World War II Initial organization and training The squadron was first activated at
Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina on 20 August 1942 as one of the four original squadrons of the
340th Bombardment Group. However, it was not until September that the squadron received its initial
cadre, mostly drawn from the
309th Bombardment Group. By the end of September, it had nearly 200 assigned personnel, but it was only in November that it was fully manned. It completed Phase I and Phase II training at Columbia with
North American B-25 Mitchells, then moved to
Walterboro Army Air Field, South Carolina in November, where it completed Phase III training and departed for the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations at the end of January 1943. The squadron's ground echelon travelled by train to
Camp Stoneman, California, where it boarded the
USS West Point (AP-23) for the combat zone via the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The air echelon travelled by train to
Kellogg Field, Michigan, where it received new B-25s to ferry across the Atlantic. It departed
Morrison Field, Florida on 25 February 1943. The 486th engaged primarily in
air support and
interdiction operations, targeting
airfields, roads, bridges, road junctions, supply depots and
marshalling yards. It participated in
Operation Corkscrew, the reduction of defenses in
Pantelleria and
Lampedusa in June 1943. Although the squadron's operations were hindered by primitive living conditions at its base and unfavorable weather, the squadron supported the
British Eighth Army in Tunisia and
Allied forces in
Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. For these actions, it was awarded a
Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC). In 1948
Continental Air Command assumed responsibility for managing air reserve and
Air National Guard units from ADC. President
Truman’s reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force, and the 486th was inactivated in August 1949 After 1958, SAC's Stratojet units 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 initial goal was to maintain 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 SAC alert commitment was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962. Soon after
detection of Soviet missiles in Cuba, SAC brought all degraded and adjusted alert sorties up to full capability. It dispersed its B-47s on 22 October 1962. Most dispersal bases were civilian airfields with Air Force Reserve or
Air National Guard units. B-47s were configured for execution of the
Emergency War Order as soon as possible after dispersal. On 15 November 1/6 of the dispersed B-47s were recalled to their home bases. On 21 November SAC went to DEFCON 3. Dispersed B-47s and supporting tankers were recalled on 24 November. On 27 November SAC returned to normal alert posture. In the summer of 1963, the squadron began phasing down its operations at what was now Whiteman Air Force Base in preparation for Whiteman becoming a base for
LGM-30 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles and the transfer of the base to the
351st Strategic Missile Wing.
B-52 Operations On 1 September 1963, the squadron moved on paper to
Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, where it assumed the mission, personnel and
Boeing B-52D Stratofortresses of the
335th Bombardment Squadron, which was simultaneously inactivated. At Bergstrom it conducted global operations and maintained bombers on alert. The squadron moved to
March Air Force Base, California in October 1966 as Bergstrom was transferred from SAC to
Tactical Air Command. At March, it became part of the
22d Bombardment Wing. With the transfer, the 22nd became a "super wing" with two bombardment squadrons and two
air refueling squadrons. From 10 March to early October 1967, all tactical resources of the 22nd Wing, including the 486th, were deployed to other SAC organizations to maintain operations over Southeast Asia. The squadron continued to deploy resources and maintain some of its undeployed B-52s on alert. In December 1965, a few months after the first B-52Bs started leaving the operational inventory,
Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense, ordered another reduction of SAC’s bomber force. This program called for the mid-1971 retirement of all B-52Cs, and several subsequent B-52 models. As a result, the 486th was inactivated on 1 July 1971. : Activated on 20 August 1942 : Inactivated on 7 November 1945 • Redesignated
486th Bombardment Squadron, Light on 8 October 1947 : Activated in the reserve on 31 October 1947 : Inactivated on 19 August 1949 • Redesignated
486th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 3 October 1952 : Activated on 20 October 1952 • Redesignated
486th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 1 September 1963 : Inactivated on 1 July 1971
Assignments • 340th Bombardment Group, 20 August 1942 – 7 November 1945 • 340th Bombardment Group, 31 October 1947 – 19 August 1949 • Pompeii Airfield, Italy 28 December 1943 • Gaudo Airfield, Italy 22 March 1944 • Alesani, Corsica, France, 15 April 1944 •
Rimini Airfield, Italy 7 April – 16 July 1945 •
Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina 9 August 1945 • Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina 2 October – 7 November 1945 • Tulsa Municipal Airport, Oklahoma, 31 October 1947 – 19 August 1949 • Sedalia Air Force Base (later Whiteman Air Force Base), Missouri, 20 October 1952 • Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, 1 September 1963 • March Air Force Base, California, 2 October 1966 – 1 July 1971
Aircraft • North American B-25 Mitchell, 1942–1945 • Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1954–1963 • Boeing B-52D Stratofortress, 1963–1971
Awards and campaigns ==See also==