See United States Air Force Thunderbirds for the squadron's successor unit
The 30th Bombardment Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. On 19 September 1985 it was consolidated with the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron, also known as the United States Air Force Thunderbirds. The squadron was first activated in 1917 when the United States entered World War I as the 30th Aero Squadron. It deployed to France in the fall of 1917 and served as a construction unit throughout the war, returning to the United States at the end of 1918 for demobilization. It was reconstituted as the 30th Bombardment Squadron in March 1923 and served with reserve personnel during the decade. In 1932, the squadron became a regular unit, serving at bases in California.
The squadron, which had equipped with early models of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, deployed to the Philippines in the fall of 1941 to reinforce the American garrison there. The squadron's base at Clark Field was attacked on 8 December 1941. During the month of December, the squadron withdrew through the Philippines to Darwin, Australia, although it continued to stage through Philippine bases through the spring of 1942. In late 1942, the squadron was withdrawn from combat and reformed as an Operational Training Unit. In April 1944, the squadron began training with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses and deployed again to the Pacific, where it participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan until the end of the war.
Following V-J Day, the squadron remained on Guam until the outbreak of the Korean War, when it moved to Okinawa to reinforce the bomber forces of Far East Air Forces. In 1954, after the armistice that ended hostilities in Korea, the squadron returned to the United States, where it became an element of Strategic Air Command (SAC), flying Boeing B-47 Stratojets, then Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses. When SAC dispersed its B-52 force to reduce vulnerability to Soviet missile attack, the squadron moved to Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota as part of the 4133d Strategic Wing. It was inactivated on 1 February 1963, when SAC discontinued its MAJCON combat wings and their subordinate units and replaced them with wings that could continue their histories.
History World War I Organization and deployment to France The squadron's history dates to 13 June 1917 when the 30th Aero Squadron was organized at Camp Kelly (later Kelly Field, Texas, less than a month after the United States' entry into World War I. Most of the men of the squadron arrived at Kelly Field when it was nothing but a sand heap and a few tents and their first job was to dig trenches around the field for water and utility lines. The men received their indoctrination into the Army as soldiers, standing guard duty and other rudimentary duties. The lack of sanitary facilities and uniforms meant most men worked in the civilian clothing they arrived in and slept in them without bathing until latrines and washing facilities were constructed.Gorrell, Series "E", Volume 7 Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the First World War, p. 1024
On 11 August 1917, the squadron received orders for overseas duty, and it traveled by train to Fort Totten, New York in preparation for service in France. On 22 August they were transported to the port of embarkation at Hoboken, New Jersey, and boarded the RMS Baltic. The next day, they left for Halifax, Nova Scotia where the Baltic anchored awaiting for a convoy. On 5 September, the convoy was formed and the trans-Atlantic journey began.
On the night of 14 September, an accompanying destroyer spotted a submarine periscope and fired two red rockets as a warning. As the destroyer dropped depth charges, the Baltic made a sudden turn to port that caused both men and anything loose aboard the ship to move. A large explosion was heard and everyone on board was ordered to report to their assigned lifeboats. A torpedo had struck the ship, but it had only made a glancing blow on the bow. The ship's emergency pumps were working and there was no danger.
The next morning the ship arrived at Liverpool, England, the squadrons on the Baltic being the first American airmen to land there. The 30th boarded a train to Southampton, where it was stationed at a rest camp. At Southampton, fifty men of the squadron were detached to the Royal Flying Corps for three months training as aircraft mechanics. The remainder of the squadron proceeded to France. The squadron arrived at Le Havre, then continued by train to the Etampes aerodrome, France, arriving on the 18th. At Étampes, ten more men of the squadron were taken out and sent to Lyons, where they took a ten-week course in Le Rhone and Hispano-Suiza aircraft engines.
Third Aviation Instruction Center On 23 September, the remainder of the squadron moved to Issoudun Aerodrome, France, for the construction of an American school and several airfields. What became the Third Aviation Instruction Center would be the largest airfield in the world at the time, its mission was to train American pursuit pilots to enter combat over the front against German aviators. As was the case at Kelly Field earlier, the men went to work in various construction tasks, and were joined by several other squadrons in their work. A power grid was installed along with various water and telephone lines. Streets were laid down and various wooden buildings were erected.
The squadron began to work on what was later the largest machine shops of the American Expeditionary Forces. The shop began as a simple hangar. As various equipment and specialized tools arrived the shop expanded until it could accommodate the large number of aircraft engines that were arriving. Members of the 30th Squadron worked in most of the shops of the school, assembling newly arrived aircraft, working on engines, machine guns and in the warehouses, stocking and receiving parts and other supplies. By the time of the Armistice on 11 November, the men of the squadron held responsible positions in many of the support areas of the center.
Demobilization The 30th remained at Issodun until the end of December 1918 when orders were received to proceed to the 1st Air Depot at Colombey-les-Belles Airdrome, France. From Colombey, the squadron was moved to a staging camp under the Services of Supply at Bordeaux, France, in January waiting for a date to report to a base port for transportation home. In mid-March, the squadron boarded a troop ship, arriving in New York on 5 April. From there, the 30th moved to Mitchel Field, New York where the men were demobilized and returned to civilian life.Gorrell, Series O, volume and
Inter-war years
The squadron was reconstituted as the 30th Bombardment Squadron on 24 March 1923 and assigned to the 7th Bombardment Group in inactive status. In June 1926, it was organized as a Regular Army Inactive (RAI) unit, at Langley Field, Virginia, with its personnel serving as associates of the 20th Bombardment Squadron there. This organization lasted only a few months, and in February 1927, the reservists were withdrawn from the unit, and it was reassigned from Third Corps Area to Ninth Corps Area. On 15 January 1930, it was again organized as an RAI unit, training at Kelly Field.Clay, p. 1396
On 24 June 1932 the reservists assigned to the squadron were withdrawn and it was activated at Rockwell Field, California and assigned to the 19th Bombardment Group. At Rockwell, the squadron was equipped with a variety of amphibious aircraft and light bombers. The squadron moved on 25 October 1935 to March Field, California when the Army and the Navy executed an agreement that transferred Rockwell and two other Army fields to the Navy.Peck, p. 121 At March, the squadron transitioned to the Martin B-10 bomber. It participated in 1st Wing maneuvers in 1935 and 1938 and General Headquarters Air Force maneuvers in 1938. It also participated in joint exercises, including coastal defense exercises in 1937, an antiaircraft exercise in Pennsylvania in 1939 and an amphibious landing exercise near Fort Ord, California in 1940.Clay, pp. 2729–2730, 2733–2734, 2736–2737
The 30th became a heavy bombardment squadron in December 1939 when it received its first Boeing B-17B Flying Fortresses. The B-17B was the first production version of the Flying Fortress, and the squadron was upgraded to the faster and better-armed B-17C in late 1940, and to the B-17D in 1941. Its primary mission was to train pilots and navigators in heavy bomber operations. In May 1941 the squadron ferried Flying Fortresses to Hickam Field, Hawaii to transfer them to the 11th Bombardment Group. The squadron remained in Hawaii for two weeks to train the 11th's aircrews on their new planes. This mission also provided the squadron with experience in long range overwater flights that would prove valuable in a few short months.Edmonds, pp. 4–5
In October, the squadron, along with the 93d Bombardment Squadron and headquarters of the 19th Group undertook the first mass flight across the Pacific, as they flew to reinforce American forces in the Philippines. The 30th was in the lead for this movement, with all but one of the group's planes in place at its new station, Clark Field, on Luzon by 10 November. The 10,000-mile trip had been conducted almost entirely over water. The squadron's ground echelon was already at Clark, having sailed on the on 6 October.Edmonds, pp. 6, 12 When the 19th Bombardment Group arrived in the Philippines, it absorbed the two bomber squadrons already there, the 14th and 28th Bombardment Squadrons. The 28th was equipped with obsolescent planes and the decision was made to evenly distribute the group's B-17s among its squadrons. As a result, in November, the squadron lost two of its Flying Fortresses and absorbed aircrews with no experience on the B-17.Edmonds, p. 43
World War II Battle of the Philippines
The 30th Bombardment Squadron had its B-17D aircraft on the line at Clark Field on 8 December 1941 when word was received at headquarters from Hawaii about 0400 of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A little before 0800, the radar at Iba Airfield informed the Air Warning Service at Nielson Field that at least 30 Japanese aircraft were flying south over Luzon apparently headed for Clark Field. Immediate orders were to prepare the squadron's planes for attack, but that no offensive action could be taken until they were fired upon. In order to prevent them from being destroyed on the ground by a Japanese air attack, at about 0800, the 30th's planes began to launch, with orders to remain in the area on the Clark tower radio frequency. By 1030 Japanese bombers had attacked Philippine Air Force bases, and the airborne B-17s returned to Clark.Edmonds, pp. 78, 82
By 1200, orders had finally arrived for the squadron to prepare to attack targets on Formosa.Edmonds, p. 85 By 1230, plans for the attack on Formosa were being made and the squadron's planes were nearly loaded with bombs. At about this time, high altitude Japanese bombers struck Clark, followed shortly by strafing fighters. Although the bombers did little damage to the squadron's planes, the strafing fighters destroyed or damaged all of the B-17s on the field.Edmonds, pp. 100–102 Some of the squadron's enlisted men worked the guns on parked bombers in an attempt to use them against the strafing fighters. Within the next few days ground crews were able to patch together two or three B-17s from damaged and destroyed Flying Forts.Edmonds, pp. 107–108