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825th Bombardment Squadron

Field	Value
unit_name	825th Bombardment Squadron
image	B-24 bomber .75 front.jpg
image_size	300px
caption	B-24 Liberator as flown by the squadron
dates	1943-1945
country
branch
role	heavy bomber
battles	Mediterranean Theater of Operations
decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation
identification_symbol	[[File:825th Bombardment Sq emblem.png	165px]]
identification_symbol_label	825th Bombardment Sq emblem

The 825th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the 484th Bombardment Group and was last stationed at Casablanca Airport, French Morocco, where it was inactivated on 25 July 1945. The squadron was activated during World War II as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator unit. It served in combat in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, earning two Distinguished Unit Citations for operations over Germany and Austria. Following V-E Day it operated with Air Transport Command in returning American troops to the United States until it was inactivated in theater in the summer of 1945.

History

The 825th Bombardment Squadron was first activated at Harvard Army Air Field, Nebraska on 20 September 1943 as one of the four squadrons of the 484th Bombardment Group. The squadron trained with Consolidated B-24 Liberators until March 1944, when it moved to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Shortly before deploying, the squadron was redesignated as a Pathfinder unit, although it never performed pathfinder missions.

In April 1944, the squadron began flying combat missions from Torretto Airfield, Italy in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. Until the end of the war, it acted primarily as a strategic bombing organization, attacking oil refineries and storage facilities, industrial facilities and lines of communication in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Balkans. On 13 June 1944, the unit's target was marshalling yards near Munich, Germany. However, the Germans deployed a smoke screen that effectively hid the target, making the attack unfeasible. Despite losses from flak and interceptor aircraft, the squadron proceeded to its secondary target at Innsbruck, Austria. Its persistence in the face of opposition earned the unit a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC).

Two months later, on 21 August 1944, the squadron received a second DUC for an attack on underground oil storage facilities near Vienna, Austria. Without fighter escort, the squadron fought its way through intense opposition to strike the target.

The squadron was sometimes diverted from strategic targets. It bombed bridges, viaducts, marshalling yards, and supply dumps to assist troops advancing on Rome between April and July 1944. In September 1944, the unit transported petroleum products to troops participating in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France. At the end of the war it supported Operation Grapeshot, the final advances in northern Italy.

Following V-E Day, The unit was assigned to Air Transport Command, It used its B-24s as transport aircraft, flying personnel from locations in France and Italy to Casablanca, French Morocco as part of the Green Project. It also engaged in transport operations from North Africa to the Azores or Dakar in French West Africa until it was inactivated on 25 July 1945.

Lineage

Constituted as the 825th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 14 September 1943 : Activated on 20 September 1943 : Redesignated 825th Bombardment Squadron (Pathfinder) on 14 February 1944 : Redesignated 825th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 11 November 1944 : Inactivated on 25 July 1945

Assignments

484th Bombardment Group, 20 September 1943 – 25 July 1945

Stations

Harvard Army Air Field, Nebraska, 20 September 1943 – 2 March 1944
Torretto Airfield, Italy, April 1944
Casablanca-Anfa Airport, French Morocco, c. 25 May – 25 July 1945

Aircraft

Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1943–1945

Awards and campaigns

Campaign Streamer	Campaign	Dates	Notes
[[File:Streamer EAMEC.PNG	200px]]	Air Offensive, Europe	April 1944–5 June 1944
[[File:Streamer EAMEC.PNG	200px]]	Central Europe	April 1944–21 May 1945
[[File:Streamer EAMEC.PNG	200px]]	Air Combat, EAME Theater	April 1944–11 May 1945
[[File:Streamer EAMEC.PNG	200px]]	Rome-Arno	April 1944–9 September 1944
[[File:Streamer EAMEC.PNG	200px]]	Normandy	6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944
[[File:Streamer EAMEC.PNG	200px]]	Northern France	25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944
[[File:Streamer EAMEC.PNG	200px]]	Southern France	15 August 1944 – 14 September 1944
[[File:Streamer EAMEC.PNG	200px]]	North Apennines	10 September 1944 – 4 April 1945
[[File:Streamer EAMEC.PNG	200px]]	Rhineland	15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945
[[File:Streamer EAMEC.PNG	200px]]	Po Valley	3 April 1945 – 8 May 1945

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes

; Citations

Bibliography

References

Watkins, pp. 118-119
Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 771
Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 355-356

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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