769th Bombardment Squadron

The squadron was first activated on 1 July 1943 at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas as one of the four original squadrons of the 462d Bombardment Group, and was intended to be one of the first units to fly the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. However, no B-29s were available to equip the squadron. it moved to Walker Army Air Field, Kansas at the end of the month. At Walker, it received its initial cadre from elements of the 40th Bombardment Group and began to fly a mix of Martin B-26 Marauders and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses along with some service test (YB-29) models of the Superfortress.[1][2]

The squadron trained with the B-29 at Walker until March 1944, when it departed for its first overseas base, Piardoba Airfield, Bengal, India.[1] Once all elements of the 462d Group had arrived at Piardoba in June, the squadron became part of Twentieth Air Force, which reported directly to Headquarters, Army Air Forces, bypassing theater command. Initially, the squadron's bombers were used to airlift supplies over the Hump to forward bases in China, primarily to one at Chengtu Air Base, which would serve as its primary forward base.[2] It flew its first combat mission, an attack on targets in Bangkok, Thailand on 5 June 1944.[3][4]

Ten days later, the squadron took part in the first attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the 1942 Doolittle Raid. Attacks on Japan required staging through forward bases in China, and it took twelve flights by the bombers to transport enough fuel and munitions to the forward bases to prepare for one attack sortie. This limited attacks on Japan to one in ten days.[2] However, the squadron attacked iron plants, aircraft factories, naval installations, transportation centers and other targets in Japan.[3]

The squadron also attacked targets in Burma, China, Formosa and Indonesia. In August 1944, operating from a staging base in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), it mined the Musi River in Sumatra. On 20 August, the squadron attacked iron and steel works in Yawata, Japan in a daylight raid for which it earned its first Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC).[3]

By the spring of 1945, Allied forces advancing in the Pacific had captured the Mariana Islands, and B-29 bases were being constructed there. In April, the squadron moved to the new West Field (Tinian),[3] which was nearer to Japan and would permit direct strikes on the Home Islands without staging through advanced bases.

From Tinian, the squadron participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan, conducting mining operations and making night attacks against urban areas. Between 23 and 29 May 1945, it bombed industrial areas of Tokyo and Yokohama, for which it was awarded a second DUC. It earned a third DUC for an attack on an aircraft manufacturing plant at Takarazuka on 25 July.[3]

The squadron flew its last mission of the war on 14 August 1945. [2] Following V-J Day the squadron remained on Tinian until November 1945, when it moved to MacDill Field, Florida. It was only partially staffed while there, [2] and it was inactivated at MacDill on 31 March 1946, shortly after the formation of Strategic Air Command.[1]

• 462d Bombardment Group, 1 July 1943 – 31 March 1946[1]

• Martin B-26 Marauder, 1943
• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1943
• Boeing YB-29 Superfortress, 1943
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1944–1946[1]

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

• 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 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.