24th Tactical Missile Squadron

24th Tactical Missile Squadron

CIM-10 Bomarc missile battery
Active 1941-1943, 1957-1958, 1960-1972
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Role Bombardment, antisubmarine, cruise missile, surface-to-air missile
Size squadron
Motto(s) Say When (1960-1972)
Engagements European Theater of Operations
Decorations Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
Patch with 74th Air Defense Missile Squadron emblem
Patch with 24th Tactical Missile Squadron emblem (approved 29 July 1957)
40th Bombardment Squadron emblem (approved 7 February 1942)[1]

The 24th Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last active as the 74th Air Defense Missile Squadron assigned to the 23d Air Division of Aerospace Defense Command, stationed near Duluth Municipal Airport, Minnesota, where it was inactivated in 1972. The squadron's earliest predecessor was active early in World War II as an antisubmarine unit in the Caribbean and Europe until its mission was transferred to the United States Navy. During the Cold War it was a training unit for Matador cruise missiles. Its most recently active predecessor was an air defense missile squadron in the northern United States from 1960 to 1972.

History

World War II Antisubmarine Operations

B-24D in antisubmarine camouflage

The squadron was first activated as the 40th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) in early 1941 as one of the four squadrons of the 13th Bombardment Group, an element of First Air Force,[2] equipped with B-18 Bolos at Langley Field, Virginia.[1]

After the United States entered World War II the group was ordered to search for German U-Boats and to fly aerial coverage of friendly convoys off the northeast Atlantic,[2] protecting the Boston and New York City shipping lanes. The squadron deployed to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba and was attached to the Caribbean Sea Frontier of the United States Navy to patrol northern Caribbean waters, then to airfields in Jamaica, Trinidad and Surinam during 1942, flying antisubmarine missions.[1]

The squadron was redesignated as the 4th Antisubmarine Squadron and was assigned to the 25th Antisubmarine Wing of the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command in November 1942, when the 13th Group was inactivated[2] and returned to Mitchel Field, New York before being reassigned to RCAF Station Gander, Newfoundland,[1] flying antisubmarine patrols over the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and North Atlantic shipping lanes performing convoy escort patrols.

The squadron moved to southwestern England in June 1943 and was reassigned to 479th Antisubmarine Group in July.[1] It flew killer hunts against German U-Boats in the Bay of Biscay[3] off the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border. Along this part of the occupied French coast were major Kriegsmarine U-Boat bases at Brest, Lorient, Saint-Nazaire, La Rochelle (La Pallice) and Bordeaux. The squadron's air echelon inactivated in late October 1943 with its aircraft being reassigned to the United States Navy after the inactivation of AAF Antisubmarine Command. Squadron personnel were reassigned to Eighth Air Force units as replacement personnel.

Cold War Tactical Missile Training

Matador Missile used for training

The squadron was activated for a second time on 15 March 1957 as the 24th Tactical Missile Squadron and assigned to Ninth Air Force's 589th Tactical Missile Group (TMG). It trained for operation of TM-61 Matador tactical cruise missiles at Orlando AFB. When the 17th Tactical Missile Squadron deployed to Taiwan in April 1958, the 24th was transferred to the 589th TMG. It engaged in crew training with the 589th but never received any missiles or deployment orders before inactivating.

The 24th and 588th TMG were programmed to deploy to South Korea during the fall of 1958, but instead, the unit was inactivated on 15 July 1958. The personnel and equipment of the 588th were reassigned to the newly formed 58th Tactical Missile Group[4] at Osan AB, South Korea, while the 310th Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Osan gave up its F-86 Sabres and became the 310th Tactical Missile Squadron,[5] becoming a Matador squadron and absorbing the personnel of the 588th TMG en masse.

Cold War Air Defense

The squadron was activated for the third time on 1 April 1960 as the 74th Air Defense Missile Squadron at Duluth Municipal Airport.[6] It stood alert during the Cold War, with IM-99A (later CIM-10) BOMARC surface to air antiaircraft missiles. The squadron was tied into a Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) direction center which could use analog computers to process information from ground radars, picket ships and airborne aircraft[7] to accelerate the display of tracking data at the direction center to quickly direct the missile site to engage hostile aircraft.[8] It was inactivated on 30 April 1972.[6]

The BOMARC missile site was located 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Duluth MAP at 46°55′56″N 091°53′00″W / 46.93222°N 91.88333°W / 46.93222; -91.88333 (74th ADMS). Although geographically separated from the base, it was an off base facility of Duluth MAP and the squadron received administrative and logistical support from the military facilities at Duluth Airport.

Consolidation

The 40th Bombardment Squadron and the 74th Air Defense Missile Squadron were consolidated with the 24th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1958, while remaining in inactive status.[9]

Lineage

4th Antisubmarine Squadron

Activated on 15 January 1941[1]
Disbanded on 11 November 1943[1]

74th Air Defense Missile Squadron

Activated on 1 April 1960[6]
Inactivated on 30 April 1972[6]

24th Tactical Missile Squadron

Assignments

Stations

Awards and campaigns

Award streamer Award Dates Notes
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 January 1968-31 May 196974th Air Defense Missile Squadron[10]
Campaign Streamer Campaign Dates Notes
Antisubmarine, American Theater7 December 1941 – 30 June 194340th Bombardment Squadron (later 4th Antisubmarine Squadron)[1]
Antisubmarine, EAME Theater30 June 1943 – 11 November 19434th Antisubmarine Squadron[1]
Air Offensive, Europe30 June 1943 – 11 November 19434th Antisubmarine Squadron[1]

Aircraft and Missiles

See also

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 25–26
  2. 1 2 3 Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 56–57
  3. ↑ Maurer, Combat Units. p. 350
  4. ↑ AFHRA Factsheet, 58th Operations Group (accessed 7 July 2012)
  5. ↑ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 376
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cornett & Johnson, p. 150
  7. ↑ Winkler & Webster, Julie p. 39
  8. ↑ Winkler & Webster, p. 3
  9. ↑ Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 Sep 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons
  10. ↑ AF Pamphlet 900-2, 15 Jun 71, p. 238

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

Further Reading

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