45th Bombardment Squadron The 45th 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 . History . World War II . Antisubmarine Warfare . The 45th Bombardment Squadron ( Medium ) was formed at Borinquen Field , Puerto Rico , on April 1 , 1941 , and assigned to the newly formed 40th Bombardment Group ( Medium ) . Its initial mission was the aerial defense of Puerto Rico and the Antilles chain of islands . Equipped with Douglas B - 18 Bolo s . After the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor , the unit was placed on full alert and all aircraft were kept armed and " bombed - up " at all times . On many occasions , the units ' B - 18 ' s got off following a " scramble " on only 15 minutes notice . As the strength of Air Corps units in the Antilles grew and was augmented by Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command and Navy air assets , it became possible to re - deploy the 45th to Panama to aid the hard - pressed Pacific and Caribbean approaches patrol forces there . Accordingly , on 7 June 1942 ( following its redesignation as the 45th Bombardment Squadron ( Heavy ) on 7 May 1942 ) the Squadron departed for Panama by ship , arriving at France Field on 17 June where it was assigned LB - 30 aircraft and later B - 24 s . Anti - submarine patrols were made over the Pacific . On 18 February 1943 the 45th Bomb Squadron was transferred to Seymour Field , Galapagos Islands . In May it moved back to Panama , being assigned to Howard Field , Panama Canal Zone . With the general wind - down in action in the Caribbean , the Squadron was moved back to the United States in May 1943 . B - 29 Superfortress . 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 .