96th Bomb Squadron The 96th Bomb Squadron ( 96 BS ) is a unit of the United States Air Force 2d Operations Group located at Barksdale Air Force Base , Louisiana . The 96th is equipped with the B - 52H Stratofortress . Formed in August 1917 , the 96 BS saw combat on the World War I Western Front , in France . It took part in the St . Mihiel offensive and Meuse - Argonne offensive . Later , it served with the Army Air Service and Army Air Corps in the Inter - War period it participated in Brig . Gen . Billy Mitchell ' s 1921 off - shore bombing tests and during World War II fought in the North African and Italian Campaigns . It was a part of Strategic Air Command during the Cold War . Since 1993 , the 96th Bomb Squadron has flown the B - 52H Stratofortress long - range heavy bomber , which can perform a variety of missions . Today the squadron is engaged in the Global War on Terrorism . Heraldry . On a disc Vert , a caricatured devil Proper facing dexter , grasping in his dexter hand a bomb Argent inside a triangle of the second and filled Sable , all within a narrow border Yellow . Attached below the disc , a Blue scroll edged with a narrow Yellow border and inscribed " 96TH BOMB SQ ” in Yellow letters . Symbolic of the “ Daredevil ” qualities of fearlessness and boldness , the devil characterizes the spirit of the Squadron and its past and present personnel . The bomb represents the historic mission of the unit , which it has performed since the beginning of aerial warfare in World War I . History . World War I . The 96th Aero Squadron was America ' s first bomb squadron . It was formed at Kelly Field , Texas . Originally consisting of 80 men , largely college graduates or college dropouts , volunteers all , and something of an elite group , since their aeronautical qualifications were the highest in the U . S . Army Air Service . [ 2 ] Just before embarking upon its first aerial warfare , the squadron decided upon its insignia , a black triangle outlined by a white strip enclosing the profile of a red devil thumbing his nose at the ground with his right hand . In his left , he held a white bomb . This distinctive emblem was designed by the squadron ' s talented graphic artist , Harry O . Lawson . The 96th saw combat as part of the 1st Day Bombardment Group , supporting the French Eighth and U . S . First Army from , 12 June 1918 – 4 November 1918 . It operated French - made Breguet 14 planes and was involved in an embarrassing fiasco when the entire squadron landed around Koblenz , Germany by accident , providing all of their planes intact to the Germans . Nonetheless , it was the most heavily engaged and most successful USAS bomber squadron . Inter - War period . Returned to the United States from France in May , 1919 , was re - organized at Ellington Field , Houston , Texas and equipped with Martin MB - 2 day bombers . Reassigned to several airfields in the southwest , its primary mission was reconnaissance along the Mexican border . In May 1920 was temporarily assigned to Langley Field , Virginia and became part of the First Provisional Air Brigade under General Billy Mitchell . Trained with the Handley Page O / 400 and Martin MB - 2 bombers . It ' s mission would be to attack captured German ships along the Atlantic coast off Virginia in a service demonstration to determine whether a battleship could be sunk by bombing . The targets were an aged and surplus US battleship and four former German Navy vessels , including the battleship SMS " Ostfriesland " , obtained in the peace settlement after World War I and scheduled for scuttling . On 13 July the Army airmen made their first appearance . The Martin bombers ( limited to 300 - pound bombs by the rules of the service test by the Navy ) sank the former German destroyer G - 102 in 19 minutes . On 18 July Navy and Army airplanes took turns attacking the former German light cruiser " Frankfurt " . No bomb heavier than 600 pounds was allowed . There were frequent intermissions as inspectors dragged out their on - board inspections . The Air Service was finally allowed to strike and sank the vessel with 600 - pound bombs . The Navy , which had figured on using gunfire from ships to finish off " Frankfurt " , was surprised . On 21 July a flight of six Martins and two Handley Pages , each carrying a 2 , 000 - pound bomb . As the pilots stood by waiting to take off , Johnson called with a change in rules . The bombers could bring no more than three of their biggest bombs to the target area . The written agreement had been that the Air Service would be allowed two direct hits with their biggest bombs . One of the Handley Pages had to drop out of the formation , but the other seven airplanes went on to the target . They had no intention of making two direct hits and stopping the test . Their orders were to aim for near misses to create water hammer shock waves against the hull . The first bomb fell at 12 : 18 p . m . It was a near miss , as planned . The other airplanes swept in at spaced intervals and delivered their ordnance . " We could see her rise eight or 10 feet between the terrific blows from under water , " Mitchell said . The sixth bomb , at 12 : 31 , sealed " Ostfriesland " ’ s doom . Twenty - two minutes after the first bomb fell , the old battleship sank at 12 : 40 . The seventh airplane , a Handley Page , dropped its unneeded bomb as a final salute at the point where the battleship had gone down . With the completion of the demonstration , the 96th returned to Texas in October . The unit transferred to Langley Field on a permanent basis in June 1922 and engaged in routine training ; tested and experimented with equipment and tactics ; participated in maneuvers ; flew mercy missions to aid victims of a flood in Pennsylvania in 1936 and victims of an earthquake in Chile in 1939 ; and made goodwill flights to South America in the late 1930s . Received new Boeing B - 17B Fortress in the summer of 1939 , being one of the first three squadrons to receive the new bomber . In November 1939 , seven Fortresses flew from Langley Field to Rio de Janeiro , Brazil on a good - will mission . All planes returned safely with no major incidents , once again demonstrating the safety and reliability of the B - 17 design . World War II . After the Attack on Pearl Harbor , served on antisubmarine duty along the mid - Atlantic coastline as part of I Bomber Command for several months until AAF Antisubmarine Command was formed and took over that duty . Re - equipped with more modern B - 17F Flying Fortresses and assigned to II Bomber Command in Pacific Northwest for transition and combat training in late 1942 and early 1943 . Moved to North Africa in April 1943 , carrying out bombing missions in Algeria and Tunisia as part of Twelfth Air Force during the North African Campaign . Flew many support and interdictory missions , bombing such targets as marshalling yards , airdromes , troop concentrations , bridges , docks , and shipping . Participated in the defeat of Axis forces in Tunisia , Apr - May 1943 ; the reduction of Pantelleria and the preparations for the invasion of Sicily , May - Jul 1943 ; the invasion of Italy , Sep 1943 . Transferred to Fifteenth Air Force in December 1943 and engaged in bombing operations primarily in Italy in support of the Allied drive north toward Rome , Jan - Jun 1944 ; the Invasion of southern France , Aug 1944 ; and the campaigns against German forces in northern Italy , Jun 1944 - May 1945 . Engaged primarily in long - range bombardment of strategic targets after Oct 1943 , attacking oil refineries , aircraft factories , steel plants , and other objectives in Germany , Poland , Czechoslovakia , Austria , Hungary , Yugoslavia , Romania , and Greece . En route to bomb a vital aircraft factory at Steyr on 24 Feb 1944 , the group was greatly outnumbered by enemy interceptors , but it maintained its formation and bombed the target , receiving a Distinguished Service Cross ( DSC ) for the performance . On the following day , while on a mission to attack aircraft factories at Regensburg , it met similar opposition equally well and was awarded a second DUC . Served as part of the occupation force in Italy after V - E Day . Inactivated in Italy on 28 Feb 1946 . Cold War . Reactivated under Strategic Air Command on 1 July 1947 and equipped with B - 29 Superfortress es . Trained for strategic bombardment missions during the postwar years , being upgraded to the new atomic bomb - capable B - 50 Superfortress in 1948 . Replaced the propeller - driven B - 50s with new B - 47E Stratojet swept - wing medium bombers in 1954 , capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the Soviet Union . In the late 1950s , the B - 47 was considered to be reaching obsolescence , and was being phased out of SAC ' s strategic arsenal . Began sending aircraft to other B - 47 wings as replacements or to storage at Davis - Monthan AFB , Arizona in late 1962 and was inactivated in April 1963 . Current era . In September 1996 , it deployed and launched attacks against military targets in Iraq in support of Operation Desert Strike . It earned the 1996 Mackay Trophy for the 33 - hour long mission from Louisiana to Iraq and back as the most meritorious flight of the year . Since 1993 it has conducted combat operations to support worldwide conventional and nuclear taskings and provided long - range , heavy strike , initial response , and sustained firepower in support of all regional and global warfighting commanders . In late 1996 , the squadron deployed to support Operation Southern Watch , returning again in 1998 . In 1999 , crews from the squadron deployed to Royal Air Force Base Fairford in support of Operation Allied Force . In January 2002 , the squadron deployed to fly combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan . It supported OEF until early 2007 when it began focusing full - time on the Continuous Bomber Presence mission in the Pacific Theater . The squadron supported deployments in 2004 , 2006 , 2008 , 2009 and again in 2011 to Andersen AFB , Guam . In 2011 , as part of Air Force Global Strike Command ' s Global Strike Challenge ( successor to SAC ' s Bomb Comp ) , the 96th Bomb Squadron won three awards :