World War II Training in the United States The
squadron was first activated at
MacDill Field, Florida as one of the original four squadrons assigned to the
98th Bombardment Group. The 343d soon moved to
Barksdale Field, Louisiana, where it began to train as a
Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber squadron under
Third Air Force. The squadron's training was short and it deployed to Egypt in July 1942
Combat in the Middle East Upon arrival in the Near East, the squadron became part of United States Army Middle East Air Force, which was replaced by
Ninth Air Force in November. It entered combat in August, attacking shipping and harbor installations to cut
Axis supply lines to North Africa. It also bombed
airfields and rail transit lines in
Sicily and mainland Italy. The squadron moved forward with Ninth Air Force to airfields in Egypt; Libya and Tunisia supporting the
British Eighth Army in the
Western Desert Campaign. Its support of this campaign earned the squadron the
Distinguished Unit Citation. The squadron pressed its attack on the Asta Romana Refinery through smoke and fire from bombing by another group's earlier attack and heavy
flak defenses. The squadron's actions in this engagement earned it a second Distinguished Unit Citation. 1st Lt. Donald D Pucket was posthumously award the
Medal of Honor for trying to save the crew of his severely damaged
B-24 Liberator bomber after an attack on the heavily defended
oil refineries near
Ploiești, Romania on 9 July 1944. When the forces driving East from Egypt and Libya met up with those moving westward from Algeria and Morocco in Tunisia in September 1943, Ninth Air Force was transferred to England to become the tactical air force for the invasion of the European Continent. The squadron, along with all
Army Air Forces units in North Africa became part of
Twelfth Air Force. In November 1943, the squadron moved to
Brindisi Airport, Italy, where it became part of
Fifteenth Air Force, which assumed control of strategic operations in the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations, while Twelfth became a tactical air force.
Strategic operations in Italy The squadron continued strategic bombardment raids on targets in occupied France, southern Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria and targets in the Balkans. These included industrial sites, airfields, harbors and
lines of communication. Although focusing on strategic bombing, the squadron was sometimes diverted to tactical operations, supporting
Operation Shingle, the landings at
Anzio and the
Battle of Monte Cassino. In the summer of 1944, the squadron supported
Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France. SAC's mobilization for the Korean War highlighted that SAC wing commanders were not sufficiently focused on combat operations. Under a plan implemented for most wings in February 1951 and finalized in June 1952, the wing commander focused primarily on the combat units and the maintenance necessary to support combat aircraft by having the combat and maintenance squadrons report directly to the wing and eliminating the intermediate group structures. This reorganization was implemented in April 1951 for the 98th Wing, when wing
headquarters moved on paper to Japan, taking over the personnel and functions of the 98th Group, which became a paper organization, and the squadron began operating under wing control. Starting in January 1952, the threat posed by enemy
interceptors forced the squadron to fly only night missions. The unit flew its last mission, a propaganda leaflet drop, on the last day before the
armistice was signed. The squadron remained in combat ready status in Japan until July 1954 when it moved to
Lincoln Air Force Base, Nebraska. The alert commitment was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962.
Cuban Missile Crisis Soon after
detection of Soviet missiles in Cuba, on 22 October 1962 the squadron's B-47s dispersed. On 24 October the 343d went to
DEFCON 2, placing all its aircraft on alert. Most dispersal bases were civilian airfields with AF Reserve or
Air National Guard units. The unit's B-47s were configured for execution of the Emergency War Order as soon as possible after dispersing. On 15 November 1/6 of the squadron's dispersed B-47s were recalled to Lincoln. The remaining B-47s and their supporting tankers were recalled on 24 November. On 27 November SAC returned its bomber units to normal alert posture. The squadron was inactivated in June 1966 with the phaseout of the B-47 and closure of Lincoln. On 19 April 2013, the 343rd Bomb Squadron participated in their first nuclear readiness exercise. As the only B-52 squadron in the Air Force Reserve, the 343rd BS is also the only nuclear certified squadron in the Air Force Reserve. The 343rd Bomb Squadron received the Mitchell Trophy for most accurate munition drop during the Global Strike Challenge 2017. Global Strike Challenge is a Bomber, Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, Helicopter Operations and Security Forces competition with units from Air Force Global Strike Command, Air Combat Command, Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard. During Global Strike Challenge 2019, the 343rd Bomb Squadron consecutively earned the Mitchell Trophy for most accurate munitions drop. They were also awarded with the Linebacker Trophy for best B-52 Squadron and the LeMay Trophy for Best Bomber Operations, becoming the top performing unit within Air Force Global Strike Command. ==Lineage==