World War II Training in the United States The
584th Bombardment Squadron was activated at
MacDill Field, Florida as one of the original four squadrons of the
394th Bombardment Group. It began to train with the
Martin B-26 Marauder, performing most of its training at
Kellogg Field, Michigan. It departed for the
European Theater of Operations (ETO) in mid-February 1944. It helped prepare for the
invasion of Normandy by participating in
Operation Crossbow, striking
V-1 flying bomb and
V-2 rocket launch sites. It also carried out attacks on
marshalling yards, bridges,
gun emplacements and
airfields. Not all targets were near the intended invasion landing areas. For example, in April, the squadron participated in a heavy attack on the marshalling yard at
Mechlen, Belgium.Later that month, it encountered particularly heavy
flak in an attack on
Heuringhem, in which the airplane leading the group formation received 264 holes. However, bombing results were not as accurate as desired, and the squadron was removed from operations for a week for additional training. On D-Day it attacked gun emplacements at
Cherbourg Naval Base, afterwards striking
lines of communications, fuel storage sites and enemy strong points. and on the following day supported
Operation Cobra, the breakout at
Saint Lo. Between 7 and 9 August, the squadron made five attacks on strongly defended targets in northern France. This operation resulted in the award of the
Distinguished Unit Citation to the squadron. Later that month, the squadron moved to its first base on the continent,
Tour-en-Bessin Airfield, in France. From this base, the 584th attacked strong points at
Brest, France and later began attacking targets in Germany from its bases on the continent. During the
Battle of the Bulge, the squadron attacked lines of communications to prevent reinforcements from reaching the attacking German forces. it participated in
Operation Clarion, intended to destroy the remaining elements of the German transportation system. In addition to attacking transportation and storage facilities, toward the end of the war, the squadron dropped propaganda leaflets over occupied territory, which included the squadron's last combat mission.
Occupation and inactivation Following
V-E Day, the squadron moved to
Kitzingen Airfield, Germany, where it became part of the
Army of Occupation. In December, it began to transition into the
Douglas A-26 Invader. However, most personnel were rotating home for separation from the military, and in February, the squadron was transferred on paper to
Bolling Field, District of Columbia and was inactivated there at the end of March. This was part of a program by SAC to station most of its tankers into the northeastern United States. The 4050th was one of two tanker wings created in New England. This based the squadron ahead of the faster
Boeing B-47 Stratojets it would refuel if the Emergency War Order were executed, and on their programmed route. The 384th was equipped with
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighters. It
refueled SAC bombers, primarily in the North Atlantic area, and
Tactical Air Command aircraft, primarily for fighter deployments and unit movements. In addition to deployments of individual crews and aircraft, the squadron deployed as a unit to
Ernest Harmon Air Force Base, Newfoundland in the spring of 1956 and 1957 and to
Lajes Air Base,
Azores (Operation Short Punt) in the fall of 1963. Starting in 1960, one third of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on fifteen minute
alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962. Ground alert for the KC-97 terminated on 10 November 1965. The squadron's parent 4050th Air Refueling Wing was replaced by the newly constituted 499th Air Refueling Wing which assumed its mission, personnel, and equipment on 1 January 1963. During the
Cuban Missile Crisis SAC went to
DEFCON 2 on 22 October 1962, putting all the squadron's planes on alert. On 29 October additional KC-97s were dispersed to bases in Canada and the Azores to provide refueling for B-47s on increased alert status. On 21 November SAC went to DEFCON 3. Dispersed tankers were recalled on 24 November and on 27 November SAC returned to normal alert posture. However, the slow speed of the propeller-driven KC-97 made it incompatible with jet bombers, which had to descend from their cruising altitude to one where the KC-97 operated, resulting in the bomber burning much of the fuel it had just received in its climb back to its operating altitude. Although this problem was alleviated by adding two
General Electric J47 jets to the KC-97, the only real solution was an all jet tanker. The squadron began to draw down, losing its last aircraft in late 1965 and no longer being manned after February 1966. It was inactivated along with its parent 499th Air Refueling Wing on 25 June 1966.
KC-135 era The squadron was reactivated in September 1973 at
McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, where it was assigned to the
384th Bombardment Wing, flying
Boeing KC-135A Stratotankers. It flew worldwide aerial refueling sorties. In September 1985, the 384th was consolidated with the 584th Bombardment Squadron, in a program to unite World War II units with tactical units that had been activated after the war. It supported
Desert Shield and Desert Storm from by deploying aircrews and aircraft assigned to provisional units from August 1990 to March 1991. ==Lineage==