96th Bomb Squadron

World War I On 12 June 1918 the 96th Aero Squadron were the first Americans to bomb in combat at Dommary-Baroncourt Railyard, France. It was formed at Kelly Field, Texas. Originally consisting of 80 men, largely college graduates or college dropouts, volunteers all, and something of an elite group, since their aeronautical qualifications were the highest in the U.S. Army Air Service. Just before embarking upon its first aerial warfare, the squadron decided upon its insignia, a black triangle outlined by a white strip enclosing the profile of a red devil thumbing his nose at the ground with his left hand. In his right, he held a white bomb. This distinctive emblem was designed by the squadron's talented graphic artist, Harry O. Lawson. The 96th saw combat as part of the 1st Day Bombardment Group, supporting the French Eighth and U.S. First Army from, 12 June 1918 – 4 November 1918. It operated French-made Breguet 14 planes and was involved in an embarrassing fiasco when the entire squadron landed around Koblenz, Germany by accident, providing all of their planes intact to the Germans. Nonetheless, it was the most heavily engaged and most successful USAS bomber squadron. On 13 July the Army airmen made their first appearance. The Martin bombers (limited to 300-pound bombs by the rules of the service test by the Navy) sank the former German destroyer G-102 in 19 minutes. On 18 July Navy and Army airplanes took turns attacking the former German light cruiser . No bomb heavier than 600 pounds was allowed. There were frequent intermissions as inspectors dragged out their on-board inspections. The Air Service was finally allowed to strike and sank the vessel with 600-pound bombs. The Navy, which had figured on using gunfire from ships to finish off Frankfurt, was surprised. World War II After the Attack on Pearl Harbor, served on antisubmarine duty along the mid-Atlantic coastline as part of I Bomber Command for several months until AAF Antisubmarine Command was formed and took over that duty. The two bombers continued flying east and landed back at Barksdale AFB 47.2 hours later, setting a new world record. In September 1996, it deployed and launched attacks against military targets in Iraq in support of Operation Desert Strike. It earned the 1996 Mackay Trophy for the 33-hour long mission from Louisiana to Iraq and back as the most meritorious flight of the year. Since 1993 it has conducted combat operations to support worldwide conventional and nuclear taskings and provided long-range, heavy strike, initial response, and sustained firepower in support of all regional and global warfighting commanders. In late 1996, the squadron deployed to support Operation Southern Watch, returning again in 1998. In 1999, crews from the squadron deployed to Royal Air Force Base Fairford in support of Operation Allied Force. In 2023 the 96th Bomb Squadron deployed to the Pacific Theater and performed a flyover at Seoul’s Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, landing a B-52 in the Korean Peninsula for the first time in over 30 years. Following the Korean exhibition, the squadron deployed to Andersen AFB to support Bomber Task Force missions. On one mission during this deployment, they were unsafely intercepted by a J-11 that came as close as 9.6 feet to a B-52 over the South China Sea. Targeting pod footage from this encounter was declassified and subsequently released. ==Lineage==