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488th Bombardment Squadron
The 488th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 340th Bombardment Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, where it was inactivated on 1 September 1963. The squadron was first activated during World War II. After training in the United States, it deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it flew North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers, primarily on air support and air interdiction missions, earning two Distinguished Unit Citations for its actions. After V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was inactivated in November 1945.
The group was again active in the reserve from 1947 to 1949, but does not appear to have been fully manned or equipped with operational aircraft during this period. It was again activated in October 1952, as the Air Force reopened Sedalia Air Force Base, Missouri. It flew Boeing B-47 Stratojets at Sedalia (later Whiteman) until September 1963, as the B-47 began to be withdrawn from Strategic Air Command operations. It was inactivated with the withdrawal of its Stratojets.
The squadron was first activated at Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina on 20 August 1942 as one of the four original squadrons of the 340th Bombardment Group. However, it was not until September that the squadron received its initial cadre, mostly drawn from the 309th Bombardment Group. It completed Phase I and Phase II training at Columbia with North American B-25 Mitchells, then moved to Walterboro Army Air Field, South Carolina in November, where it completed Phase III training and departed for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations at the end of January 1943.
The squadron's ground echelon travelled by train to Camp Stoneman, California, where it boarded the USS West Point (AP-23) for the combat zone via the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The air echelon travelled by train to Kellogg Field, Michigan, where it received new B-25s to ferry across the Atlantic. It departed Morrison Field, Florida on 25 February 1943.
The squadron arrived at its first combat base, RAF Kabrit, Egypt in March 1943, with the air echelon arriving between 10 and 20 March and the ground echelon on 29 March. It began combat operations from Medenine Airfield, Tunisia in April, where the 340th Group flew its initial seven missions with the 12th Bombardment Group. Shortly thereafter it moved to Sfax Airfield, Tunisia and began operations on its own. The 488th engaged primarily in air support and interdiction operations, targeting airfields, roads, bridges, road junctions, supply depots and marshalling yards. It participated in Operation Corkscrew, the reduction of defenses in Pantelleria and Lampedusa in June 1943. Although the squadron's operations were hindered by primitive living conditions at its base and unfavorable weather, the squadron supported the British Eighth Army in Tunisia and Allied forces in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. For these actions, it was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC).
As the Germans retreated from Sicily, the squadron attacked their evacuation beaches near Messina the following month. In September, it supported Operation Avalanche, the invasion of Italy near Salerno. During the first six months of 1944, it provided air support for the Allied drive on Rome. In March 1944, Mount Vesuvius erupted, covering 340th Group aircraft at Pompeii Airfield with volcanic ash. As a result, the squadron was forced to move to Gaudo Airfield. In April, it moved to Alesan Airfield, on Corsica.
The squadron sometimes bombed strategic targets as well. It operated against factories in Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Tunisia and Yugoslavia. After September 1944, these targets included German lines of communication, particularly in the Alps, where it conducted raids on targets in the Brenner Pass. It also engaged in psychological warfare operations, dropping propaganda leaflets behind enemy lines. The squadron received a second DUC for action on 23 September 1944. The Italian Navy was attempting to block access to the heavily defended harbor of La Spezia by sinking a cruiser to block the entrance to the harbor. The squadron attacked and sank the cruiser before it could be maneuvered into position.
Just prior to V-E Day, the squadron returned to Italy, leaving for the United States in July 1945. The air echelon ferried its Mitchells, turning them in upon arrival in the United States. It arrived at Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina in August, although its personnel were granted leave and the squadron only began to reassemble in September. It returned to Columbia in October, but was inactivated in November.
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488th Bombardment Squadron
The 488th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 340th Bombardment Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, where it was inactivated on 1 September 1963. The squadron was first activated during World War II. After training in the United States, it deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it flew North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers, primarily on air support and air interdiction missions, earning two Distinguished Unit Citations for its actions. After V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was inactivated in November 1945.
The group was again active in the reserve from 1947 to 1949, but does not appear to have been fully manned or equipped with operational aircraft during this period. It was again activated in October 1952, as the Air Force reopened Sedalia Air Force Base, Missouri. It flew Boeing B-47 Stratojets at Sedalia (later Whiteman) until September 1963, as the B-47 began to be withdrawn from Strategic Air Command operations. It was inactivated with the withdrawal of its Stratojets.
The squadron was first activated at Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina on 20 August 1942 as one of the four original squadrons of the 340th Bombardment Group. However, it was not until September that the squadron received its initial cadre, mostly drawn from the 309th Bombardment Group. It completed Phase I and Phase II training at Columbia with North American B-25 Mitchells, then moved to Walterboro Army Air Field, South Carolina in November, where it completed Phase III training and departed for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations at the end of January 1943.
The squadron's ground echelon travelled by train to Camp Stoneman, California, where it boarded the USS West Point (AP-23) for the combat zone via the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The air echelon travelled by train to Kellogg Field, Michigan, where it received new B-25s to ferry across the Atlantic. It departed Morrison Field, Florida on 25 February 1943.
The squadron arrived at its first combat base, RAF Kabrit, Egypt in March 1943, with the air echelon arriving between 10 and 20 March and the ground echelon on 29 March. It began combat operations from Medenine Airfield, Tunisia in April, where the 340th Group flew its initial seven missions with the 12th Bombardment Group. Shortly thereafter it moved to Sfax Airfield, Tunisia and began operations on its own. The 488th engaged primarily in air support and interdiction operations, targeting airfields, roads, bridges, road junctions, supply depots and marshalling yards. It participated in Operation Corkscrew, the reduction of defenses in Pantelleria and Lampedusa in June 1943. Although the squadron's operations were hindered by primitive living conditions at its base and unfavorable weather, the squadron supported the British Eighth Army in Tunisia and Allied forces in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. For these actions, it was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC).
As the Germans retreated from Sicily, the squadron attacked their evacuation beaches near Messina the following month. In September, it supported Operation Avalanche, the invasion of Italy near Salerno. During the first six months of 1944, it provided air support for the Allied drive on Rome. In March 1944, Mount Vesuvius erupted, covering 340th Group aircraft at Pompeii Airfield with volcanic ash. As a result, the squadron was forced to move to Gaudo Airfield. In April, it moved to Alesan Airfield, on Corsica.
The squadron sometimes bombed strategic targets as well. It operated against factories in Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Tunisia and Yugoslavia. After September 1944, these targets included German lines of communication, particularly in the Alps, where it conducted raids on targets in the Brenner Pass. It also engaged in psychological warfare operations, dropping propaganda leaflets behind enemy lines. The squadron received a second DUC for action on 23 September 1944. The Italian Navy was attempting to block access to the heavily defended harbor of La Spezia by sinking a cruiser to block the entrance to the harbor. The squadron attacked and sank the cruiser before it could be maneuvered into position.
Just prior to V-E Day, the squadron returned to Italy, leaving for the United States in July 1945. The air echelon ferried its Mitchells, turning them in upon arrival in the United States. It arrived at Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina in August, although its personnel were granted leave and the squadron only began to reassemble in September. It returned to Columbia in October, but was inactivated in November.