603d Bombardment Squadron

603d Bombardment Squadron
Emblem of the 603d Bombardment Squadron
Active	1943-1945
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Bombardment

The 603d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 398th Bombardment Group, stationed at Drew Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 September 1945.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Lineage 1.2 Assignments 1.3 Stations 1.4 Aircraft 2 References

History

Activated in early 1943 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomb squadron, the 603d trained under II Bomber Command. It was deployed to England in November 1943, assigned to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) VIII Bomber Command as a strategic bombardment squadron. The unit participated in the air offensive over Nazi Germany and Occupied Europe until the German capitulation in May 1945.

Following the war, the unit's personnel demobilized in England and returned to the United States. The squadron was reassigned to the Third Air Force, Continental Air Forces for reorganization, but Japanese capitulation in August 1945 led to inactivation shortly thereafter.

Lineage

• Constituted 603d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 15 Feb 1943

Activated on 1 Mar 1943

Inactivated on 1 Sep 1945

Assignments

• 398th Bombardment Group, 1 Mar 1943-1 Sep 1945

Stations

• Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington, 1 March 1943
• Bishop Army Airfield, California, 5 April 1943
• Geiger Field, Washington, 29 April 1943
• Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, 10 June 1943-4 April 1944
• RAF Nuthampstead (AAF-131), England, 22 April 1944-26 May 1945
• Drew Field, Florida, 3 July-1 September 1945

Aircraft

• B-17 Flying Fortress, 1943-1945

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, AL: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.