20th Bomb Squadron The 20th Bomb Squadron ( 20 BS ) is a unit of the United States Air Force 2d Operations Group located at Barksdale Air Force Base , Louisiana . The 20th is equipped with the B - 52H Stratofortress . Formed in June 1917 , the 20 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 . During the 1920s and 1930s , the squadron was involved in flight field service testing of new bomber aircraft , notably the Y1B - 17 Flying Fortress . During World War II fought in the North African and Italian Campaigns . It was a part of Strategic Air Command during the Cold War , deploying frequently to perform Arc Light bombing missions in Indochina . Since 1993 , the 20th 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 . Overview . The 20th Bomb Squadron flies the B - 52H Stratofortress . History . World War I . Organized at Kelly Field , Texas on 26 June 1917 . Moved to the Wilbur Wright Aviation Field , Dayton , Ohio , where it received its first training in the handling of Curtiss JN - 4 and Standard J - 1 . Deployed to France and assigned to the 1st Day Bombardment Group . Assigned British Airco DH . 4 aircraft with American Liberty engines , and was engaged in combat during the St . Mihiel offensive and Meuse - Argonne offensive during 1918 . After the 1918 Armistice with Germany , returned to the United States and arrived at Mitchel Field , New York on 2 May 1919 . There most of the men returned to civilian life , being discharged from Army service . Inter - War period . Returned to the United States and re - formed with new personnel at Ellington Field , Houston Texas in June 1919 . Equipped with some de Havilland DH - 4 bombers and moved to Kelly Field , San Antonio , Texas . Assigned to the new 1st Day Bombardment ( later , 2d Bombardment ) Group . With the establishment of the permanent United States Army Air Service in 1921 , was re - designated as the 20th Squadron ( Bombardment ) . Also operated some Martin NBS - 1 s and British Handley Page 0 / 400 s . 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 . With the completion of the demonstration , was moved to Langley Field , Virginia on 30 June 1922 . During the 1920s and 1930s was used for service testing of multiple new bombardment aircraft as they were developed and improved , primarily Keystone Light Biplane Bombers in the 1920s , that became the backbone of the Army Air Corps bomber fleet in the latter part of the decade . In 1932 , received and began service testing the Boeing Y1B - 9 , the first all - metal monoplane bomber aircraft design . The high speed of the Y1B - 9A indicated that open cockpits were now impractical , and that enclosed cockpits for the crew would be needed in the future . The Boeing B - 9 made obsolete the Keystone Biplane bombers then in service . The Martin B - 10 replaced the B - 9 in 1936 which the squadron operated for only a brief time . In 1937 , received the new Boeing Y1B - 17 four - engine heavy bomber . Twelve of the Y1B - 17s were delivered to the 2d Bombardment Group based at Langley Field , Virginia for evaluation . At this time , the dozen Y1B - 17s comprised the entire heavy bombardment strength of the United States . The 20th Bomb Squadron spent its time working out the defects in the prototype aircraft , working with Boeing engineers to make corrections for the final production model B - 17B . One of the recommendations that they came up with at an early stage was the use of a check list that the pilot and copilot would go through together before takeoff , hopefully preventing accidents such as the one which resulted in the loss of the original Boeing Model 299 . In early 1938 , Colonel Robert Olds , commander of the 2d Bombardment Group flew a Y1B - 17 to set a new east - to - west transcontinental record of 12 hours 50 minutes . He immediately turned around and broke the west - to - east record , averaging 245 mph in 10 hours 46 minutes . Six planes of the squadron took part in a good will flight from Langley to Buenos Aires , Argentina , taking off from Langley on 15 February 1938 and returning on 27 February . They covered a total of 12 , 000 miles without serious incident . In May 1938 , planes of the Langley - based 20th Bombardment Squadron took part in a demonstration in which they " intercepted " the Italian ocean liner " SS Rex " while it was still 700 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean . This was meant not only as a demonstration of the Y1B - 17 ' s superior range and navigational capabilities , but was also meant to show how useful the plane could be in attacking an enemy invasion force before it came close enough to American shores to do any damage . The Navy was not at all amused by this particular demonstration , and was furious about what it perceived to be an Army intrusion into the Navy ' s particular mission . Shortly thereafter , a War Department order came down restricting the activities of the Army Air Corps to within a 100 - mile range of the US shoreline . The Y1B - 17s flew for three years without a serious accident , and were transferred to the 19th Bomb Group at March Field in October 1940 , receiving new production Boeing B - 17D Fortresses . 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 . Strategic Air Command . Reactivated as a B - 29 Superfortress very heavy bomber squadron under Strategic Air Command in 1947 ; assigned to Chatam , and later Hunter AFB near Savannah . Flew B - 29 and later B - 50 Superfortress es during the postwar era . The 20th participated in electronic countermeasures testing and evaluation from , May 1950 – May 1952 . Equipped with B - 47 Stratojet medium bombers in 1947 , flying training missions and standing nuclear alert until the phaseout of the B - 47 in 1963 . Re - equipped with the B - 52F Stratofortress es in 1963 and moved to Barksdale AFB as the runways at Hunter were too short to accommodate the B - 52 . Reassigned to Carswell AFB on 25 June 1965 , joining the 9th Bombardment Squadron as the 2d B - 52F squadron at Carswell . During the Vietnam War , would switch rotations to Andersen AFB , Guam with the 9th , one squadron remaining on nuclear alert at Carswell , the other being forward deployed for Operation Arc Light missions over Southeast Asia . Continued rotational Arc Light deployments , switching to the more capable B - 52D Stratofortress in 1969 for Arc Light missions until March 1970 when the draw down of the Vietnam War ended the forward deployments . Continued nuclear alert with the B - 52D until 1983 , when re - equipped with B - 52H Stratofortress es , acquiring the aircraft of the 46th Bombardment Squadron , 319th BW , Grand Forks AFB , North Dakota . During the 1980s it conducted B - 52 training missions over bombing range sites and supported wing primary mission of aerial bombardment . Current era . Returned to Barksdale in 1992 with the closure of Carswell and the inactivation of SAC , being reassigned to the new Air Combat Command . Continued training for global conventional bombardment missions and maintained nuclear operational readiness . After the September 11 attacks the 20th deployed to the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and on 7 October 2001 flew attacks on targets in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom . In February 2003 it deployed to Guam to deter North Korean aggression . On 21 July 2008 , a squadron B - 52 aircraft crashed near Guam during a training mission in support of Guam ' s Liberation Day festivities . All six crewmembers , three of whom were from the 20th , perished .