World War II Organization and training in the United States The
456th Bombardment Squadron was activated at
Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina on 4 August 1942 as one of the four original squadrons of the
323d Bombardment Group. After Phase I training at
MacDill Field, Florida with
Martin B-26 Marauders, the squadron trained for combat at
Myrtle Beach Bombing Range, South Carolina until late April 1943, when the ground echelon departed Myrtle Beach for England, sailing on the on 5 May. The air echelon of the squadron had moved to
Baer Field, Indiana in February. At Baer, it received new B-26Cs, then proceeded to the United Kingdom via the north Atlantic ferry route by June.
Combat in Europe The squadron arrived at its first combat station,
RAF Horham, in May 1943. In June 1943, the squadron, along with all other B-26 units in England, moved to
Essex, an area where it was planned to build up a tactical air force for the forthcoming invasion of Europe, with the 455th arriving at
RAF Earls Colne on 14 June. The squadron began operations with
Eighth Air Force in July 1943 as part of the first raid on the European continent by B-26s. It is not clear whether or not the squadron was fully staffed or equipped prior to 1949. The squadron flew a mix of trainers and
Douglas A-26 Invaders. In 1948
Continental Air Command (ConAC) assumed responsibility for managing
reserve and
Air National Guard units from ADC. ConAC reorganized its reserve units under the
wing base organization system in June 1949. The new
wings were manned at only 25% of their normal strength. All reserve combat units were mobilized for the Korean war. The squadron was
mobilized on 10 March 1951. Its personnel and aircraft were used as fillers for other organizations and the squadron was inactivated a week later.
Strategic Air Command The
656th Bombardment Squadron, the second predecessor of the 556th, was activated as part of the
68th Bombardment Wing at
Lake Charles Air Force Base, Louisiana in 1953, when it assumed the personnel and equipment of the
24th Bombardment Squadron, which was simultaneously inactivated. The squadron took over the
Boeing B-29 Superfortresses of the 24th, but began transitioning into the
Boeing B-47 Stratojet by April when it received first production block of B-47Es. Along with its parent wing, the squadron deployed to
RAF Fairford from June to August 1954. in 1957,
Strategic Air Command (SAC) began implementing
Operation Reflex. Reflex placed Stratojets and
Boeing KC-97s at bases closer to the Soviet Union for 90 day periods, although individuals rotated back to home bases during unit Reflex deployments. Under this program, the squadron stood nuclear
alert at
RAF Brize Norton from September 1957 to January 1958. From 1958, SAC's B-47 began to assume an alert posture at their home bases, reducing the amount of time spent on alert at overseas bases. General
Thomas S. Power's set an initial goal of maintaining one third of SAC’s planes on fifteen minute ground alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. The alert commitment was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962. The 656th became non-operational in March 1963 and was inactivated in April as the B-47 began to be phased out of SAC's inventory and Chennault Air Force Base closed. The 456th and 656th Bombardment Squadrons were consolidated as the
556th Tactical Air Support Squadron in September 1985, but the consolidated squadron has not been active. ==Lineage==