549th Strategic Missile Squadron


The 549th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 385th Strategic Aerospace Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, where it was inactivated on 15 December 1964. At Offutt, the 549th was equipped with the SM-65E Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile, with a mission of nuclear deterrence.
The squadron was first activated during World War II in December 1942 as the 549th Bombardment Squadron. After training in the United States, it deployed to England, where it participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. The squadron was twice awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions during the war. Following V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was inactivated. The squadron was activated in the reserve from 1947 to 1949, but does not appear to have been fully manned or equipped.

History

World War II

Initial activation and training

The squadron was first activated at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona as the 549th Bombardment Squadron, one of the four original squadrons of the 385th Bombardment Group. The following month it moved to El Paso Army Air Field, Texas, but did not receive a full complement of personnel and begin training with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresss until it moved to Geiger Field, Washington in February 1943. It completed its training and began deploying to the European Theater of Operations. The air echelon staged through Kearney Army Air Field, Nebraska in May 1943 and ferried its Flying Fortresses to England via the northern ferry route. The ground echelon left for the port of embarkation and sailed on the on 1 July 1943.

Combat in Europe

The squadron assembled at its combat station, RAF Great Ashfield, England, and began participating in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany, flying its first combat mission on 17 July 1943. The unit carried out attacks on industrial targets, including communications centers as well as air bases in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway, striking targets as far away as Poland. On 17 August 1943, the squadron participated in an attack on the Messerschmitt aircraft factory at Regensburg, which involved a long flight over heavily defended enemy territory with little protection from escorting fighters. For this mission, the squadron received the Distinguished Unit Citation. On 12 May 1944, the squadron flew with the 385th Group as it led the 4th Combat Bombardment Wing through heavy opposition to attack an airplane repair facility at Zwickau. An estimated 200 enemy fighters attacked the bomber stream, heavily disordering its formation. The bombers were able to reform and achieved a high degree of accuracy with their bombs. For this attack, the 549th received a second DUC.
Strategic industrial targets for the squadron in Germany included the AGO Flugzeugwerke factory at Oschersleben and the Henschel Flugzeugwerke factory at Marienberg; a battery manufacturing plant at Stuttgart, oil refineries at Ludwigshafen and Merseburg and rail marshalling yards at Munich and Oranienburg. It also attacked Luftwaffe bases at Beauvais/Tille Airfield and Chartres Airfield, France.
The squadron was occasionally diverted from the strategic bombing mission to perform air support and interdiction missions. It struck coastal defenses in June 1944 in preparation for Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion, and on D-Day attacked transportation chokepoints and marshalling yards. In late July, it attacked enemy positions to support Operation Cobra, the breakout at Saint Lo. In late December 1944 and early January 1945, it carried out attacks on German fortifications and transportation to support forces engaged in the Battle of the Bulge. As the Allies made their final thrust through France into Germany, it attacked troop concentrations and communications targets.
The squadron flew its last mission on 20 April 1945. Following V-E Day, the squadron transported prisoners of war from Germany and flew six missions dropping food supplies in the Netherlands. The air echelon began ferrying its aircraft back to the United States on 19 June and all bombers had departed Great Ashfield by the end of the month. The ground echelon of the squadron left Europe in August 1945, sailing on the RMS Queen Elizabeth and the squadron was inactivated in the United States at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota on 28 August 1945.

Air Force reserve

On 15 September 1947, the squadron was activated under Air Defense Command in the reserve at Selfridge Field, Michigan. ADC's 136th AAF Base Unit supervised the unit's training. In July 1948 Continental Air Command assumed responsibility for managing reserve and Air National Guard units from ADC. The squadron does not appear to have been fully manned or equipped during this period. The 549th was inactivated when ConAC reorganized its reserve units under the wing base organization system in June 1949. President Truman's reduced 1949 defense budget also required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force, The squadron's personnel and equipment were transferred to elements of the 439th Troop Carrier Wing.

Intercontinental ballistic missile squadron

The squadron was organized at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base Wyoming on 1 October 1960 and assigned to the 706th Strategic Missile Wing. The squadron was equipped with SM-65E Atlas intercontinental ballistic missiles. The squadron was the last Atlas E squadron to be activated. On 1 July 1961, the 706th Wing was inactivated and replaced by the 389th Strategic Missile Wing. In connection with this reorganization, the squadron transferred its mission, personnel and equipment to the 566th Strategic Missile Squadron, which moved to F. E. Warren in its place.
The squadron operated nine missile sites, one SM-65E missile at each site at Francis E. Warren:
The squadron was not inactivated, but replaced the 566th Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, where it was assigned to the 4321st Strategic Wing and took over the 566th's SM-65D Atlas missiles. The last Atlas D had been declared operational at Offutt in March, and the Offutt squadron had gone alert.
The squadron operated three missile sites of three SM-65D missiles at each site at Offutt:
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, on 20 October 1962, SAC directed that the squadron's missiles that were not on alert for modifications be placed on alert status "as covertly as possible." Training was suspended and missiles being used for operational training were to be placed on alert as soon as liquid oxygen became available. From 3 November the number of alert missiles was reduced until on 29 November the number was the same as before the crisis. As tensions eased, on 15 November normal training resumed.
In May 1963, a committee formed to review USAF's missile program recommended that Atlas E missiles be phased out of the inventory between 1965 and 1968. The squadron was the last to maintain the D model on alert, but its last alert missile stood down on 1 October 1964. On 22 October, the last of the squadrons missiles were shipped for storage for future use as launch vehicles for research and development programs. The squadron was inactivated on 15 December 1964.

Lineage

Campaign StreamerCampaignDatesNotes
Air Offensive, Europe29 June 1943 – 5 June 1944549th Bombardment Squadron
Air Combat, EAME Theater29 June 1943 – 11 May 1945549th Bombardment Squadron
Normandy6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944549th Bombardment Squadron
Northern France25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944549th Bombardment Squadron
Rhineland15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945549th Bombardment Squadron
Ardennes-Alsace16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945549th Bombardment Squadron
Central Europe22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945549th Bombardment Squadron