World War II Initial organization and training The
squadron was first activated at
Langley Field, Virginia as the
13th Reconnaissance Squadron, one of the original four squadrons of the
43d Bombardment Group, in the buildup of the United States military forces prior to the American entry into
World War II. Since a reorganization of
General Headquarters Air Force in September 1936, each bombardment group of the
Army Air Forces (AAF) had an assigned or attached reconnaissance squadron, which operated the same aircraft as that group's assigned bombardment squadrons. It was equipped with a variety of aircraft, not only the
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress that it would fly in combat, but also
Douglas B-18 Bolos and
Lockheed A-29 Hudsons. The squadron moved to
Army Air Base Bangor, Maine at the end of August. Following the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor, the squadron conducted
antisubmarine patrols off the Atlantic coast, primarily with its Bolos and Hudsons until January 1942, when it began moving to reinforce American forces in the
Southwest Pacific Theater.
Combat in the Pacific The squadron reached Australia via
Cape Town in February 1942, the first of the 43d Group's four squadrons to arrive in the theater. In April 1942, the
Army Air Forces (AAF) ended its practice of assigning or attaching reconnaissance squadrons to medium and heavy bombardment groups, and the squadron became the
403d Bombardment Squadron. It was originally equipped with B-17s for combat operations. The squadron operated from bases in Australia until November 1942, when it moved to New Guinea. Between May and September 1942 the squadron replaced its B-17s with
Consolidated B-24 Liberators, believed to be more suited to the long ranges of many Pacific missions. To implement this new system B-47 wings reorganized from three to four squadrons. The 403d was activated at
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base as the fourth squadron of the
43d Bombardment Wing. In March 1960, the 43rd Wing moved to
Carswell Air Force Base, Texas to become the Air Force's first
Convair B-58 Hustler wing, and the squadron was discontinued. Two months later, on 15 May, he squadron was organized at Carswell, but it was inactivated on 1 January 1961, before becoming operational. ==Lineage==