The 393rd Bomb Squadron was activated as a
Boeing B-29 Superfortress squadron in early 1944; trained under the
Second Air Force. Due to a shortage of B-29s, the squadron was initially equipped with former
II Bomber Command Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses previously used for training
heavy bomber replacement personnel as engineering flaws were being worked out of the B-29. The squadron was then reassigned for advanced training and received B-29s at
Fairmont Army Air Field, Nebraska during the late spring and summer of 1944.
509th Composite Group In December 1944 reassigned as the only operational B-29 squadron to
the 509th Composite Group at
Wendover Field, Utah in December. Aircraft were refitted to the
Silverplate configuration becoming atomic bomb capable under a highly classified program. They were then deployed to
North Field (Tinian) in late May 1945, flying non-combat missions practicing atomic bomb delivery techniques. The squadron was the only unit in the world to ever carry out and deliver
nuclear weapons in
combat, as they dropped the
first atomic bomb on
Hiroshima, Japan, on 6 August 1945, and the
second atomic bomb on
Nagasaki, Japan, on 9 August 1945. Reassigned to the United States in November 1945, it became part of
Continental Air Forces (later Strategic Air Command). The unit was deployed to
Kwajalein Atoll in 1946 to carry out
Operation Crossroads which was a series of atomic bomb tests on
Bikini Atoll in July.
Strategic Air Command The squadron began upgrading to the new
Boeing B-50 Superfortress, an advanced version of the B-29 in 1949. The B-50 gave the unit the capability to carry heavy loads of conventional weapons faster and farther as well as being designed for nuclear deployment missions if necessary. The squadron deployed to SAC airfields in England, and to
Andersen Air Force Base,
Guam on long-term deployments in the 1950s. By 1951, the emergence of the Soviet
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 interceptor in the skies of North Korea signalled the end of the propeller-driven B-50 as a first-line strategic bomber. Received new, swept-wing
Boeing B-47 Stratojets in 1955 which were designed to carry nuclear weapons and to penetrate Soviet air defenses with their high operational ceiling and near supersonic speed. The squadron flew the B-47 for about a decade but by the mid-1960s it had become obsolete and vulnerable to new Soviet air defenses. The squadron began to send its Stratojets to
AMARC at
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona for retirement in 1965. The squadron was scheduled for inactivation; it instead received
Boeing B-52D Stratofortresses in 1965. It rotated aircraft and crews to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam in support of
Southeast Asia Operation Arc Light operations between 1966 and 1969. The squadron was not operational from November 1969 to June 1971. Re-equipped with
General Dynamics FB-111 nuclear-capable medium bombers in 1970, the squadron operated until retirement in 1990. It was reactivated in 1993 as the first operational
Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber squadron.
Operations and decorations • Combat operations: Combat in Western Pacific, 1 Jul – 14 Aug 1945. Only squadron trained for atomic warfare in World War II. Participated in atomic bomb tests on Bikini Atoll, Jul 1946, while deployed on Kwajalein. Rotated aircraft and crews to Andersen AFB, Guam, in support of Southeast Asia Operations, 1966–1969. • Campaigns: World War II: Air Offensive, Japan; Eastern Mandates; Western Pacific. Vietnam War; Global War on Terror. • Decorations:
Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards: Apr – 1 Oct 1968; 1 Jul 1977 – 30 Jun 1979; 1 Jul 1981 – 30 Jun 1982; 1 Jul 1982 – 30 Jun 1984; 1 Jul 1988 – 30 Jun 1990.
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm: 5 Mar – 14 Oct 1969. ==Lineage==