1st Antisubmarine Squadron

March 2017 March 2017 1st Antisubmarine Squadron(later 361st Tactical Missile Squadron) Boeing B-47E Stratojet 51-2394.jpg 300 Strategic Air Command B-47 Stratojet 1942-1944 1958-1962 USA Antisubmarine, Bombardment European Theater of OperationsMediterranean Theater of Operations Distinguished Unit Citation The 361st Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was formed in 1985 by the consolidation of the 1st Antisubmarine Squadron and the 661st Bombardment Squadron. However, the squadron was never active under its new title. The first predecessor of the squadron was activated in 1942 as the 361st Bombardment Squadron. It engaged in antisubmarine operations off the Pacific Coast. In November 1942, it was redesignated as the 1st Antisubmarine Squadron and operated from bases in England, Morocco, and Tunisia until the antisubmarine mission transferred to the United States Navy. It returned to the United States in January 1944 and its remaining personnel were used to form new heavy bomber units. The squadron's second predecessor was the 661st Bombardment Squadron, formed in 1958 when Strategic Air Command (SAC) expanded its Boeing B-47 Stratojet units from three to four squadrons when they began standing alert at their home stations. It was inactivated in 1962 when SAC's alert commitment changed. History World War II thumb|B-24 equipped for antisubmarine warfare The first predecessor of the squadron was organized as the 361st Bombardment Squadron at Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah in July 1942. It was one of the original squadrons of the 304th Bombardment Group. The squadron was only nominally manned until September, when it moved with the 304th Group to Geiger Field, Washington. The squadron moved to Ephrata Army Air Field, Washington, later that month and equipped with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (briefly) and Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 3Maurer, Combat Units, p. 177 The following month, the 304th Group moved to Langley Field, Virginia, where it became part of AAF Antisubmarine Command. In the fall of 1942, the Kriegsmarine began to equip its U-boats with radar receivers capable of detecting the Royal Air Force's long-wave radars used for air-to-surface-vessel (ASV) radar. This enabled the subs to dive, avoiding detection while on the surface. RAF's Coastal Command requested reinforcements from the AAF in the form of B-24s equipped with ASV radar operating in the microwave band. In response, the squadron's air echelon was dispatched to RAF St Eval, England on 10 November to support Coastal Command.Warnock, p. 11 On arrival in England, it was attached to VIII Bomber Command for operations. Later that month, it was redesignated the 1st Antisubmarine Squadron. The squadron flew its first mission from St Eval on 10 November, operating under the control of Coastal Command, training on British operational methods and use of radar while conducting operational missions over the Atlantic lasting up to twelve hours. In January, the squadron was joined by the 2d Antisubmarine Squadron, forming a provisional group. In February, the squadron joined RAF units in a concerted attack on German submarines returning from attacks on convoys in the Atlantic. The group conducted its last mission from England on 5 March 1943.Warnock, pp. 11-12 In March the squadron moved to Craw Field, French Morocco, where they augmented two United States Navy squadrons flying Consolidated PBY Catalinas defending the Atlantic approaches to the Straits of Gibraltar. It was administratively attached to the Northwest African Coastal Air Force, but was operationally assigned to Fleet Air Wing 15 of the Moroccan Sea Frontier. Much of the squadron's flying time was spent providing convoy coverage to ships approaching or departing the Straits of Gibraltar, but it also flew patrols as far north as Cape Finisterre and as far west as 1000 miles west of Port Lyautey, French Morocco into the Atlantic.Warnock, pp. 15-16 As the German submarine threat in the Atlantic diminished and moved farther west in August 1943, the squadron moved to Protville Airfield, Tunisia in September. It attacked enemy submarines and shipping in the area of Sicily and the Italian peninsula until Operation Avalanche began with landings at Salerno, Italy. It extended antisubmarine patrols after 9 September to cover the sea west of Sardinia and Corsica. In addition to the antisubmarine patrols, the squadron covered the escape of Italian naval vessels from Genoa and Spezia to Malta following Italy's surrender.Warnock, p. 18 The squadron's actions in Europe earned it a Distinguished Unit Citation. The squadron returned to Morocco on 18 September and returned to the United States in November 1943, it was inactivated in January 1944 and its personnel were used as cadres for newly forming heavy bomber groups. Cold War From 1958, the Boeing B-47 Stratojet wings of Strategic Air Command (SAC) began to assume an alert posture at their home bases, reducing the amount of time spent on alert at overseas bases. The SAC alert cycle divided itself into four parts: planning, flying, alert and rest to meet General Thomas S. Power’s initial goal of maintaining one third of SAC’s planes on fifteen minute ground alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike.Schake, p. 220 (note 43) To implement this new system B-47 wings reorganized from three to four squadrons.Schake, p. 220 (note 43) http://www.airforcehistoryindex.org/data/001/010/802.xml Abstract (Unclassified), History of the Strategic Bomber since 1945 (Top Secret, downgraded to Secret) 1 April 1975 Air Force History Index 4 March 2014 The 661st was activated at Pease Air Force Base as the fourth squadron of the 509th Bombardment Wing.Ravenstein, p. 276 The alert commitment was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962 and the four squadron pattern no longer met the alert cycle commitment, so the squadron was inactivated on 1 January 1962.See Ravenstein, p. 276 (end of assignment to 509th Wing). In 1985, the two previous squadrons were consolidated, on paper, under the title of the 361st Tactical Missile Squadron.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 Sep 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons Lineage 1st Antisubmarine Squadron Constituted as the 361st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 January 1942 Activated on 15 July 1942 Redesignated: 1st Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy) on 23 November 1942 Disbanded on 29 January 19441942-1944 lineage, including assignments, stations and aircraft, in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 3 Reconstituted and consolidated with the 661st Bombardment Squadron, Medium as the 361st Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985 661st Bombardment Squadron Constituted as the 661st Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 1 December 1958 Activated on 1 March 1959 Inactivated on 1 January 1962 Consolidated with the 1st Antisubmarine Squadron on 15 September 1985 as the 361st Tactical Missile Squadron 361st Tactical Missile Squadron Formed on 15 September 1985 by consolidation of the 1st Antisubmarine Squadron and the 661st Bombardment Squadron (inactive) Assignments 304th Bombardment Group, 15 July 1942 (air echelon attached to VIII Bomber Command after c. 10 November 1942) 25th Antisubmarine Wing, 30 December 1942 (air echelon attached to VIII Bomber Command until 15 January 1943), (attached to 1st Antisubmarine Group (Provisional) until l March 1943, 2037th Antisubmarine Wing (Provisional)) 480th Antisubmarine Group, 21 June 1943 – 29 January 1944 509th Bombardment Wing, 1 March 1959 – 1 January 1962 Stations Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah, 15 July 1942 Geiger Field, Washington, 15 September 1942 Ephrata Army Air Field, Washington, 1 October 1942 Langley Field, Virginia, 29 October–26 December 1942 (operated from RAF St Eval, England after 10 November 1942) RAF St Eval (Sta 129),Station number in Anderson, p. 20. England, 13 January 1943 Port Lyautey, French Morocco, 9 March–27 November 1943 (operated from Agadir, French Morocco, July 1943, Protville Airfield, Tunisia, 2–18 September 1943) Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico, c. 4–29 January 1944 Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire, 1 March 1959 – 1 January 1962 Aircraft Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942 Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1942-1944 Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1958-1962 Awards and campaigns AF PUC Distinguished Unit Citation 10 November 1942-28 October 1943 361st Bombardment Squadron (later 1st Antisubmarine Squadron) Campaign Streamer Campaign Dates Notes200pxAir Offensive, Europe10 November 1942 – 27 November 1943361st Bombardment Squadron (later 1st Antisubmarine Squadron)200pxAir Combat, EAME Theater10 November 1942 – 27 November 1943361st Bombardment Squadron (later 1st Antisubmarine Squadron)200pxAntisubmarine, EAME Theater10 November 1942 – 27 November 1943361st Bombardment Squadron (later 1st Antisubmarine Squadron) References Notes 30em Bibliography Anderson Capt. Barry 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 http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-081010-027.pdf 7 July 2012 1985 Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center Maxwell AFB, AL https://web.archive.org/web/20160123155923/http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-081010-027.pdf 23 January 2016 dead dmy-all Maurer, Maurer Air Force Combat Units of World War II 1961 http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf https://archive.today/20210115181723/https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf dead 15 January 2021 17 December 2016 reprint 1983 Office of Air Force History Washington, DC 0-912799-02-1 61060979 Maurer, Maurer Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II 1969 http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180455/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf dead 20 December 2016 reprint 17 December 2016 1982 Office of Air Force History Washington, DC 0-405-12194-6 72556 70605402 Ravenstein Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977 https://archive.org/details/airforcecombatwi0000rave 17 December 2016 1984 Office of Air Force History Washington, DC 0-912799-12-9 registration Schake Col Kurt W. Strategic Frontier: American Bomber Bases Overseas, 1950-1960 http://www.theblackvault.com/documents/ADA353633.pdf 27 July 2015 1998 Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim, Norway 978-8277650241 Warnock Timothy Air Power versus U-boats: Confronting Hitler's Submarine Menace in the European Theater https://media.defense.gov/2010/May/25/2001330266/-1/-1/0/AFD-100525-066.pdf 11 December 2019 1999 Air Force History Support Office Bolling AFB, DC Further reading https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Studies/101-150/AFD-090522-043.pdf Ferguson Arthur B. The Antisubmarine Command, USAF Historical Study No. 107 April 1945 Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Intelligence Historical Division 12 September 2016 Schoenfeld Max Stalking the U-Boat: USAAF Offensive Antisubmarine Operations in World War II 1995 Smithsonian Institution Press Washington DC 978-1-56098-403-0 https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/24/2001329771/-1/-1/0/AFD-100924-006.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20170224132225/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/24/2001329771/-1/-1/0/AFD-100924-006.pdf dead 24 February 2017 Warnock Timothy The Battle Against the U-Boat in the American Theater Air Force History Support Office Bolling AFB, DC 22 June 2015 External links http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932653,00.html https://web.archive.org/web/20081214162105/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932653,00.html dead 14 December 2008 Sub Hunters Return 20 December 1943 Time Magazine 28 March 2017 (Introduction only, full article requires subscription) https://b-47.com/ B-47 Stratojet Historical Website B-47 Association 14 May 2026 Category:Antisubmarine squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1944