World War II The
squadron was first activated as the
508th Bombardment Squadron at
Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah on 1 October 1942 as one of the four original squadrons of the
351st Bombardment Group. Its
cadre moved the same day to
Gowen Field, Idaho, where it could begin manning as a
heavy bomber unit. The squadron moved to
Geiger Field, Washington in November and began training for combat with the
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. The squadron completed its training in April 1943 and departed for the
European Theater of Operations. The air echelon began ferrying its B-17s about 1 April, while the ground echelon left for the New York Port of Embarkation on 12 April. The squadron was occasionally withdrawn from strategic missions to provide
air support and
interdiction. In the buildup to
Operation Overlord, the invasion at Normandy, the squadron participated in
Operation Crossbow, attacking
V-1 flying bomb and
V-2 rocket launch sites. In June 1944, it provided support for the landings, and the following month supported
Operation Cobra, the breakout at
Saint Lo. In September, it supported
Operation Market Garden, an unsuccessful airborne attack attempting to obtain a bridgehead across the
Rhine at
Arnhem. From December 1944 through January 1945, it attacked front line positions during the
Battle of the Bulge. In March 1945, it flew missions to support
Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the
Rhine in Germany. The following year
Continental Air Command assumed responsibility for managing reserve units from ADC. Although nominally a very heavy bomber unit, it is not clear whether or not the squadron was fully staffed or equipped. President
Truman’s reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force, and the 508th was inactivated
Intercontinental ballistic missile squadron The squadron was redesignated the
508th Strategic Missile Squadron in 1962 and began standing
alert with a complement of 50 missiles.
LGM-30 Minuteman Missile Alert and Launch Facilities were located at: :: A-01 3.5 mi SE of
Blackburn, Missouri :: B-01 38.1 mi ExNE of
Houstonia, Missouri :: C-01 5.6 mi SxSW of
Pilot Grove, Missouri :: D-01 6.1 mi SE of
Syracuse, Missouri :: E-01 7.3 mi WxSW of
Florence, Missouri Beginning in May 1966, the squadron began an upgrade to LGM-30F Minuteman II missiles. The conversion to the newer model of the Minuteman was completed in October 1967. In September 1991, the squadron was renamed the
508th Missile Squadron as the Air Force removed the distinction between "tactical" and "strategic" in unit names prior to the combination of SAC and
Tactical Air Command into a single
Air Combat Command. In the 1990s, President
Bush's decided to stand down Minuteman II units. The squadron was inactivated on 28 July 1995. ==Lineage==