788th Bombardment Squadron

World War II

Established as a B-24 Liberator heavy bombardment squadron in mid-1943 and activated on 1 August. Trained under II Bomber Command in Idaho and Utah. In January 1944 the squadron received deployment orders for the European Theater of Operations (ETO). Moved to RAF Rackheath, Norfolk in England, February–March 1944, and was assigned to the VIII Bomber Command.

Upon arrival in England, was attached to VIII Composite Command and performed special operations missions over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany, flying black painted aircraft equipped with engine flame dampeners and noise suppression equipment. Engaged in parachuting Allied agents; retrieving others; providing supplies and equipment to Resistance Forces; leaflet dropping and other clandestine missions.

Returned to home unit in August 1944 and engaged in very long range strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany. In combat, the unit served chiefly as a strategic bombardment organization, attacking the harbor at Kiel, chemical plants at Bonn, textile factories at Stuttgart, power plants at Hamm, steel works at Osnabrück, the aircraft industry at Brunswick, and other objectives.I Attacked German communications and fortifications during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 – January 1945. Hit enemy transportation to assist the Allied assault across the Rhine in March 1945.

After the German Capitulation in May 1945, the squadron was ordered back to the United States for B-29 transition and redeployment to the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO). Redeployed to the US June/July 1945. Upon arrival, most of the group was demobilized due to their combat service in Europe; a cadre of officers and men was formed at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota on 25 August.

At Sioux Falls, the unit was reformed with newly trained pilots, aircrews and ground personnel. The reformed group was sent to Harvard Army Airfield, Nebraska for initial Second Air Force training. The Japanese Capitulation in early August canceled the planned deployment to the Pacific, however the group continued to train

Due to the advanced training state of the squadron received new B-29 Superfortresses and completed training. In December 1945 was assigned to a permanent base at Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico as part of Continental Air Forces. The unit, however was inactivated on 4 August 1946 due to personnel shortages and funding reductions in the immediate postwar Air Force. The equipment and remaining personnel were reassigned to other SAC units.

Fighter operations

As the United States Air Force expanded its McDonnell F-4 Phantom II fleet in April 1965, it activated the 33d Tactical Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base Florida. Although it was planned that the squadrons of the 33d Wing would be Convair F-102 Delta Dagger squadrons that were inactivating in the Pacific, these squadrons were still winding down their operations, so the 33d was initially formed with the 786th, 787th, 788th and 789th Tactical Fighter Squadrons. The 33d embarked on a program of tactical training with the Phantom. In June 1965, the squadron was inactivated and its planes and personnel were transferred to the 25th Tactical Fighter Squadron, which moved on paper to Eglin from Naha Air Base, Okinaawa.^[2]

Assignments

• 467th Bombardment Group, 1 August 1943
• VIII Air Force Composite Command, 11 May 1944 (attached to 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional))
• 467th Bombardment Group, 10 August 1944 – 4 Aug 1946^[1]
• Tactical Air Command, 9 February 1965
• 33d Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 April 1965 – 20 June 1965^[2]

Stations

Aircraft

Bibliography

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

• Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 7 July 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. Retrieved December 17, 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. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved December 17, 2016.