World War II Initial organization and training The
squadron was first activated at
Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah on 1 March 1942 as the
32d Reconnaissance Squadron, one of the original squadrons of the
305th Bombardment Group. and began training on the
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. The following month, the squadron was designated the
422d Bombardment Squadron. In June, it moved to
Geiger Field, Washington, and in July, to
Muroc Army Air Field, California for more intensive training. On 23 August, its ground echelon left for
Fort Dix, New Jersey and sailed for the
European Theater of Operations on the on 5 September, landing in Scotland on 12 September. The air echelon received additional training at
Hancock Field, New York, before taking the
North Atlantic ferrying route to Prestwick in September and October. and heavy
flak, for which it was awarded the
Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC). Missions included attacks on
Berlin, oil refineries at
Merseburg, aircraft factories at
Anklam, shipping at
Gdynia and the ball bearing factories at
Schweinfurt. but with its night flying experience, starting on 7 September 1943, the squadron began flying nighttime "Nickeling" missions, dropping leaflets over occupied territory. Originally, leaflets were thrown overboard by hand. They were then dropped in cardboard boxes until the squadron's armament officer devised a leaflet bomb made of laminated paper and fused to disperse the leaflets at an altitude of to feet. On 24 June 1944 this mission, along with most of the squadron's personnel and aircraft, were transferred to the
858th Bombardment Squadron and the 422d remanned and reequipped as it returned to strategic bombing operations. The squadron was occasionally diverted from its strategic mission to carry out
interdiction and
air support missions. In July 1944 it attacked enemy positions in advance of ground forces in
Operation Cobra, the breakout at
Saint Lo. It attacked antiaircraft batteries to support
Operation Market Garden, the airborne attacks near
Arnhem attempting to secure a bridgehead across the
Rhine. In December 1944 and January 1945, it attacked enemy installations near the
Battle of the Bulge. In March 1945, it supported
Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine in Germany. The three squadrons of the
4400th Combat Crew Training Group performing this mission were
Air National Guard units that had been called up for the war. In January 1953, these squadrons were released to state control and the 422d Squadron took over the mission, personnel, and equipment of the
115th Bombardment Squadron, which returned to the
California Air National Guard. However, the 422d did not remain with the crew training school, but was assigned to the 4430th Air Base Wing, the host organization for Langley. In May, it was attached to the
405th Fighter-Bomber Wing, which had just been activated. To implement this new system B-47 wings reorganized from three to four squadrons. The 422d was activated at
MacDill Air Force Base, Florida as the fourth squadron of the
305th Bombardment Wing. In June of that year, the unit moved to
Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana. As the 305th Wing transitioned to the
Convair B-58 Hustler, the squadron was inactivated in February 1961. ==Lineage==