The squadron, which had equipped with early models of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, deployed to the Philippines in the fall of 1941 to reinforce the American garrison there.

In April 1944, the squadron began training with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses and deployed again to the Pacific, where it participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan until the end of the war.

[3][4] On 11 August 1917, the squadron received orders for overseas duty, and it traveled by train to Fort Totten, New York in preparation for service in France.

As the destroyer dropped depth charges, the Baltic made a sudden turn to port that caused both men and anything loose aboard the ship to move.

At Southampton, fifty men of the squadron were detached to the Royal Flying Corps for three months training as aircraft mechanics.

[3] The 30th remained at Issodun until the end of December 1918 when orders were received to proceed to the 1st Air Depot at Colombey-les-Belles Airdrome, France.

From Colombey, the squadron was moved to a staging camp under the Services of Supply at Bordeaux, France, in January waiting for a date to report to a base port for transportation home.

In June 1926, it was organized as a Regular Army Inactive (RAI) unit,[note 1] at Langley Field, Virginia, with its personnel serving as associates of the 20th Bombardment Squadron there.

This mission also provided the squadron with experience in long range overwater flights that would prove valuable in a few short months.

[11] The 30th Bombardment Squadron had its B-17D aircraft on the line at Clark Field on 8 December 1941 when word was received at headquarters from Hawaii about 0400 of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

A B-17C flown by one of the squadron's pilots, Captain Colin P. Kelly dropped bombs from high altitude on what the crew thought to be a Japanese battleship.

Kelly's plane was immediately attacked by Mitsubishi A6M Zeroes, one of which was flown by Saburo Sakai, who was later to become a famous ace.

Only two more would be flown from Del Monte before the squadron withdrew to Batchelor Airfield, about 45 miles south of Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory.

[1] The ground crews of the squadron at Clark were no longer needed to support the few planes left and were transferred to 5th Interceptor Command, and fought as infantry during Battle of Bataan.

After their surrender, they were subjected to the Bataan Death March, although some did escape to Australia and some presumably fought on as unorganized guerrilla forces during the Japanese occupation.

In January 1942, the heavy bomber force began to grow, as it was reinforced by the four squadrons of the 7th Bombardment Group for attacks from Singosari Airfield near Malang, Java, in the Netherlands East Indies.

From Longreach, the squadron participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, and raided enemy transportation and communications targets as well as troop concentrations during the Japanese invasion of Papua New Guinea.

Moving to Mareeba Airfield, along the coast of the Coral Sea in Queensland, the squadron bombed enemy airdromes, ground installations, and shipping near Rabaul, New Britain in August 1942.

[20] By late 1942, the Army Air Forces decided that no more B-17s would be sent to the Pacific, and that units would be withdrawn or re-equipped with the longer-ranged B-24 Liberator.

[21] The men of the 30th Bombardment Squadron left Mareeba Airfield on 10 November 1942, and returned to the United States after nearly a year of continuous combat.

[1] The squadron arrived at its new base at Pocatello Army Air Field, Idaho, where it became a B-17 Replacement Training Unit (RTU).

[22] The squadron continued its training mission when it moved to Pyote Army Air Base, Texas in January 1943.

[1] The squadron was activated with new personnel at Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas the same day it was inactivated at Pyote.

The squadron initially conducted high altitude daylight raids against strategic targets in Japan such as aircraft factories, chemical plants, and oil refineries.

Low altitude night area attacks with incendiaries promised better results, and the squadron began the switch with the launch of a raid against Tokyo on 9 March 1945.

[20] The squadron earned another DUC for a low altitude daylight attack against Kobe on 5 June, which was heavily opposed by Japanese fighters.

On 27 June, the squadron along with combat and maintenance elements of the 19th Bombardment Wing to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa as the first B-29 units to participate in the Korean War.

[1] In June 1953, 19th Wing headquarters moved on paper from Anderson Air Force Base to Kadena, replacing the 19th Group.

As tensions heightened during the Cuban Missile Crisis, on 24 October 1962, SAC went to DEFCON 2, placing all its combat aircraft on alert.

[37] On 21 November SAC returned to normal airborne alert posture and reduced its readiness status to DEFCON 3.