44th Bombardment Squadron The 44th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit . Its last assignment was with the 40th Bombardment Wing , based at Forbes Air Force Base , Kansas . It was inactivated on 1 September 1964 . Heraldry . Emblem : On and over a blue disc edged in gold a falcon affronte in red , white , and black , outlined in yellow , with wings displayed and carrying a yellow aerial bomb . ( Approved 7 February 1942 ) History . World War II . Antisubmarine Warfare . Established in Puerto Rico activated 1 April 1941 as the 44th Bombardment Squadron ( Medium ) and assigned to the " ' 40th Bombardment Group ( Medium ) " . It trained with borrowed B - 18 Bolo medium bombers and slowly receiced its own equipment . Following the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor , the Squadron was ordered to Panama , and arrived at Balboa , Panama Canal Zone , on 5 June 1942 . On 2 July 1942 , the unit was redesignated as the 44th Bombardment Squadron ( Heavy ) , following the air echelon ' s move to Guatemala City Air Base , Guatemala on 23 June . There the unit transitioned onto Boeing B - 17E Flying Fortress es and , following familiarization with the much larger and complex aircraft , were almost immediately tasked with antisubmarine patrols duties between Guatemala City and the and the Galapagos Islands , the third - longest patrol route ever assigned any unit of the Air Corps to that time . By 7 March 1943 , still at Guatemala City , the Squadron had a mix of five B - 17Es and three Consolidated B - 24D Liberator s . By 11 April , all of the B - 17Es were transferred out and replaced by B - 24Ds . The unit was moved to Howard Field , Panama Canal Zone on 19 May 1943 in preparation for its return to the United States , as the need for such a large number of bomber squadrons on the Pacific patrol routes had diminished . The unit left the Sixth Air Force on 15 June 1943 . B - 29 Superfortress era . Assigned to Pratt Army Airfield , Kansas in July 1943 , being re - manned with new personnel . Received prototype and early production - model B - 29 Superfortress very heavy bombers . Trained under Second Air Force for an extended period due to Boeing technicians making modifications of B - 29 aircraft . Deployed to the new XX Bomber Command as part of the 58th Bombardment Wing in the China - Burma - India Theater , flying to bases in India via South Atlantic Transport route ; across central Africa , Arabia to Karachi . Additional modifications of B - 29s were necessary in India to accommodate very high ground temperatures ( 115 degrees F ) . From airfields in eastern India , engaged in very long range bombardment raids on Japan . The squadron participated in the first American Air Force attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the 1942 Doolittle raid on 15 / 16 June 1944 , attacking the Imperial Iron and Steel Works at Yawata on Kyushu by using its forward staging base at Hsinching Airfield ( A - 1 ) , China , for refueling . Performed a total of nine missions to Japan , also engaged in very long range attacks against enemy targets in Thailand , Manchuria , Borneo , Formosa , Burma , Malaya , Japanese - occupied China , Singapore , Saigon and Cam Rahn Bay , French Indochina . Also engaged in aerial mining of Japanese - occupied seaports in Thailand Malaya and French Indochina . Advance of American forces in the Central Pacific though the Northern Mariana Islands made new airfields available within the effective bombing range of Japan . Moved to West Field on Tinian in April 1945 , becoming part of the new XXI Bomber Command . From the Marianas , engaged in very long range strategic attacks on Japan , its first mission being on 5 May 1945 against the Hiro Naval Aircraft Factory in Kure . Air attacks over Japan were initially high - altitude daylight bombing missions against industrial , transportation and military targets , largely ineffective due to high upper level winds dispersing bombs over a wide area . By July , began low - level large area night incendiary raids on urban areas , and dropped mines in Japanese shipping lanes . Continued aerial assaults until the Japanese Capitulation in August 1945 , final combat mission taking place on August 9 / 10th attacking the Hikari Naval Arsenal . After V - J Day , the squadron dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners in Japan , Korea , and Formosa , and took part in show - of - force missions . Demobilized on Tinian in 1946 , aircraft being returned to the United States for storage . Inactivated as a paper unit in October . Strategic Air Command . Reactivated in 1953 under Strategic Air Command , receiving then second - line B - 29s for training and organization . Replaced the propeller - driven B - 29s 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 in early 1964 , being one of the last SAC squadrons equipped with the Stratojet . Inactivated in September when the last aircraft was retired .