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The 70th Squadron is an associate unit operating under the "Total Force Integration" program, providing flight and parachute instruction with reserve airmen. It provides experienced reserve instructors corps training for United States Air Force Academy cadets in the fundamentals of airmanship, instruction, and leadership.[3]
Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, on 19 January 1942, the ground echelon of the squadron departed for Australia. The air echelon remained at Jackson and continued training until June 1942, when it departed for the Southwest Pacific Theater, However, when the squadron reached the Hawaiian Islands, it was detained there and participated in the defense of Midway Island. Although it was not formally reassigned from the 38th Group until 1943, it was no longer under the control of the 38th from this time.[2][4]
Combat in the Pacific
Deployed to South Pacific Area; being assigned to Thirteenth Air Force and attacking enemy targets in the Solomon Islands; New Hebrides and other enemy locations north and east of Papua New Guinea. Became part of Mac Arthur's New Guinea campaign, supported Army ground forces with tactical bombing of enemy formations and targets along the northern coast of New Guinea and in the Dutch East Indies.
Attacked enemy forces in the Philippines during early 1945 as part of the liberation from Japanese control; continued combat missions until the Japanese capitulation in August 1945. Became part of the Fifth Air Force forces in Occupied Japan in 1946 before being demobilized and inactivated in May 1946.
The 70th was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its pre-invasion bombing of Balikpapan between 23 and 30 June 1945. Balikpapan was a center for oil refining on Borneo held by the Japanese. These attacks included bombing and strafing enemy shore installations. The round trip to the target was over 1700 miles and was among the longest flown by medium bombers during the war. Pre mission experiments determined that the squadron's bombers could carry a bomb load over this distance with fuel tanks installed in their radio compartments despite having to take off from a runway damaged by enemy action. Four of the missions encountered severe tropical weather fronts. Despite intense and accurate flak, the squadron destroyed gun positions, warehouses, roadblocks, fuel and ammunition dumps, a radar station as well as huge stores of gasoline and oil which the enemy had placed in position to be released into shallow pits oil the beach and ignited when the Australian ground troops made their assaults. The group attacked the beach while naval underwater demolition teams operated offshore without losing a man. The attacks were so effective that the Australian Seventh Division was able to come ashore without enemy opposition.[5]
Cold War
Reactivated as a Strategic Air CommandConvair B-36 Peacemaker bombardment squadron in 1953. Engaged in worldwide training missions with the B-36 until 1956 when re-equipped with the jet Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. Deployed to Western Pacific during the Vietnam War and flew conventional Operation Arc Light bombardment missions over enemy military and industrial targets in North Vietnam. Inactivated in 1966 due to budget reductions.
^Air Force regulations required that the World War II emblem be placed on a disc. The date this change was made is undetermined.
^Approved 15 June 1942. Description: In front of, over and beyond black clouds, ablue and white hawk with red tongue and yellow beak, eye and feet, carrying a red aerial bomb in each foot.
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