During the Cold War period, the squadron deployed to Alaska from 1946 through 1947, then returned to Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, where it served as a heavy bomber and strategic reconnaissance unit until it moved to Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas as part of SAC's program to disperse its Boeing B-52 Stratofortress force to make it less vulnerable to Soviet attack.
The squadron assembled at its combat station, Grottaglie Airfield in Southern Italy, in early January 1944, from which it mainly flew strategic bombing missions. It attacked oil refineries, communications centers, aircraft factories and industrial facilities in Italy, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Albania and Greece. The squadron was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for its actions on 4 April 1944, when the squadron, along with the other elements of the 449th Group operated without fighter escort in an attack on railroad marshalling yards near Bucharest. The attacking group was heavily outnumbered by German interceptor aircraft. Despite this, it not only succeeded in destroying its assigned target, but also inflicted heavy losses on the defending fighters. It was awarded a second DUC for an attack against oil refineries near Ploesti, attacking through heavy smoke that obscured the target area and despite intense enemy fire.[2]
The squadron attacked gun emplacements to support Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France in August 1944. It attacked troop concentrations, bridges and viaducts during Operation Grapeshot, the Fifteenth Army Group offensive in Northern Italy in the spring of 1945. Shortly after V-E Day, in May 1945, the squadron returned to the United States.[1][2]
The squadron deployed to Alaska in October 1946. Its Arctic stay was brief, and it returned to the United States and its new station at Rapid City Army Air Field, South Dakota in April 1947. In 1949, the squadron began converting to the long range Convair B-36 Peacemaker. Its mission changed to reconnaissance the following year, and it received reconnaissance models of the Superfortress (briefly) and the Peacemaker, becoming the 717th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron. SAC’s mobilization for the Korean War highlighted that its wing commanders focused too much on running the base organization and did not spend enough time overseeing actual combat preparations. Under a plan implemented in February 1951 and finalized in June 1952, the squadron reported directly to the 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing and the intermediate group was eliminated.[1][4]
On 16 June 1954 the squadron, along with SAC's other B-36 reconnaissance units, was assigned bombing as its primary mission. However, it retained its designation as a reconnaissance unit until October 1955, when it again became the 717th Bombardment Squadron.[1][5] The squadron retained its reconnaissance capability until September 1956. From April to June 1955, the unit deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.[6]
In 1957, the squadron began to replace its piston engine B-36s with Boeing B-52D Stratofortess jet bombers. However, SAC bases like Ellsworth Air Force Base (the new name of the base at Rapid City), with large concentrations of bombers made attractive targets. SAC’s response was to break up its wings and scatter their aircraft over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.[7][8] As this program was implemented, the 717th moved to Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, where it was assigned to the 4245th Strategic Wing.[1] Starting in 1960, one third of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on fifteen minute alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962.[9]
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, starting on 20 October, the squadron was directed to put two additional planes on alert and on 24 October SAC went to DEFCON 2, placing all aircraft on alert. In addition, 1/8 of SAC's B-52s were placed on airborne alert.[10] The squadron was reinforced by two B-52Ds that had dispersed from McCoy Air Force Base, Florida because McCoy was saturated with tactical aircraft.[11] On 21 November SAC returned to normal airborne alert posture.[12]
The squadron's parent 4245th Strategic Wing was a Major Command controlled (MAJCON) wing. MAJCON units could not carry a permanent history or lineage,[13] so SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its MAJCON strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate Air Force controlled (AFCON) units, most of which were inactive at the time but could carry a lineage and history. SAC activated the 494th Bombardment Wing at Sheppard to replace the 4245th and the 717th was inactivated on 1 February 1963, with its mission, personnel and equipment transferred to the 864th Bombardment Squadron, which was simultaneously activated.[1][14][15]
Lineage
Constituted as the 717th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 6 April 1943
Activated on 1 May 1943
Redesignated 717th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 1944
Redesignated 717th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 23 May 1945
Redesignated 717th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 28 May 1948
Redesignated 717th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 16 May 1949
Redesignated 717th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (Photographic) on 1 April 1950
Redesignated 717th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Heavy on 16 July 1950
Redesignated 717th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 1 October 1955
Discontinued and inactivated on 1 February 1963[1]
Assignments
449th Bombardment Group, 1 May 1943
28th Bombardment Group (later 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Group), 4 August 1946 (attached to 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing after 10 February 1951)[6]
^Approved 10 July 1944. Description: On a medium blue disc, a white caricatured elephant with blue eye, yellow toe nails and red wings on feet, in flight, holding aloft with trunk a large yellow aerial bomb banded of the field['s color], and supporting on the back a gunner in red uniform within glass "bubble" gun turret, and having cartridge belt with black and yellow shells hanging down side from turret; sixteen white stars in orle, arranged seven to dexter, one in chief, seven to sinister, and one in base.
^Aircraft is Convair RB-36D-10-CF Peacemaker, serial 49-2688. This plane was modified to Featherweight II configuration. It was sent to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center on 14 September 1956 and scrapped. Baugher, Joe (23 May 2023). "1949 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
United States
United States Air Force
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