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498th Bombardment Squadron
345th Bombardment Wing B-57B Canberras
Active	1942–1945; 1954–1959
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	medium bomber
Nickname(s)	Falcons (World War II)
Engagements	Southwest Pacific Theater
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
Insignia
498th Bombardment Squadron emblem
498th Bombardment Squadron emblem (approved 27 March 1943)

The 498th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 345th Bombardment Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, where it was inactivated on 25 June 1959.

The squadron was first activated in 1942. After training in the United States as a medium bomber unit, it deployed to the Southwest Pacific Theater, where it engaged in combat, advancing from Australia, through New Guinea and the Philippines, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its combat actions. Following V-J Day, the squadron remained on Okinawa until December 1945, when it returned to the United States for inactivation. The squadron was activated again in 1954 as a tactical bomber unit.

History

World War II

The squadron was first organized at Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina in September 1942 as one of the four original squadrons of the 345th Bombardment Group. However, it was not sufficiently staffed to begin flight training until December. The squadron trained with North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers until April 1943, when it departed for the Southwest Pacific Theater. The squadron had originally been slated for deployment to the European Theater of Operations, but was diverted to the Pacific at the request of General George C. Kenney following the successful use of medium bombers in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.

Staging through Australia, the unit reached its combat station near Port Moresby, New Guinea in early June 1943. In theater, its B-25s were modified, including the installation of additional fixed machine guns to equip it for strafing missions. It flew its first combat mission on 30 June. The squadron operated from New Guinea until July 1944, with missions that included bombing and strafing Japanese installations in New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago. The squadron attacked enemy shipping in sealanes within range of its Mitchells. It flew air support missions for ground units in the Admiralty Islands, including airdropping supplies to units. It also flew courier and aerial reconnaissance missions.

On 2 November 1943, the squadron flew a series of unescorted attacks on flak positions, coastal defenses and barracks at Rabaul, a major Japanese naval base in New Britain. These attacks earned the squadron a Distinguished Unit Citation. In July 1944, the 498th moved to Biak Island in the Netherlands East Indies. From its new base, it attacked airfields and shipping in the Philippines and Celebes. It continued moving forward with Douglas MacArthur's forces, occupying a base in the Philippines in November 1944, which enabled it to strike military targets throughout the island nation and strike industrial targets as far north as Formosa.

In July 1945, the squadron moved to Ie Shima Airfield in the Ryuku Islands, from which it was able to attack shipping in the Sea of Japan and carry out a few raids on Kyushu. Following V-J Day, the squadron remained at Ie Shima until December, when it returned to the United States and was inactivated at the port of embarkation on 19 December 1945.

Tactical Air Command

The squadron was reactivated at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia in July 1954 when its parent 345th Bombardment Group replaced the 4400th Bombardment Group there. The squadron was initially equipped with some of the 4400th's Douglas B-26 Invaders, pending the delivery of its Martin B-57B Canberra jet bombers. The squadron trained to maintain combat proficiency in locating, attacking, and destroying targets from all altitudes and under all conditions of weather and light.

In July 1958, the Government of Lebanon asked for United States assistance in preventing a feared coup. In response, the United States implemented Operation Blue Bat. Although planned for inactivation the following year in connection with the phaseout of the Canberra from Tactical Air Command, the squadron was deployed to Adana Air Base, Turkey on 15 July 1958 and twelve of its planes were in place the following day. Operations, including day and night reconnaissance missions, began on the 18th. Squadron planes participated in mass show of force flights over Lebanon between 23 and 29 July, with one squadron plane being damaged by small arms fire. An interim government acceptable to all parties was installed in Lebanon and the squadron returned to its home base in October. It was inactivated at Langley on 25 June 1959.

Lineage

• Constituted as the 498th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 3 September 1942

Activated on 8 September 1942

Redesignated 498th Bombardment Squadron, Medium in 1944

Inactivated on 19 December 1945

Redesignated 498th Bombardment Squadron, Tactical on 22 March 1954

Activated on 19 July 1954

Inactivated on 25 June 1959

Assignments

• 345th Bombardment Group, 8 September 1942 – 19 December 1945
• 345th Bombardment Group, 19 July 1954
• 345th Bombardment Wing, 8 October 1957 – 25 June 1959 (attached to Composite Air Strike Force Bravo 16 July–21 October 1958)

Stations

Aircraft

• North American B-25 Mitchell, 1942–1945
• Douglas B-26 Invader, 1954–1955
• Martin B-57B Canberra, 1955–1959

Awards and campaigns

Award streamer	Award	Dates	Notes
	Distinguished Unit Citation	2 November 1943	Rabaul
	Philippine Presidential Unit Citation	12 November 1944-c. 20 July 1945

Campaign Streamer	Campaign	Dates	Notes
	Air Offensive, Japan	5 June 1943 – 2 September 1945
	China Defensive	5 June 1943 – 4 May 1945
	New Guinea	5 June 1943 – 31 December 1944
	Bismarck Archipelago	15 December 1943 – 27 November 1944
	Leyte	17 October 1944 – 1 July 1945
	Luzon	15 December 1944 – 4 July 1945
	Western Pacific	17 April 1945 – 2 September 1945
	China Offensive	5 May 1945 – 2 September 1945
	Lebanon Crisis	16 July 1958 – 21 October 1958

References

Notes

Explanatory notes

1. Approved 10 October 1955.

Citations

1. ^ Watkins, pp. 94–95
2. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 600
3. ^ Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 223-224
4. ^ Blount, R.E. "Brief History". 345th Bomb Group Association. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
5. ^ Ravenstein, p. 182
6. Byrd, p. 13
7. Byrd, p. 15
8. Byrd, pp. 17–18
9. Byrd, p. 20

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Byrd, David A. (2000). "Lebanon Crisis: Operation Blue Bat". In Warnock, A. Timothy (ed.). Short of War: Major USAF Contingency Operations 1947–1997 (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Air University Press. ISBN 978-0-16050411-2. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) . Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) . Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Watkins, Robert A. (2013). Insignia and Aircraft Markings of the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II. Vol. V, Pacific Theater of Operations. Atglen,PA: Shiffer Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-4346-9.

v t e Tactical Air Command (TAC)
Air Forces	First Ninth Twelfth Eighteenth Nineteenth
Air Divisions	20th (ADTAC) 21st (ADTAC) 23d (ADTAC) 24th (ADTAC) 25th (ADTAC) 26th (ADTAC) 28th (ADTAC) 831st 832d 833d 834th 835th 836th 837th 838th 839th 840th
Named units	Air Forces Panama Air Forces Iceland Air Defense, Tactical Air Command
Wings	TFW 1st 4th 12th 15th 20th 23d 27th 32d 33d 37th 50th 56th 312th 323d 347th 354th 355th Other 1st SOW 57th FWW 63d TAW 64th TAW 67th TRW 75th TRW 85th TFTW 317th TAW 363d TRW 405th TFTW 461st TBW 4505th ARW
Former bases	Active (MAJCOM) Altus (AETC) Brooks (AFMC) Cannon (AFSOC) Charleston (AMC) Creech (ACC) Davis–Monthan (ACC) Dover (AMC) Dyess (ACC) Eglin (AFMC) Hill (AMFC) Holloman (ACC) Hurlburt Field (AFSOC) Langley (ACC) Little Rock (AETC) Luke (AETC) MacDill (AMC) McChord (AMC) McConnell (AMC) Moody (ACC) Mountain Home (ACC) Nellis (ACC) Pope (AMC) Seymour Johnson (ACC) Shaw (ACC) Tonopah (ACC) Tyndall (AETC) Whiteman (ACC) Inactive Bergstrom Blythville Donaldson England Forbes George Howard Grenier Myrtle Beach Orlando Sewart Turner Williams Inactive, but with a military presence Bunker Hill Biggs Dow Godman Homestead Lockbourne March Otis
Aircraft	A-1 A-7 A-10 A-37 AC-47 AC-119 AC-130 B-26 B-57 B-66 C-7 C-47 C-82 C-119 C-123 C-130 E-3 E-8 EF-111 EC-135 F-4 F-5 F-15 F-16 F-47 F-51 F-80 F-82 F-84 F-86 F-89 F-100 F-101 F-102 F-104 F-105 F-106 F-111 F-117 H-1 H-5 H-6 H-19 H-43 H-60 H-53 KB-29 KB-50 KC-97 O-1 O-2 OH-23 OV-10 P-40 P-38 R-4 S-62 T-6 T-28 T-29 T-33 T-38

v t e USAAF Fifth Air Force in World War II
Previously: Philippine Department Air Force (1941); Far East Air Force (1941-1942)
Airfields	Pacific USAAF in Australia USAAF in the Southwest Pacific USAAF in Okinawa
Units	Commands V Bomber V Fighter 5th Interceptor (Provisional) Wings 54th Troop Carrier 85th Fighter 86th Fighter 91st Reconnaissance 308th Bombardment 309th Bombardment 310th Bombardment Groups Air Commando 3d Air Commando Bombardment 3d Bombardment 7th Bombardment 19th Bombardment 22d Bombardment 27th Bombardment 38th Bombardment 43d Bombardment 90th Bombardment 312th Bombardment 345th Bombardment 380th Bombardment 417th Bombardment Combat Cargo 2d Combat Cargo Fighter 8th Fighter 24th Pursuit 35th Fighter 49th Fighter 58th Fighter 348th Fighter 475th Fighter Reconnaissance 6th Reconnaissance 71st Reconnaissance Troop Carrier 317th Troop Carrier 374th Troop Carrier 375th Troop Carrier 433d Troop Carrier Squadrons Bombardment 31st Bombardment Night Fighter 418th Night Fighter 421st Night Fighter 547th Intelligence Reconnaissance 2d Observation 8th Photographic Reconnaissance 36th Photographic Reconnaissance Troop Carrier 21st Troop Carrier 22d Troop Carrier 65th Troop Carrier 66th Troop Carrier
United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth

v t e United States Army Air Forces Third Air Force in World War II
Units	Commands II Air Support Command III Air Support Command III Bomber Command III Fighter Command III Reconnaissance Command III Tactical Air Command Divisions III Tactical Air Division Wings 8th Fighter Wing 9th Fighter Wing 40th Bombardment Wing Groups Air Commando 2nd Air Commando 3rd Air Commando Bombardment 3rd Bombardment 12th Bombardment 17th Bombardment 21st Bombardment 29th Bombardment 30th Bombardment Group 38th Bombardment 44th Bombardment 46th Bombardment 47th Bombardment 85th Bombardment 88th Bombardment 90th Bombardment 91st Bombardment 92nd Bombardment 93rd Bombardment 94th Bombardment 95th Bombardment 97th Bombardment 98th Bombardment 99th Bombardment 100th Bombardment 309th Bombardment 310th Bombardment 312th Bombardment 319th Bombardment 320th Bombardment 321st Bombardment 322d Bombardment 323d Bombardment 335th Bombardment 336th Bombardment 340th Bombardment 344th Bombardment 345th Bombardment 386th Bombardment 387th Bombardment 391st Bombardment 394th Bombardment 396th Bombardment 397th Bombardment 409th Bombardment 410th Bombardment 411th Bombardment 416th Bombardment 417th Bombardment 418th Bombardment 451st Bombardment 454th Bombardment 463rd Bombardment 483rd Bombardment 488th Bombardment Fighter 20th Fighter 31st Fighter 49th Fighter 50th Fighter 53rd Fighter 54th Fighter 56th Fighter 59th Fighter 79th Fighter 80th Fighter 81st Fighter 84th Fighter 85th Fighter 311th Fighter 332nd Fighter 337th Fighter 338th Fighter 339th Fighter 361st Fighter 369th Fighter 372nd Fighter 404th Fighter 405th Fighter 408th Fighter 414th Fighter 506th Fighter Fighter-Bomber 27th Fighter-Bomber 48th Fighter-Bomber 86th Fighter-Bomber 406th Fighter-Bomber 407th Fighter-Bomber Reconnaissance 2d Reconnaissance 9th Reconnaissance 10th Reconnaissance 26th Reconnaissance 65th Reconnaissance 67th Reconnaissance 68th Reconnaissance 69th Reconnaissance 70th Reconnaissance 75th Reconnaissance 77th Reconnaissance 423d Reconnaissance 424th Reconnaissance 426th Reconnaissance
United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth

• Bombardment squadrons of the United States Air Force
• Military units and formations established in 1942
• Bombardment squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces