556th Strategic Missile Squadron
The 556th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 820th Strategic Aerospace Division at Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York, where it was inactivated in 1965 with the withdrawal of the Atlas missile from operations. The squadron was first activated during World War II as the 556th Bombardment Squadron, a Martin B-26 Marauder unit. After training in the southeastern United States, it deployed to the European Theater of Operations, where it conducted operations until April 1945, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation during the Battle of the Bulge. Following V-E Day the squadron remained in Europe until the fall of 1945, returning to the United States for inactivation in November. The squadron became a missile unit in 1957, when it conducted tests with the SM-62 Snark in Florida. Later moving to Maine as an operational unit, it was inactivated in 1959 when Strategic Air Command reorganized its Snark missile wing. The squadron was activated again and equipped with the SM-65F Atlas Intercontinental ballistic missile, with a mission of nuclear deterrence. It was the only ICBM squadron east of the Mississippi River. The squadron was inactivated as part of the phaseout of