869th Bombardment Squadron
The 869th Bombardment Squadron is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was assigned to the 497th Bombardment Group, and was last stationed at MacDill Field, Florida where it was inactivated on 31 March 1946. The squadron was activated in late 1943. After training in the United States, it moved to Saipan in the Central Pacific Area, where it served in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan with Twentieth Air Force, flying Boeing B-29 Superfortress aircraft, where it earned two Distinguished Unit Citations. Following V-J Day, the squadron returned to the United States and briefly became part of Strategic Air Command before inactivating. History The squadron was established in late 1943 as the 869th Bombardment Squadron at El Paso Army Air Base, Texas, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment squadron that was one of the original operational squadrons of the 497th Bombardment Group. The squadron's initial cadre was drawn from the 491st Bombardment Group. In December the squadron moved on paper to Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico. At Clovis, the squadron began to man its air echelon by January 1944. The 869th drew heavily on aircrews of the 480th Antisubmarine Group who were returning to the