombardment Wing. The 4018th was the first squadron to operate the B-1. The 338th squadron was redesignated the
338th Strategic Bomber Training Squadron and activated at Dyess, assuming the personnel and equipment of the 4018th Squadron on 1 July 1986, The copilot's ejection seat failed and two others in jump seats were unable to successfully bail out, killing the instructor pilot, student pilot, and instructor defensive systems officer. Theremaining crew successfully ejected and were treated for minor injuries at the
USAF Academy Hospital. Modifications to increase the B-1 design to withstand a 10-pound strike were complete by December 1988. The squadron was inactivated in October 1993 along with the 96th Bomb Wing, which was replaced at Dyess by the 7th Bomb Wing. The 7th moved to Dyess from Carswell Air Force Base without personnel or equipment. The 338th's equipment and personnel were transferred to the
337th Bomb Squadron. ==Lineage==