28th Bomb Squadron The 28th Bomb Squadron ( 28 RS ) is a squadron of the United States Air Force . It is assigned to the 7th Operations Group , Air Combat Command , stationed at Dyess Air Force Base , Texas . The squadron is equipped with the Rockwell B - 1B Lancer . The 28 BS is one of the oldest and most decorated units in the United States Air Force , being organized as the 28th Aero Squadron on 22 June 1917 at Kelly Field , Texas . The squadron deployed to France and fought on the Western Front during World War I as a pursuit squadron . The unit was demobilized after the war in 1919 . Re - organized in 1921 becoming part of the permanent United States Army Air Service , the squadron served in the Philippines during the Inter - War period , engaging in combat during the 1941 - 42 Battle of the Philippines at the beginning of World War II . Withdrawn to Australia , it fought in the Dutch East Indies campaign before returning to the United States and being re - equipped with B - 29 Superfortress bombers . It returned to the Pacific Theater of Operations ( PTO ) in early 1945 to carry out strategic bombing missions over the Japanese Home Islands . During the Cold War it carried out B - 29 bombardment missions over North Korea during the Korean War ; later being a B - 47 Stratojet and B - 52 Stratofortress squadron as part of Strategic Air Command . Overview . The 28 BS flies the B - 1B Lancer intercontinental strategic bomber . It is the largest bomb squadron in the Air Force . The squadron ' s mission is to provide all B - 1 initial qualification , requalification , and instructor upgrade training for Air Combat Command . History . World War I . Established in 1917 as the 28th Aero Squadron after the United States ' entry into World War I . Formed at Camp Kelly , Texas , then sent to Quebec for combat flying training with units of the Royal Air Force . Deployed to the Western Front in France and served with British Second and Fifth Armies from , 20 March – c . 24 June 1918 ( C flight participated in Somme Defense from , 21 March – 6 April 1918 ) . The 28th also saw combat as pursuit unit with American First Army from , 2 September 1918 – 10 November 1918 . Squadron returned from France in June 1919 , demobilized and was inactivated . During World war I , it had two aces in its ranks , Martinus Stenseth and Thomas Cassady . Inter - war years . After World War I , the 28th Squadron ( Bombardment ) , was constituted as a new unit on 30 August 1921 . It was organized on 20 September at Mather Field , California and assigned to the IX Corps Area . The squadron was equipped with Dayton - Wright DH - 4 s and was used for aerial forest fire patrols along the western side of the Sierra Mountains and Sacramento , California area . On 19 January 1922 , it was formally consolidated with its World War I predecessor unit , the 28th Aero Squadron , giving it a history dating to 22 June 1917 . The unit was inactivated on 28 June 1922 with the closure of Mather Field . The squadron was re - activated on 1 September 1922 at Clark Field , Philippine Islands and assigned to the Philippine Department . It was moved to Kindley Field , on Corregidor Island and again equipped with DH - 4s . Assigned to the 1st Observation Group ( later 4th Composite Group ) , the 28th was re - designated as a Bombardment Squadron on 25 January 1923 . Along with the 2d Observation and 3d Pursuit Squadrons , the 28th provided the bombardment capability of the Air Service in the Philippines during the 1920s and 1930s . Its mission was tactical training for coastal defense . Exercises and maneuvers with Army ground forces and Naval forces were a regular and important part of its mission . The squadron was moved to the Manila area in 1922 , operating from time to time from either Clark or Nichols fields . Along with the venerable DH - 4 , the 28th was equipped with the Martin NBS - 1 scout bomber ( also known as the MB - 2 ) built during the final months of World War I . The MB - 2 was the standard bomber of the Air Service thouhout the 1920s , the squadron being upgraded to the Keystone LB - 5 in 1929 , then the B - 3 in 1931 . Also , the 28th flew the Loening OA - 1 Amphibian which it operated from Manila Bay . The obsolete Keystones were replaced by the Martin B - 10 in 1937 . In June 1938 , the squadron was permanently assigned to Clark Field . As a result of the rising tensions with the Japanese Empire in 1940 , the defenses of the Philippines were judged to be abysmal , and a reinforcement effort was made to defend the islands against any Japanese aggression . The 28th Bombardment Squadron received Douglas B - 18 Bolos in early 1941 , and later , some early - model B - 17C Flying Fortresses . On 1 November , it was assigned to the incoming 19th Bombardment Group in a reorganization of the Far East Air Force assets in the Philippines . The 28th , however was filled with new pilots fresh out of flight training that were sent to reinforce the Islands . The incoming 19th , used the 28th as a fourth squadron , deploying two of its squadrons ( the 30th and 93d ) from March Field , California to the Philippines between 16 October and 4 November 1941 with more modern B - 17Es , and the 14th Bombardment Squadron , which had arrived in September as its third squadron . The 28th also had eighteen B - 18s on the line at Clark . By 1 December 1941 , the 19th Bombardment Group had all four of its squadrons at Clark Field . It was decided to disperse the Group and move the 30th and 93d squadrons south to Del Monte Field on Mindanao . Del Monte , however , was little more than a grass field cut out of a Pineapple farm with no supporting hangars , supplies , shops or other infrastructure to support the bombers . On 7 December , there were 35 B - 17s in the Philippines , with the 19th and 14th squadrons at Clark Field on Luzon with a total of 19 planes ( B - 17Ds and B - 17Es ) , and two squadrons at Del Monte on Mindanao 500 miles to the south with the other 16 B - 17Es . A fifth squadron , the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron with four B - 17Cs and two new B - 17Es was inbound from Hamilton Field , California to Pearl Harbor on their way to the Philippines to reinforce the American force there , and was expected to arrive in a week . World War II . Battle of the Philippines ( 1942 ) . After the Pearl Harbor Attack on 7 December 1941 in Hawaii , Clark Field was put on alert for a Japanese attack . Far East Air Force ( FEAF ) Commanding General Lewis H . Brereton sought permission from theater commander General Douglas MacArthur to conduct air raids against Japanese forces on Formosa , but was refused . It was a little before 08 : 00 when Brereton returned to Air Headquarters at Nielson Field , Manila . As he entered his office he asked what decision the staff had reached , but on being told said , " No , We can ' t attack till we ' re fired on " and explained that he had been directed to prepare the B - 17s for action but was not to undertake offensive action till ordered . Later , about 1100 on 8 December a combat strike was approved by FEAF against Formosa . Just as the B - 17s were on the line , the Japanese Air Force attacked Clark Field and practically destroyed the U . S . Army Air Corps capability of conducting an offensive action against the enemy . Damage to the physical structures at Clark Field was immense . This included the barracks which housed the personnel of the 28th . As a result , the entire squadron was ordered to bivouac in a nearby rifle pit . Confusion was the order of the day . A limited few were assigned to help repair and salvage parts of the remaining planes . There was very little for the remaining squadron personnel to do . Ground infantry . With almost all of the squadron ' s aircraft destroyed at Clark , the men of the ground echelon was pressed into service as ground infantry under V Interceptor Command . On Christmas Eve of 1941 , the 28th evacuated Clark Field and went by train to Bataan . The squadron was bivouacked approximately two miles east of Corregidor Island . On 29 December , the 28th received orders to travel to the port of Mariveles . During its journey to the port , men of the squadron witnessed the Japanese air force attempting to bomb Corregidor . Arriving at the port of Mariveles , they were instructed to board the inter - island steamer , the S . S . Mayon . That evening , about 21 : 00 the ship sailed from the port . It traveled all night , and at daylight , anchored off the Island of Mindoro in an attempt to keep away from the enemy naval forces . However , that area was not a secret sanctuary , inasmuch as a Japanese patrol bomber spotted the S . S . Mayon and attempted to bomb it . The plane dropped six bombs without making a serious hit on the ship . At nightfall , the ship once again initiated its journey southward . The next morning , it anchored in a small cove for protection once again . There was an enormous amount of life preservers and debris on the water on this cove . It was later learned that the Japanese had sunk the sister ship of the S . S . Mayon , named the S . S . Panay , where the Mayon anchored . That night , the ship sailed once more and arrived at the port of Bago , Mindinao the next morning . At Bago , the men of the 28th were issued some old British Lee - Enfield rifles fully coated with Cosmoline . After cleaning their rifles , the men embarked on buses at Malaybalay and stayed overnight . The next day , the enlisted men of the 28th , along with a few officers , were transported further southward by bus to Carmen Ferry on the Pulangi River . They were approximately forty miles from the city of Davao , where the Japanese armed forces were entrenched . its orders were to guard the ferry and patrol the Pulangi River . On 16 April 1941 , the personnel of the 28th Bomb Squadron was ordered north to Maramag , Mindinao . Maramag was the planned site of a secret airfield which was hopefully to be used by Far East Air Force . However , this part of the Philippine Islands defense plans were never fully developed due to enemy action . On 7 May 1942 , most of the personnel of the 28th , along with servicemen from other air corps units of the 19th Bomb Group , were ordered to embark for an area in northern Mindinao known as Alanib . At Alanib , the entire group started on a twenty three kilometer hike to another area in the center of Mindanao named Bosok . This area was not accessible by truck . The group ' s assignment was to prepare entrenchments for Filipino troops to guard a back trail which could have permitted the Japanese Armed Forces on Mindinao . The American force , having reached approximately one kilometer from its destination of Bosok , was ambushed by a Japanese patrol . The infiltration had already began . Fortunately , there were few casualties during the encounter . However , having only shovels and no weapons , the entire force proceeded to backtrack toward Alanib , the embarkation point . The Japanese patrol was in hot pursuit . However there were U . S . Army trucks at Alanib when the men arrived . The drivers of the trucks informed the men of the 28th that all of the Armed Forces in the Philippine Islands had been ordered to surrender as of that day . At Alanib , the ground echelon of the 28th Bombardment Squadron surrendered to the Japanese as ordered on 10 May 1942 , although some presumably joined guerrilla forces and continued fighting as unorganized resistance during the Japanese Occupation . The trucks transported the men of the 28th to Maramag and then to a prisoner of war camp at Malaybaly , Mindinao . After their surrender , a number of the 28th personnel died in Japanese Prisoner of war camps and on the Japanese Hell ship s en route to Japan . Air echelon . The surviving squadron aircraft were sent to Del Monte Field on Mindanao , but were unable to operate effectively against the invading Japanese forces . From Del Monte , the few aircraft began reconnaissance and bombardment operations against Japanese shipping and landing parties until 17 December when badly in need of depot maintenance , it began displacing south to Darwin , Australia . The air echelon of squadron retreated to Australia , reforming at Batchelor Airfield near Darwin , Northern Territory . Squadron deployed aircraft from Australia to Java in January 1942 to support Allied forces during the Dutch East Indies Campaign , carrying out bombing missions against the advancing Japanese forces . Allied withdraw from Java forced squadron to return to Australia in March . In Australia , squadron was reformed as part of new Fifth Air Force , receiving aircraft and crews from the United States which had arrived in Australia after the Pearl Harbor Attack . Flew combination of B - 17C / D / E aircraft ; participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 , and raided enemy transportation and communications targets as well as troop concentrations during the Japanese invasion of Papua New Guinea . The squadron bombed enemy airdromes , ground installations , and shipping near Rabaul , New Britain in August 1942 . By late 1942 , the USAAF decided that no more B - 17s would be sent to the Pacific , and that units would be withdrawn or re - equipped in the Pacific in favor of the longer - ranged B - 24 Liberator . In addition , the combat losses by Eighth Air Force in Europe were reaching such magnitudes that the entire B - 17 production was urgently needed for replacements and training in that theater . Leaving its remaining B - 17 aircraft in Australia , squadron personnel returned to the United States in December 1942 . The men of the 28th Bomb Squadron distinguished themselves during the Battle of the Philippines , and also in the Dutch East Indies campaign by severely disrupting the timetable of the Japanese Armed Forces in conquering Southeast Asia . This gave the United States government and its Allies sufficient time to arm Australia , halt the Japanese advance in Southeast Asia , and then proceed with the task of winning the war . B - 29 Superfortress operations against Japan . Reformed as a B - 17 heavy bomber Replacement Training Unit assigned to Second Air Force in Texas . The squadron conducted replacement training from , 1 February 1943 – 1 April 1944 . With its return to the United States , the history of the 28th becomes indistinguishable from that of its parent 19th Bombardment Group . Re - designated on 1 April 1944 as a B - 29 Superfortress Very Heavy bombardment squadron . When training was completed moved to North Field Guam in the Mariana Islands of the Central Pacific Area in January 1945 and assigned to XXI Bomber Command , Twentieth Air Force . It ' s mission was the strategic bombardment of the Japanese Home Islands and the destruction of its war - making capability . Flew " shakedown " missions against Japanese targets on Moen Island , Truk , and other points in the Carolines and Marianas . The squadron began combat missions over Japan on 25 February 1945 with a firebombing mission over Northeast Tokyo . The squadron continued to participate in wide area firebombing attack , but the first ten - day blitz resulting in the Army Air Forces running out of incendiary bombs . Until then the squadron flew conventional strategic bombing missions using high explosive bombs . The squadron continued attacking urban areas until the end of the war in August 1945 , its subordinate units conducted raids against strategic objectives , bombing aircraft factories , chemical plants , oil refineries , and other targets in Japan . The squadron flew its last combat missions on 14 August when hostilities ended . Afterwards , its B 29s carried relief supplies to Allied prisoner of war camps in Japan and Manchuria Remained on Guam after the war conducted sea - search , photographic mapping , and training missions in the western Pacific . Strategic Air Command . Deployed to Kadena AB , Okiniwa in June 1950 as a result of the Korean War . Flew strategic bombing missions over North Korea ; targets included an oil refinery and port facilities at Wonsan , a railroad bridge at Pyongyang , and Yonpo Airfield . After United Nations ground forces pushed the communists out of South Korea , the squadron turned to strategic objectives in North Korea , including industrial and hydroelectric facilities . It also continued to attack bridges , marshalling yards , supply centers , artillery and troop positions , barracks , port facilities , and airfields . Continued bombardment operations until the June 1953 armistice in Korea ; returned to the United States in May 1954 ; the squadrons B - 29s being sent to reclamation . Reactivated in May 1954 with new B - 47 Stratojet medium bombers and personnel at Pinecastle AFB , near Orlando , Florida under Strategic Air Command . Engaged in training operations and participated in numerous SAC exercises and deployments with the B - 47 until 1961 when the B - 47s began to be phased out of SAC . Re - equipped with B - 52H Stratofortress es in 1962 at Homestead AFB , Florida . Flew intercontinental training missions with the Stratofortress , and maintained nuclear alert . Re - equipped with B - 52G model in 1968 and moved to Robins AFB . Deployed several times to forward bases in the Western Pacific , carrying out combat missions over Indochina under operations Arc Light ; Linebacker I and the Linebacker II raids of 1972 – 73 at the end of the Vietnam war . Squadron reformed at Robins in 1973 and returned to nuclear alert status . Inactivated in 1983 as part of the phaseout of the B - 52G from the SAC inventory . Reactivated in 1987 and re - equipped with the B - 1B Lancer strategic bomber . Stationed initially at McConnell AFB , Kansas , the squadron moved to Dyess AFB , Texas in 1987 and transferred to the 7th Wing when McConnell was realigned as a tanker base . Currently , the 28th conducts weapons system training for B - 1 crews . Each year , it trains more than 200 active duty crewmembers . Stations . Headquarters and " A " Flight " B " Flight " C " Flight