721st Tactical Fighter Squadron

World War II Training in the United States The squadron was first activated as the 721st Bombardment Squadron at Gowen Field, Idaho on 1 May 1943 as one of the four original squadrons of the 450th Bombardment Group. It soon moved to Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico, where it was manned, drawing its cadre from the 302d Bombardment Group. and began to train with Consolidated B-24 Liberators. A cadre of the squadron was sent to the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics in June, where it received advanced heavy bomber tactical training. In November 1943, the 721st began moving overseas. The ground echelon proceeded to the port of embarkation at Camp Patrick Henry, sailing on the SS Bret Harte, while the aircrews staged at Herington Army Air Field, Kansas, and ferried their planes to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations via the South Atlantic Ferry Route. Combat operations The squadron arrived at its combat station, Manduria Airfield, Italy, in early January 1944 and began engaging in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany, primarily striking targets in Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and the Balkans. The squadron's first mission was flown against Mostar Airfield, Yugoslavia on 8 January. Targets included aircraft factories and assembly plants, oil refineries, marshalling yards, airfields and storage areas. The 721st earned a second DUC for an attack on rail yards near Ploesti on 5 April, when it fought its way through "relentless" attacks by enemy aircraft to reach the target. The 450th Group again led the 47th Wing on this mission. During the spring of 1944, the squadron flew missions for Operation Strangle, the effort to choke off supplies for Axis military in Italy through air interdiction. The squadron also supported Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France in September 1944 by attacking troop concentrations, lines of communications and enemy coastal defenses. In addition, it conducted missions to support the Red Army advance through the Balkans and Allied advances in Italy. In November 1957, the 450th Wing converted to the dual deputy organization. The 450th Fighter-Day Group was inactivated, and the squadron was assigned directly to the wing, reporting to a deputy commander for operations. Starting in July 1958, the squadron began to phase down in anticipation of its inactivation and the closure of Foster. It was inactivated on 18 December 1958. ==Lineage==

• Constituted as the 721st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 6 April 1943 : Activated on 1 May 1943 : Redesignated 721st Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 1944 : Redesignated 721st Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 23 May 1945 : Inactivated on 15 October 1945 • Redesignated 721st Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 31 March 1954 : Activated on 1 July 1954 : Redesignated: 721st Fighter-Day Squadron on 8 March 1955 : Redesignated: 721st Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 July 1958 : Inactivated on 18 December 1958 Assignments • 450th Bombardment Group, 1 May 1943 – 15 October 1945 • 450th Fighter-Bomber Group (later 450th Fighter-Day Group), 1 July 1954 • 450th Fighter-Day Wing (later 450th Tactical Fighter Wing), 11 December 1957 – 18 December 1958 Stations • Gowen Field, Idaho, 1 May 1943 • Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico, 21 May 1943 • Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico, c. 8 July – 26 November 1943 • Manduria Airfield, Italy, 3 January 1944 – 16 May 1945 • Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, c. 31 May 1945 • Harvard Army Air Field, Nebraska, 24 July–15 October 1945 • Foster Air Force Base, Texas 1 July 1954 – 18 December 1958 Aircraft • Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1943–1945 • Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1945 • North American F-86 Sabre, 1954–1955 • North American F-100 Super Sabre, 1955–1958 Awards and campaigns ==See also==