Initial organization and training

The squadron was activated at Gowen Field, Idaho on 15 April 1942 as the 373d Bombardment Squadron, one of the four original squadrons of the 308th Bombardment Group.^[3][4] As the squadron was forming and beginning its training in Consolidated B-24 Liberators, at Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico in August 1942, almost all its personnel were transferred to the 330th Bombardment Group.^[5]

The following month, a fresh cadre taken from the 39th Bombardment Group joined the group. In addition to its own training activities, at the beginning of October, the unit was briefly designated as an Operational Training Unit^[5] The squadron began its movement to the China Burma India Theater in January 1943.^[1] The air echelon ferried its Liberators across the Atlantic and Africa, leaving from Morrison Field, while the ground echelon moved by ship across the Pacific.^[4][5]

Combat operations

308th Bombardment Group B-24D Liberator at Kwanghan Airfield, China^{[lower-alpha 2]}

In late March 1943, the squadron arrived at Kunming Airport, China. In order to prepare for and sustain combat operations in China, the squadron had to conduct numerous flights over the Hump transporting gasoline, lubricants, ordnance, spare parts and the other items it needed. The 373d supported Chinese ground forces and attacked airfields, coal yards, docks, oil refineries and fuel dumps in French Indochina. It attacked shipping, mined rivers and ports and bombed maintenance shops and docks at Rangoon, Burma and attacked Japanese shipping in the East China Sea, Formosa Straits, South China Sea and Gulf of Tonkin. For its operations interdicting Japanese shipping it was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation.^[4]

On 15 September 1943, seven squadron B-24s, based at Yangkai Airfield, were dispatched to attack a cement plant in Haiphong, a major port on the Gulf of Tonkin, but only one survived the mission. Two B-24s broke down while attempting to take off. The five remaining planes continued the mission. Over Haiphong, they were attacked by Japanese fighters. One plane went down, forcing the other planes to abandon the mission as they were continuously attacked. After that, two more planes were shot down. The Japanese pilots then attacked the parachuting aircrew, killing three and wounding three others. The other two planes escaped severe damage and returned to Yangkai Airfield, but one crashed at the airfield, killing the entire crew.^[6]

The squadron moved to Okinawa in June 1945, where it was assigned to the 494th Bombardment Group. From its base at Yontan Airfield it engaged primarily in attacks against enemy airfields on Kyūshū and around the Inland Sea of Japan until V-J Day. It also struck airfields in China and Korea. The unit also participated in incendiary raids and dropped propaganda leaflets over urban areas of Kyūshū. After the war's end, the unit transported personnel and supplies from Manila to Tokyo. In December, the 373d returned to the United States, where it was inactivated at the Vancouver Barracks Port of Embarkation on 6 January 1946.^[1][7]

Bomber operations

Strategic Air Command B-47 Stratojets as flown by the squadron

In October 1951, the 373rd Bombardment Squadron was reactivated again with new Boeing B-47E Stratojet swept-wing medium bombers, capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the Soviet Union. In the early late 1950s, the B-47 was considered to be reaching obsolescence, and began phasing out of SAC's strategic arsenal. B-47s were sent to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis–Monthan in July 1959 and the squadron became non-operational. It was inactivated once more on 25 June 1961.^[1]

Intercontinental ballistic missile squadron

In 1962, the squadron was reactivated and redesignated as the 373d Strategic Missile Squadron, a Strategic Air Command (SAC) LGM-25C Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile strategic missile squadron. It operated nine Titan II underground silos whose construction began in 1960; the first site (373-5) was operationally ready on 15 June 1963. The 9 missile silos controlled by the 373d Strategic Missile Squadron remained on alert for over 20 years during the Cold War. On 8 August 1965, at launch site 373-4, 53 contractor workers died in a flash fire while installing modifications to the launch silo. The cause of the accident was believed to be a rupture in a high-pressure line, which spewed hydraulic fluid on the floor. Ignited by sparks from a nearby welder, the resulting fire consumed most of the oxygen in the space, suffocating the workers.

The squadron operated nine missile sites:

LGM-25C Titan II Sites

373-1 (15 Nov 1963 – 5 January 1987), 1.2 mi S of Mount Vernon, AR 35°12′34″N 092°07′27″W / 35.20944°N 92.12417°W / 35.20944; -92.12417 (373-1)

373-2 (29 Nov 1963 – 4 May 1987), 3.7 mi E of Rose Bud, AR 35°18′54″N 092°01′09″W / 35.31500°N 92.01917°W / 35.31500; -92.01917 (373-2)

373-3 (19 Oct 1963 – 18 March 1987), 4.4 mi SE of Heber Springs, AR 35°26′31″N 091°58′57″W / 35.44194°N 91.98250°W / 35.44194; -91.98250 (373-3)

373-4 (16 May 1963 – 18 February 1987)*, 2.1 mi ENE of Letona, AR 35°22′14″N 091°47′39″W / 35.37056°N 91.79417°W / 35.37056; -91.79417 (373-4)

373-5 (15 Jun 1963 – 20 October 1986), 1.5 mi E of Center Hill, AR 35°15′38″N 091°51′25″W / 35.26056°N 91.85694°W / 35.26056; -91.85694 (373-5)

373-6 (23 Nov 1963 – 20 June 1985), 4.9 mi WNW of McRae, AR 35°08′33″N 091°54′03″W / 35.14250°N 91.90083°W / 35.14250; -91.90083 (373-6)

373-7 (26 Jun 1963 – 3 April 1986), 6.1 mi W of Russell, AR 35°26′08″N 091°34′05″W / 35.43556°N 91.56806°W / 35.43556; -91.56806 (373-7)

373-8 (18 Dec 1963 – 20 October 1986), 2.5 mi NNW of Judsonia, AR 35°18′15″N 091°39′08″W / 35.30417°N 91.65222°W / 35.30417; -91.65222 (373-8)

373-9 (28 Oct 1963 – 3 October 1985), 2.1 mi SSE of Holland, AR 35°08′41″N 092°15′17″W / 35.14472°N 92.25472°W / 35.14472; -92.25472 (373-9)

In October 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced that as part of the strategic modernization program, Titan II systems were to be retired by 1 October 1987. Inactivation of the sites began when site 373-6 was inactivated on 20 June 1985, with the last site (373–2) inactivated on 4 May 1987. The squadron was inactivated on 18 August.