World War II Initial organization and training The
squadron was first activated at
Langley Field, Virginia as 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. It was equipped with the
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress that it would fly in combat, but also flew
North American B-25 Mitchells for training. 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 until January 1942, and began moving to reinforce American forces in the
Southwest Pacific Theater the following month.
Combat in the Southwest Pacific Theatre The squadron reached Australia via
Cape Town in March 1942. It was originally equipped with B-17s for combat operations. It attacked Japanese shipping in the Netherlands East Indies and the Bismarck Archipelago. In November 1944 the squadron moved to the Philippines, helping the ground campaign on
Luzon as well as conducting bombing missions against airfields, industrial installations and enemy installations in China and Formosa. In July 1945 it moved to
Ie Shima Airfield, from which it flew missions over Japan, attacking railroads and airfields, as well as shipping in the
Seto Inland Sea until
V-J Day. As a result of this mission, the Zeamer crew has been called the most highly decorated
aircrew in
United States Air Force history. The rest of the crew members on the 16 June 1943 mission were awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross.
Strategic Air Command Early SAC operations The squadron was reactivated under
Strategic Air Command (SAC) at
Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona on 1 October 1946 and, along with the other squadrons of the 43rd Group, absorbed the personnel and
Boeing B-29 Superfortresses of the
40th and
444th Bombardment Groups, which were simultaneously inactivated. It was one of the first operational
Boeing B-29 Superfortress squadrons of SAC and trained for strategic bombardment missions during the postwar years; began upgrading to the improved
Boeing B-50 Superfortress, an advanced version of the B-29 in 1948. the squadron was attached to the
43d Bombardment Wingin February 1951, then assigned permanently in June 1952. The emergence of the Soviet
MiG-15 interceptor in the skies of North Korea signaled the end of the propeller-driven B-50 as a first-line strategic bomber. It replaced them with new
Boeing B-47E Stratojet swept-wing medium bombers in 1954, The squadron moved to
Carswell Air Force Base without personnel or equipment on 15 April 1960, and was not manned or equipped until August. Then it took over personnel and equipment from the 3958th Combat Crew Training Squadron and the 6592d Test Squadron, which were discontinued. The squadron immediately began training crews on the
Convair B-58 Hustler. The squadron was equipped with experimental and training models of the Hustler, along with
Convair TF-102 Delta Daggers, to perform Category II and III evaluations of the new bomber, along with its training responsibilities. The evaluations of the Hustler ended in 1962. At the beginning of the
Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, Only six B-58s in the entire SAC inventory were on
alert. Even these aircraft were "second cycle" (follow on) sorties. Crew training was suspended, and the squadron, along with SAC's other B-58 squadrons, began placing its bombers on alert> By the first week of November, 84 B-58s were standing nuclear alert. and as SAC redeployed its
Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers, 20 of these were "first cycle"
sorties. Within a short time, this grew to 41 bombers. By 20 November, SAC resumed its normal alert posture, and half the squadron's aircraft were kept on alert. In September 1964, the 43d Wing and the squadron moved to
Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. In December 1965,
Robert S. McNamara,
Secretary of Defense announced a phaseout program that would further reduce SAC’s bomber force. This program called for the mid-1971 retirement of all B-58s and some
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress models. With the removal of the B-58 from SAC's bomber force, the squadron was inactivated at the end of January 1970.
Control of SAC units in the Pacific The squadron was redesignated the
65th Strategic Squadron and activated at
Anderson Air Force Base, Guam in July 1986. When Anderson was transferred from SAC to
Pacific Air Forces in 1990, the squadron moved to
Kadena Air Base, Japan, where it was assigned to the
376th Strategic Wing. Until it was inactivated in October 1991, the squadron controlled Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses and
Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers deployed from SAC units in the United States.
Air Force Special Operations Command The squadron was redesignated the
65th Special Operations Squadron and activated at
Hurlburt Field, Florida in December 2018. It operates
General Atomics MQ-9 Reapers that are located at other stations. ==Lineage==