Description

353d Bombardment Squadron 1948-1964, 4 inch Patch

Pilots, Crew, Collectors!  Enjoy this beautifully embroidered 353d Bombardment Squadron Patch.  You’ll be able to wear this patch proudly!

• 4 inches
• Embroidered /Hook and Loop
• US Naval Aviator Owned Business
• Reproduction

The 353d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It last was assigned to the 301st Bombardment Wing, stationed at Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio. It was inactivated on 8 June 1964.

During World War II, the 353d Bombardment Squadron was a B-17 Flying Fortress squadron, assigned to the 301st Bombardment Group, Fifteenth Air Force. It earned two Distinguished Unit Citations.

Strategic Air Command
It was reactivated in 1946 as a Strategic Air Command B-29 strategic bombardment squadron. It was deployed to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany, July–August 1948; to RAF Scampton, England, October 1948 – January 1949; and to RAF Stations Lakenheath and Sculthorpe, May–November 1950 for “show of force” missions in Europe as a result of the Berlin Blockade by the Soviet Union and rising Cold War tensions in Europe. The squadron was deployed to Far East Air Forces in February 1951, flying combat missions over NK, and attacking strategic industrial and military targets during the Korean War.

The squadron returned to the United States in June 1952, equipped with YRB-47B Stratojet long-range reconnaissance aircraft. It was used for strategic reconnaissance missions until 1953, when production RB-47E aircraft were received. It flew reconnaissance missions on a worldwide basis. Operations of the unit were still classified. It was suspected[by whom?] that the squadron was deployed frequently to Thule Air Base, Greenland and flew missions deep into the heart of the Soviet Union, taking a photographic and radar recording of the routes attacking SAC B-52 bombers would follow to reach their targets.

The squadron was inactivated in 1964 with phaseout of the B-47 from the inventory.