23rd Bomb Squadron

World War I

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Originally organized at Camp Kelly, Texas on 16 June 1917 as the 18th Aero Squadron but redesignated the 23rd Aero Squadron six days later. Arriving in late July, 1918, in Britain, it started training before going to France, where it arrived on Armistice day. It was stationed at the Air Service Replacement Concentration Barracks St. Maixent Replacement Barracks until c. 29 January 1919, then moved to Saint-Nazaire, from where it sailed back to US on 20 February. The squadron arrived at the port of embarkation in March and was demobilized there.

Inter-war years

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The 23rd Bombardment Squadron was born in 1921 and in April 1924 was consolidated with the World War I 23rd Aero Squadron. It spent the decades of the 1920s and 1930s stationed in Hawaii. There, the squadron flew a number of bomber types, most notably the Keystone bomber series and later the Douglas B-18 Bolo. It was during the squadron's stay in Hawaii that the event signified by the squadron emblem took place. On 27 December 1935, the Mauna Loa volcano on the island of Hawaii erupted, threatening the city of Hilo. Six Keystones of the 23rd used precision bombing tactics to drop twenty 600-pound bombs in the path of the volcano's lava flow, thus saving the city of Hilo by diverting the lava away from the city.

World War II

In late 1941, the squadron began replacing its B-18s with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft. When the Japanese attacked military installations on the island of Oahu on 7 December 1941, the squadron suffered losses. Until December 1942, the squadron responded by patrolling the area around Hawaii to guard against another attack.

The squadron left Hawaii in November 1942 and operated in the South Pacific Theater. It converted to long-range Consolidated B-24 Liberators in 1943. The squadron flew long patrol and reconnaissance missions over the Solomon Islands and the Coral Sea. It attacked Japanese shipping off Guadalcanal, and raided airfields in the northern Solomons until August 1943. It then struck enemy bases and installations on Bougainville Island, New Britain, and New Ireland.

The squadron raided the heavily defended Japanese base on Woleai between mid-April and mid-May 1944, receiving a Distinguished Unit Citation 9dUC) for the action. It helped to neutralize enemy bases on Yap and in the Truk and Palau Islands in June through August 1944, preparatory to the invasion of Peleliu and Leyte. The 394th flew missions to the Netherlands East Indies. On 30 September 1944, it attacked oil facilities at Balikpapan, which were heavily defended by flak and fighters. It was awarded a second DUC for this action.

From October 1944 until the end of the war, it conducted raids on enemy bases and installations on Luzon, Ceram, Halmahera, and Formosa. It supported ground forces in the Philippines and Borneo and conducted patrols off the China coast. The squadron moved to Clark Field, Philippines in December 1945. Although all personnel had been withdrawn from the squadron in early 1946, it was not inactivated until March 1947.

Cold War

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After a brief period in the Far East after the war, the 23rd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron relocated to Travis Air Force Base, Calif ornia, in 1949. There, the squadron flew global strategic reconnaissance missions with Boeing RB-29 Superfortresses from 1949 to 1951, Convair RB-36F Peacemakers from 1951 to 1953, and RB-36Hs from 1953 to 1955. On 1 October 1955, the squadron was again redesignated the 23rd Bombardment Squadron and reverted to training for long range nuclear strike missions with the same RB-36Hs. On 13 February 1959, the 23rd entered the jet age when it received its first Boeing B-52G Stratofortress and also entered the missile age, as the B-52Gs were equipped with the AGM-28 Hound Dog standoff missile and the ADM-20 Quail decoy missile. The squadron flew the B-52G from Travis until July 1968.

On 25 July 1968, the 23rd moved, without personnel or equipment, to Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, where it absorbed the personnel, equipment, and B-52H bombers of the inactivating 720th Bombardment Squadron. The 23rd has been combat ready in B-52Hs since that time, continuously adding improvements in avionics, weapons, and tactics to its arsenal. In 1973, the squadron was the first unit to receive the AGM-69 SRAM (Short Range Attack Missile). In 1980, the 23rd gained the offensive avionics system, and led Strategic Air Command's venture into modern conventional war fighting as the lead unit for the Strategic Projection Force, in support of the U.S. Rapid Deployment Force. During the 1980s, the squadron pioneered night vision goggle tactics. The 23rd added the AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1989 and the AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile in 1994.

Post-Cold War

The squadron, along with other bomber units provide aircraft and personnel for regular rotational deployments to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam part of the U.S. Pacific Command's continuous bomber presence since 2004.

July 2012 see the 23rd Bomb Squadron deploy aircraft and personnel to Nellis AFB for Exercise Red Flag 12–4.

June 2016 three of the unit's B-52H bombers deployed to RAF Fairford for NATO Maritime exercise "BALTOPS" and for JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) exercise "Saber Strike".

26 March 2019 the 23rd BS assigned to the 23rd Expeditionary Bomber Squadron deployed two B-52 Stratofortresses from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin, Australia to participate in the biennial exercise Diamond Shield 2019.

Assignments

• Unknown, 16 June 1917 – 22 March 1919
• Ninth Corps Area, 1 October 1921
• 5th Group (Observation) (later 5th Group (Pursuit and Bombardment); 5th Group (Composite), 5th Composite Group), 29 March 1922
• 19th Bombardment Group, 8 May 1929 (attached to 5th Composite Group (later 5th Bombardment Group))
• 5th Bombardment Group, 12 October 1938 – 10 March 1947
• 5th Reconnaissance Group, (later 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Group), 20 October 1947 (attached to 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 18–24 August 1948; 32d Composite Wing, 24 August 1948 – 16 March 1949; 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 1–17 June 1949; 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing after 10 February 1951)
• 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (later 5th Bombardment Wing), 16 June 1952
• 5th Operations Group, 1 September 1991 – present

Stations

Aircraft

Notes

Explanatory notes

Citations

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Clay, Steven E. (2011). US Army Order of Battle 1919-1941 (PDF). Vol. 3 The Services: Air Service, Engineers, and Special Troops 1919-1941. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-98419-014-0. LCCN 2010022326. OCLC 637712205. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.