876th Bombardment Squadron

The 876th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 383d Bombardment Group. It was inactivated at Camp Anza, California on 29 December 1945.

History

Established as a B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment group in late 1943; trained by Second Air Force, initially with B-17s until production B-29s became available. Reassigned to the 383d Bomb Group in August 1944, its aircraft and personnel being reassigned to other squadrons of the 498th. Shortages of B-29s for training caused the 383d and the squadron to remain in the United States for almost a year until finally it deployed to the Central Pacific Area in June 1945 as part of the new Eighth Air Force in the Pacific.

The squadron arrived on Tinian in September 1945 after the Japanese capitulation and did not see combat. Squadron dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners in Japan, Korea, China, and Formosa after the war. Personnel demobilized on Tinian, aircraft flown to United States and placed in reserve storage or assigned to other units. Inactivated as a paper unit in January 1946.

Lineage

• Constituted 876th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 19 November 1943

Activated on 20 November 1943

Inactivated on 10 May 1944

• Activated on 28 August 1944

Inactivated on 29 December 1945

Assignments

• 498th Bombardment Group, 20 November 1943 – 10 May 1944
• 383d Bombardment Group, 28 August 1944 – 29 December 1945

Stations

• Clovis Army Airfield, New Mexico, 20 November 1943
• Great Bend Army Airfield, Kansas, 13 April-10 May 1944
• Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 28 August 1944
• Walker Army Airfield, Kansas, 14 January-11 August 1945
• West Field, Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands, 12 September-c. 14 December 1945
• Camp Anza, California, 29 December 1945

Aircraft

• B-17 Flying Fortress, 1944
• B-29 Superfortress, 1944, 1945

References

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

• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979.