The 820th Bombardment Squadron is a former

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

unit, inactivated on 4 January 1946. The squadron was first activated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as the 521st Bombardment Squadron. The squadron was soon engaged in the

antisubmarine Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations a ...

campaign off the Atlantic coast of the United States as the 16th Antisubmarine Squadron. After the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

took over the coastal antisubmarine warfare mission in 1943, the squadron moved to the Pacific coast, where it trained as a

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

unit and was redesignated the 820th Bombardment Squadron. It moved to the Pacific and participated in attacks in the Marshall and Caroline Islands. It returned to Hawaii in 1944 for training and reentered combat from

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

in 1945. After

V-J Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on wh ...

, the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated.

History

Organization and antisubmarine warfare

The squadron was first activated at

Charleston Army Air Field Charleston Air Force Base is a United States military facility located in the City of North Charleston, South Carolina. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force's 628th Air Base Wing (628 ABW), a subordinate elem ...

, South Carolina in October 1942 as the 521st Bombardment Squadron, one of the original squadrons of the

378th Bombardment Group 378th may refer to: * 378th Bombardment Group, inactive United States Army Air Forces unit * 378th Fighter Squadron, active United States Air Force unit * 378th Troop Carrier Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit See also * 378 (number) ...

, located at

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Langley Wakeman Collyer (1885–1947), one ...

, Virginia. The squadron was equipped with a mix of

Douglas O-46 The Douglas O-46 is an observation aircraft used by the United States Army Air Corps and the Philippine Army Air Corps.

s and

Lockheed B-34 The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II. The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in ...

s.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 266 The squadron mission was to search for German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s off the southeast Atlantic coast. Although the

was responsible for long range

patrolling, it lacked the aircraft to perform the mission and the

(AAF) performed the mission, even though its crews lacked proper training. In October 1942, the AAF organized its antisubmarine forces into the single

Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command The Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command was formed in the fall of 1942 to establish a single command to control antisubmarine warfare (ASW) activities of the Army Air Forces (AAF). It was formed from the resources of I Bomber Command, whi ...

, which established the

25th Antisubmarine Wing The 25th Antisubmarine Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, based in New York City, New York. It was the principal United States Army Air Forces Unit conductin ...

the following month to control its forces operating over the Atlantic.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 437Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 388–389 Its

bombardment group A bombardment group or bomb group was a unit of organizational command and control group of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. A bombardment group was normally commanded by a colonel. The table of allowances (TOA) fo ...

headquarters, including the 378th, were inactivated and the squadron, redesignated the 16th Antisubmarine Squadron in November, was assigned directly to the 25th Wing in December. In July 1943, the AAF and Navy reached an agreement to transfer the coastal antisubmarine mission to the Navy. This mission transfer also included an exchange of AAF long-range bombers equipped for antisubmarine warfare for Navy

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

s without such equipment.Ferguson, pp. 82–83

Combat in the Pacific

In September 1943, the squadron moved to

Hammer Field Fresno Yosemite International Airport is a joint military–public airport in Fresno, California, United States. It is the primary commercial airport for the San Joaquin Valley and three national parks: Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It ...

, California. There, it began to train with

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allies of World War ...

s and was assigned to the 41st Bombardment Group and became the 820th Bombardment Squadron. It replaced the 46th Bombardment Squadron, which had been detached from the 41st Group to participate in antisubmarine missions in the Atlantic the previous year. In October, it moved to

Hickam Field Hickam may refer to: ;Surname * Homer Hickam (born 1943), American author, Vietnam veteran, and a former NASA engineer **'' October Sky: The Homer Hickam Story'', 1999 American biographical film * Horace Meek Hickam (1885–1934), pioneer airpower ...

, Hawaii, where it completed its combat training. It moved to Hawkins Field on

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

s, and shipping in the Marshall Islands in preparation for the invasion by US forces. After February 1944, the squadron staged through captured fields on

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...

to attack shipping in the Caroline Islands. In April, the squadron moved to Makin Airfield, Makin, Gilbert Islands, where its operations were primarily attacks on enemy shipping and on Japanese installations on islands that had been bypassed as American forces moved westward through the Pacific.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 97–98 In October 1944, the squadron was withdrawn from combat operations and returned to Hawaii, where it began training with

rockets A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

Wheeler Field Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii. It is a National H ...

. At Wheeler, it also received new Mitchell bombers. It completed training in May and left Hawaii for

, arriving at

Yontan Airfield Yontan Airfield (also known as Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield) is a former military airfield located near Yomitan Village on the west coast of Okinawa. It was closed in July 1996 and turned over to the Japanese government in December 2006. Today it i ...

in June. While it flew some missions against airfields in China, it primarily bombed airfields, railways, and harbor facilities on

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

until August 1945. After

, the squadron remained on Okinawa until December 1945. Although the rest of the 41st Group moved to the Philippines, the 820th returned to the United States and was inactivated at the port of embarkation on 4 January 1946.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 521st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 13 October 1942 : Activated on 18 October 1942 : Redesignated: 16th Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy) on 29 November 1942 : Redesignated: 820th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 22 September 1943 : Inactivated on 4 January 1946

Assignments

* 378th Bombardment Group, 18 October 1942 * 25th Antisubmarine Wing, 14 December 1942 * 41st Bombardment Group, 11 October 1943 – 4 January 1946

Stations

* Charleston Army Air Field, South Carolina, 18 October 1942 * Hammer Field, California, 22 September – 5 October 1943 * Hickam Field, Hawaii, 20 October 1943 * Hawkins Field, Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, 24 December 1943 * Makin Airfield, Makin, Gilbert Islands, 21 April 1944 * Wheeler Field, Hawaii, 14 October 1944 * Yontan Airfield, Okinawa, 7 June 1945 *

Fort Lawton Fort Lawton was a United States Army Military base, post located in the Magnolia, Seattle, Washington, Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington overlooking Puget Sound. In 1973 a large majority of the property, 534 acre ...

, Washington, 1–4 January 1946

Campaigns

Aircraft

* Douglas O-46, 1942 * Lockheed B-34 Ventura, 1942–1943 * North American B-25 Mitchell, 1943–1945

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{USAAF Antisubmarine Command Bombardment squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1942