717th Bombardment Squadron

rdf:langString 717th Bombardment Squadron

rdf:langString 717th Bombardment Squadron

rdf:langString AF OUA

rdf:langString AF PUC

rdf:langString Distinguished Unit Citation

rdf:langString Bucharest, Rumania 717th Bombardment Squadron

rdf:langString Ploesti, Rumania 717th Bombardment Squadron

rdf:langString B-52D Stratofortress as flown by the squadron

rdf:langString The 717th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 4245th Strategic Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, where it was inactivated on 1 February 1963. The squadron was first activated in May 1943 during World War II. After training in the United States, the squadron deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. The squadron was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations for its actions during the war. Following V-E Day, the 717th returned to the United States and trained with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses, becoming one of the first bomber units in Strategic Air Command (SAC). During the Cold War period, the squadron deployed to Alaska from 1946 through 1947, then returned to Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, where it served as a heavy bomber and strategic reconnaissance unit until it moved to Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas as part of SAC's program to disperse its Boeing B-52 Stratofortress force to make it less vulnerable to Soviet attack.