880th Bombardment Squadron
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (January 2013) |
| 880th Bombardment Squadron | |
|---|---|
 B-29 Superfortress as flown by the 880th | |
| Active | 1943-1946 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | heavy bomber |
The 880th Bombardment Squadron is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was an early Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit, but was inactivated in the spring of 1944 when the Army Air Forces reorganized its very heavy bomber units. It was reactivated in August 1944 and deployed to the Pacific in 1945, but arrived too late to see combat. It returned to the United States in December and was inactivated.
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 Aug 1944, its aircraft and personnel being reassigned to other squadrons of the 499th. 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 880th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 19 Nov 1943
- Activated on 20 Nov 1943
- Inactivated on 10 May 1944
- Activated on 28 Aug 1944
- Inactivated on 3 Jan 1946
Assignments
- 499th Bombardment Group, 20 Nov 1943-10 May 1944
- 383d Bombardment Group, 28 Aug 1944-3 Jan 1946
Stations
- Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, 20 Nov 1943
- Smoky Hill Army Airfield, Kansas, 1 Dec 1943
- Clovis Army Airfield, New Mexico, 11 Feb 1944
- Smoky Hill Army Airfield, Kansas, 8 Apr-10 May 1944
- Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 28 Aug 1944
- Walker Army Airfield, Kansas, 14 Jan-11 Aug 1945
- West Field, Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands, 12 Sep-c. 14 Dec 1945
- Camp Anza, California, 29 Dec 1945
Aircraft
- B-17 Flying Fortress, 1944
- B-29 Superfortress, 1944, 1945
References
Notes
Bibliography
- 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. (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.