373d Strategic Missile Squadron

World War II Initial organization and training The squadron was activated at Gowen Field, Idaho on 15 April 1942 as the 373d Bombardment Squadron, one of the four original squadrons of the 308th Bombardment Group. As the squadron was forming and beginning its training in Consolidated B-24 Liberators, at Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico in August 1942, almost all its personnel were transferred to the 330th Bombardment Group. The following month, a fresh cadre taken from the 39th Bombardment Group joined the group. In addition to its own training activities, at the beginning of October, the unit was briefly designated as an Operational Training Unit The squadron moved to Okinawa in June 1945, where it was assigned to the 494th Bombardment Group. From its base at Yontan Airfield it engaged primarily in attacks against enemy airfields on Kyūshū and around the Inland Sea of Japan until V-J Day. It also struck airfields in China and Korea. The unit also participated in incendiary raids and dropped propaganda leaflets over urban areas of Kyūshū. After the war's end, the unit transported personnel and supplies from Manila to Tokyo. In December, the 373d returned to the United States, where it was inactivated at the Vancouver Barracks Port of Embarkation on 6 January 1946. Weather reconnaissance The squadron was reactivated at Kindley Field, Bermuda on 15 October 1947 as the 373d Reconnaissance Squadron, an Air Weather Service weather reconnaissance squadron, The squadron performed weather reconnaissance, including monitoring areas of the Atlantic for developing hurricanes until it was inactivated in February 1951 ==Lineage==

• Constituted 373d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 January 1942 : Activated on 15 April 1942 • Redesignated 373d Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 1944 : Inactivated on 7 January 1946 • Redesignated: 373d Reconnaissance Squadron, Very Long Range, Weather on 16 September 1947. : Activated on 15 October 1947 : Inactivated on 21 February 1951 • Redesignated 373d Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 4 October 1951 : Activated on 10 October 1951 : Discontinued and inactivated on 25 June 1961 • Redesignated 373d Strategic Missile Squadron (ICBM-Titan) and activated on 29 November 1961 (not organized) : Organized on 1 April 1962 : Inactivated on 18 August 1987 Assignments • 308th Bombardment Group, 15 April 1942 • 494th Bombardment Group, 21 July 1945 • 11th Bombardment Group, 11 October 1945 – 7 January 1946 • 8th Weather Group (later 2108th Air Weather Group), 15 October 1947 – 21 February 1951 • 308th Bombardment Group, 10 October 1951 (attached to 21st Air Division until 17 April 1952) • 308th Bombardment Wing, 16 June 1952 – 25 June 1961 • Strategic Air Command, 29 November 1961 (not organized) • 308th Strategic Missile Wing, 1 April 1962 – 18 August 1987 Stations • Gowen Field, Idaho, 15 April 1942 • Davis–Monthan Field, Arizona, 20 June 1942 • Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico, 23 July 1942 • Davis–Monthan Field, Arizona, 28 August 1942 • Wendover Field, Utah, 1 October 1942 • Pueblo Army Air Base, Colorado, 30 November 1942 – 2 January 1943 • Yangkai Airfield, China, 20 March 1943 • Luliang Air Base, China, 14 September 1944 • Yontan Airfield, Okinawa, 21 July – 19 December 1945 • Vancouver Barracks, Washington, 4–7 January 1946 • Kindley Field (later Kindley Air Force Base), Bermuda, 15 October 1947 – 21 February 1951 • Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas, 10 October 1951 • Hunter Air Force Base, Georgia, 17 April 1952 • Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York, 15 July 1959 – 25 June 1961 • Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, 1 April 1962 – 18 August 1987 Aircraft and missiles • Douglas B-18 Bolo, 1942 • Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1942–1945 • Boeing TB-17 Flying Fortress, 1947–1948 • Boeing RB-29 Superfortress, 1947–1951 • Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1947–1951, 1951–1953 • Boeing WB-29 Superfortress, 1947–1951 • Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1954–1959 • LGM-25C Titan II, 1962–1987 ==See also==