30th Bombardment Squadron The 30th Bombardment Squadron is a United States Air Force unit . On 19 September 1985 it was consolidated with the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron , also known as the United States Air Force Thunderbirds . The squadron was last active as an operational unit on 1 February 1963 , as a part of the Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) 4133d Strategic Wing , stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base , North Dakota . History . World War I . The squadron ' s history dates to 13 June 1917 when the 30th Aero Squadron was organized at Kelly Field , South San Antonio , Texas , less than a month after the United States ' entry into World War I . Most of the men of the squadron arrived at Kelly Field when it was nothing but a sand heap and a few tents . The men were recruited from around the United States with the idea they would become pilots . However , upon arrival they were issued picks and shovels , their first job was to dig trenches around the field for water and utility lines . Construction was the order of the day , and the men received their indoctrination into the Army as soldiers , standing guard duty and other rudimentary duties . The lack of sanitary facilities and also uniforms meant most men worked in the civilian clothing they arrived in and slept in them without bathing until latrines and washing facilities were constructed . The men dug ditches for water mains , erected wooden buildings for barracks . Across the Atlantic . On 11 August 1917 , the squadron received orders for overseas duty , and it traveled by train to Fort Totten , New York in preparation for service in France . On 22 August they were transported to the Port of Entry , Hoboken , New Jersey , and were boarded on the RMS Baltic . The next day , they left Pier 59 , en route to Halifax , Nova Scotia where the ship anchored awaiting for a convoy . Finally , on 5 September , the convoy was formed and the trans - Atlantic journey began . On the night of 14 September , two red rockets were fired from an accompanying destroyer that had spotted a submarine periscope . The destroyer dropped depth charges on the submarine , and the Baltic made a sudden turn to port , that caused both men and anything loose aboard the ship to move . Suddenly a large explosion was heard and five long blasts were made by the ship ' s whistle and everyone on board was ordered to report to their assigned lifeboats . The Baltic ' s captain announced that a torpedo had struck the ship , but it had only made a glancing blow on the bow ; that the emergency pumps were working and there was no danger . The next morning the ship arrived at Liverpool , England ; the squadrons on the Baltic being the first American airmen to land there . The 30th was boarded on a train and proceeded to Southampton where it was stationed at a Rest Camp , arriving at 1 : 00am on 16 September . At Southampton , fifty men of the squadron were detached to the Royal Flying Corps for three months training as aircraft mechanics . The remainder of the squadron were to proceed to France . The squadron arrived at Le Harve , then continued by train to Etampes , France , arriving on the 18th . At Étampes , ten more men of the squadron were taken out and sent to Lyons , where they took a ten week course in La Rhone and Hispano - Suiza aircraft engines . 3d Air Instructional Center . On 23 September , the remainder of the squadron moved to Issoudun Aerodrome , France , for the construction of an American School and several airfields . What became the 3d Aviation Instructional Center would be the largest airfield in the world at the time , its mission was to train American pursuit ( Fighter ) pilots and give them the skills to go into combat over the Front against the German aviators . When the men of the 30th Aero Squadron arrived , all they could see was one completed barracks , and another in the process of erection , and three other smaller buildings . As was the case at Kelly Field earlier , the men went to work in various construction tasks , and were joined by several other squadrons in their work . A power grid was installed along with various water and telephone lines . Streets were laid down and various wooden buildings were erected . The squadron began to work on what was later the best and largest machine shops of the AEF . The shop began as a simple hangar . As various drills and lathes and other equipment and specialized tools arrived the shop was expanded until it could accommodate the large number of aircraft engines that were arriving . As the camp progressed the members of the 30th Aero Squadron could be found in most of the various shops of the school , assembling newly arrived aircraft , working on engines , machine - guns and in the warehouses , stocking and receiving parts and other supplies . By the time of the Armistice on 11 November , the men of the squadron held responsible positions in many of the support areas of the 3d AIC . Although they did not enter combat , the men provided the means to train the pilots who went to the front and gave them the best of training so they might accomplish their work . Demobilization . The 30th , remained at Issodun until the end of December , 1918 when orders were received to proceed to the 1st Air Depot , Colombey - les - Belles Airdrome , France , for demobilization . From Colombey , the squadron was moved to a staging camp under the Services of Supply at Bordeaux , France , in January waiting for a date to report to a base port for transportation home . In mid - March , the squadron boarded a troop ship , arriving in New York on 5 April . From there , the 30th moved to Mitchel Field , New York where the men were demobilized and returned to civilian life . Inter - war years . The 30th Squadron ( Bombardment ) was re - constituted as a reserve Army Air Service unit on 24 March 1923 , being assigned to the 7th Bombardment Group in the III Corps area . It was an active associate unit to the 20th Bombardment Squadron at Langley Field , Virginia . Its members spending their reserve commitments with the 20th , primarily supporting the Dayton - Wright DH - 4 s of the 20th . It was re - designated as the 30th Bombardment Squadron on 25 January 1923 . It was moved to the IX Corps Area in California in 1927 but never fully organized in the reserves . It was then moved to the VIII Corps area in Texas , and its members trained as individual reservists at Kelly Field . On 24 June 1932 it was transferred to the United States Army Air Corps as a regular unit without reservists , being activated at Rockwell Field , San Diego , California . There it was assigned to the 19th Bombardment Group , being equipped with Douglas OA - 4 Dolphin and Grumman OA - 9 Goose amphibious flying boats . Its mission was to provide military transport , and perform search and rescue missions . The squadron was transferred on 25 October 1935 to March Field , California when the Air Corps facilities in San Diego were transferred to the Navy . At March , the squadron transitioned to the Martin B - 10 bomber . The B - 10 was the Air Corps ' first all - metal monoplane bomber to go into regular use , and was faster than the pursuit aircraft in use at the time . The 30th was upgraded again to a Heavy bombardment squadron in December 1939 when it received its first Boeing B - 17B Flying Fortress es . The B - 17B was the first production version of the Flying Fortress , and the squadron was upgraded to the faster and better - armed B - 17C in late 1940 , and to the B - 17D which had additional upgrades in 1941 . The 30th helped make aviation history on the night of 13 – 14 May 1941 when they took its from March Field to Hickam Field , Hawaii to transfer them to the 11th Bombardment Group there , landing on schedule within 30 minutes of each other and in the order they took off . As part of the reinforcement effort of the Philippines , the squadron redeployed to Clark Field , Luzon between 16 October and 4 November 1941 . The bombers traveling individually and at night on their longest leg , flew a trans - Pacific route from Hickam Field to Midway Island ; Wake Island ; Port Moresby , Papua New Guinea ; Darwin , Northern Territory , Australia , then into Clark Field , a distance of over 10 , 000 miles , nearly all of it over water . World War II . 8 December 1941 . The 30th Bombardment Squadron had its B - 17D aircraft on the line at Clark Field on 8 December 1941 when word was received from Hawaii about 4 : 00 A . M . of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . Along with the 28th Bombardment Squadron of the 19th Bomb Group , there were 19 B - 17s at Clark . A little before 8 : 00 A . M . , the radar at Iba Airfield informed the Air Warning Service ( AWS ) at Nielson Field that at least 30 Japanese aircraft were flying south over Luzon apparently headed for Clark Field . in order to prevent them from being destroyed on the ground by a Japanese air attack , all flyable B - 17s at Clark were ordered into the air and to patrol the waters around Luzon . A frenzied effort was made to get the bombers into the air which was accomplished by 8 : 30 A . M . In the meantime , General Lewis H . Brereton , General MacArthur ' s air commander , got approval to carry out a strike against Japanese air bases on Formosa , and the B - 17s were recalled to Clark . When the Fortresses returned about 11 : 00 A . M . , two and a half hours after taking off , three of them were equipped with cameras for reconnaissance and the remainder were loaded up with 100 - lb and 300 - lb bombs in preparation for the planned mission to Formosa . The outward appearance of a normal peacetime day in the FEAF disappeared at 11 : 27 A . M . , when Iba radar again picked up a flight of aircraft over the Gulf of Lingayen on the west coast of Luzon , north of Iba Point and reported the sighting to the AWS at Nielson Field . Delays kept the American aircraft on the ground , however , by 12 : 30 P . M . , the three reconnaissance B - 17s of the 19th Bombardment Group were taxiing out for the initial photographic mission to Formosa when about 200 Japanese aircraft struck . The first notice of an attack was when Japanese Bombers were seen in tight " V " formations over Clark Field and someone yelled " Here they come ! " Unfortunately , all the P - 40 Warhawk fighters of the 24th Pursuit Group had been recalled for refuelling and were on the ground at the time of the attack . The attack on Clark Field was devastating . All except one of the 19th Bombardment Group ' s B - 17s were destroyed or damaged on the ground . The sole survivor had not taken off on the morning alert , and had been taken up in the air while the rest were being prepared for the Formosa raid . Battle of the Philippines ( 1941 ) . At Clark Field , three or four of the damaged 19th Bomb Group ' s B - 17s were put back into service . They were joined by the Group ' s sixteen B - 17 that were at Del Monte Field , 500 miles south on Mindanao . By December 9 , reconnaissance missions were being undertaken by crews of the 30th Bomb Squadron in search of the Japanese fleet . On December 10 , a Japanese convoy was spotted , and five B - 17s were dispatched . This was the first American bombardment mission of World War II . No fighter opposition was encountered , and some hits were recorded on the transports . That same day , a B - 17C piloted by Captain Colin P . Kelly dropped bombs from high altitude on what the crew thought to be a Japanese battleship . Hits were recorded , and a tremendous explosion was observed . Kelly ' s plane was immediately pounced upon by Zeros , one of which was flown by Saburo Sakai , who was later to become a famous ace . Kelly guided his heavily - damaged plane back towards Clark Field . He ordered the crew to parachute to safety , but before Kelly himself could leave , the aircraft exploded and Kelly was killed . By December 14 , out of the original 35 B - 17s in the Philippines , only 14 remained , and it was decided to pull them back to Del Monte Field on Mindanao , out of range of the Japanese . Ground crews of the squadrons at Clark , no longer needed to support the few planes left were transferred to the V Interceptor Command , and fought as infantry during Battle of Bataan and after their surrender , were subjected to the Bataan Death March , although some did escape to Australia and some presumably fought on as unorganized guerrilla forces during the Japanese occupation . However , the bombers were unable to operate from Del Monte , the airfield being essentially a cut cane field with no support facilities . Also without pursuit planes for escorts , the B - 17s were attacked constantly by the Japanese fighters in the air over Luzon . The B - 17s also had to be kept constantly in the air . as Japanese reconnaissance patrols were constantly searching for any airfields that had B - 17s parked on the ground . This meant that the aircraft engines were constantly burning up time , and there were no maintenance facilities to service them in the field . Beginning on December 17 , it was decided that the surviving B - 17s based in the Philippines needed to be evacuated to Australia for operations . Operations from Australia . The combined Air Echelon of the 19th Bombardment Group ( 14th , 29th , 30th Squadrons ) with 14 B - 17 Flying Fortresses that survived the Battle of the Philippines arrived at Batchelor Airfield , southeast of Darwin , Northern Territory , Australia , between 17 and 20 December 1941 . They were the only aircraft of the Far East Air Force to escape . The Group was forced to leave its ground personnel at Del Monte Field . In Australia , the escaped airmen of the 30th Bombardment Squadron were joined by Americans who had arrived from the states in December and re - formed as an effective combat unit with some B - 17Es that had arrived at Brisbane . Some of the most war - weary planes from Del Monte were sent south to Laverton in Victoria for major overhauls . However almost immediately upon arrival , on 29 December 11 B - 17s of the squadron were sent to Singosari Airfield near Malang , Java , to continue combat operations . The 19th Bomb Group flew B - 17Es , B - 24Cs , and some Lend - lease LB - 30s ( B - 24As ) that were commandeered by the USAAC from a Royal Air Force order . The squadron operated from Singosari Field and participated in numerous attacks against Japanese targets in the Celebes , in Sumatra , and participated in raids against shipping during the Japanese invasion of Bali in the Netherlands East Indies . However , by late February , the position of Allied forces in Java had become untenable , and the squadron was evacuated on 2 March back to Australia when the Japanese defeated Allied ground forces in the Dutch East Indies . It must be remembered that in these early months of World War II , B - 17 operations from Australia were not the smooth , well - practiced operations that would be seen later over Europe with the Eighth Air Force . Fifth Air Force operations were more of an improvised affair , and the numbers of B - 17s that were lost in one - day missions in Europe than more than were operational any day in the entire Fifth Air Force . Maximum effort Group missions were lucky to involve six or ten aircraft at most . Crews lived in makeshift accommodations with swarms of insects , disease , poor food , and lack of spare parts . They battled furious tropical storms as much as the enemy and flew incredibly hazardous missions , often at night . Their planes were battle - worn and flew without fighter protection . Even when a few replacement aircraft dribbled in , the 21 , 000 mile journey from South Florida through the Caribbean then across the South Atlantic and through Africa and India to Australia meant the aircraft arrived in need of overhaul immediately upon their arrival . From Batchelor Airfield , flights were flown to the Philippines that staged though Del Monte Field for transport of supplies to the Philippines and evacuation of personnel . On 10 March , 1st Lt . Harl Pease piloted 41 - 2452 from Batchelor to Del Monte . The aircraft was loaded with emergency supplies for the ground forces . After the took off from Batchelor airfield , a failure of the hydraulic system rendered the supercharger and wheel brakes inoperative , which meant a low altitude flight of 1 , 500 miles and a landing without brakes . The aircraft had to be ground looped to stop it in time . However it was patched up and flown back to Australia with 16 passengers where it again had to ground loop as the brakes were inoperative . When General Douglas MacArthur was ordered to Australia , he arrived at Del Monte on 13 March . He found one non - flyable B - 17 at the field . On the 16th three B - 17Cs arrived from Batchelor that were loaded full of sulphur drugs , quinine and cigarettes for the military forces in the Philippines . They were advised that they were to fly MacArthur and his family and staff back to Australia . At midnight on 17 March , two of the B - 17s , with MacArthur sitting in the radio operators seat of one of the planes , both of them overloaded , took off from a flare - lit airfield . The flight took them over the captured enemy islands of the Celebes , Timor , and the northern part of New Guinea . Somehow they managed to avoid enemy Zero fighters . However , when they reached Darwin , it was under attack by Japanese bombers , so the planes had to be diverted to Batchelor Field . Another flight was flown up to Del Monte the next day loaded with more emergency supplies . They landed and took on board the remainder of MacArthur ' s staff along with a number of valuable records . Another mission planned would staged through Del Monte in late March to break the Japanese blockade encircling the Bataan Peninsula . An unknown number of B - 17s were flown up to Del Monte and along with the remaining P - 40 Warhawk s of the 24th Pursuit Group and a Philippines Air Corps Seversky P - 35 to escort the bombers to attack Japanese positions in Bataan . However , before the raid could be carried out , the Japanese broke the American line and the Americans had to retreat to Corrigidor Island . However , the bombers flew up to Del Monte Field on 10 April and a bombardment mission against Japanese forces was carried out , concentrating on Legazpi , Cebi , Ilelle and Davao . American losses were one B - 17 and one P - 40 . Japanese losses were one light cruiser , several transports and damage to their ground installations at Davao . After the raid the B - 17s returned to , Australia . It was the last flight of a B - 17 to the Philippines before the Japanese overwhelmed the last American forces on Mindanao . After its aircraft were repaired and reinforced with additional personnel at Melbourne , the 30th was sent to Northern Queensland where it operated from Cloncurry and Longreach Airport s . From Longreach , the squadron 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 . Moving to Mareeba Airfield , along the coast of the Coral Sea in Queensland , the squadron bombed enemy airdromes , ground installations , and shipping near Rabaul , New Britain in August 1942 . Capt . Harl Pease , who had been with the group since the start of the war , was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for a mission flown on 7 August 1942 . The squadron also began staging raids from Mareeba though Jackson Airfield ( 7 - Mile Field ) , New Guinea in July 1942 and Henderson Field , Guadalcanal in August . 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 . The men of the 30th Bombardment Squadron left Mareeba Field , on 10 November 1942 and returned to the United States after nearly a year of continuous combat in very hazardous conditions . B - 29 Superfortress operations against Japan . Upon its return from the Pacific , the 30th Bombardment Squadron was assigned to Pocatello Army Airfield , Idaho , where it became a B - 17 Operational Training Unit ( OTU ) under II Bomber Command . It ' s mission was to train newly formed units on the B - 17 . It was moved to the new Pyote Army Air Base , Texas , in January 1943 , where it was a Replacement Training Unit ( RTU ) , training replacement airmen on the B - 17 prior to them being assigned to combat units with the Eighth Air Force in England or Fifteenth Air Force in Italy . The tactics and techniques learned in combat in the Southwest Pacific against the Japanese by the men of the squadron were immensely valuable lessons to the new aircrews being sent to Europe or Italy . On 1 April 1944 , the squadron was relieved from training duties and re - assigned to the 314th Bombardment Wing , Second Air Force and began training as a B - 29 Superfortress Very Heavy bombardment squadron , although the squadron was completely remanned and none of the Pacific veterans were part of the squadron by that time . When training was completed the squadron was 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 . The 30th Bombardment Squadron ( Very Heavy ) initially 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 attacks , but the first ten day blitz resulted 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 . In the postwar years , the 19th Bombardment Group conducted sea - search , photographic mapping , and training missions from its base at North Field , Guam , in the western Pacific . It was the only Bombardment Group not in the Strategic Air Command chain of command and , in 1950 , the only Bombardment Group permanently stationed outside the continental limits of the United States . Korean War . When the Korean War broke out in June 1950 , the 30th was one of three B - 29 squadrons of the 19th that deployed from Guam to Kadena AB , Okiniwa , to conduct combat operations . On 28 June the squadron attacked North Korean storage tanks , marshalling yards , and armor in the vicinity of Seoul , South Korea . This was the first of just under 650 combat missions during the course of the war . Operating under Far East Air Force Bomber Command ( Provisional ) , the 30th was reinforced with refurbished B - 29s that were placed in storage after World War II , then brought back into operational service . Operations over North Korea included attacking 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 . The 30th 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 . Strategic Air Command . Re - equipped with B - 47 Stratojet s in 1954 as part of Strategic Air Command . Flew strategic bombardment training missions until 1962 when B - 47s were being phased out of the inventory . In 1960 was reassigned to SAC provisional 4133d Strategic Wing , being re - equipped with B - 52H Stratofortress intercontinental heavy bombers . Was reassigned to Grand Forks AFB , North Dakota by SAC to disperse its heavy bomber force . Conducted worldwide strategic bombardment training missions and providing nuclear deterrent . Was inactivated in 1963 when SAC inactivated its provisional Strategic Wings , redesignating them permanent Air Force Wings . Squadron was inactivated with aircraft / personnel / equipment being redesignated 46th Bombardment Squadron in an in - place , name - only transfer . Consolidation . On 19 September 1985 the Air Force consolidated the 30th Bombardment Squadron with the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron , the USAF Thunderbirds , which was activated on 25 May 1953 . The consolidated unit was bestowed the lineage , history and honors of the 30th Bombardment Squadron .