781st Bombardment Squadron
The 781st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 465th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It was inactivated on 25 July 1968.
| 781st Bombardment Squadron | |
|---|---|
B-52D Stratofortress on display at Robins AFB | |
| Active | 1943–1945; 1953–1958; 1963–1968 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Part of | Strategic Air Command |
| Motto(s) | Unitas-Virtus-Effecta (Latin for 'Unity, Strength and Effectveness') |
| Engagements | Mediterranean Theater of Operations |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| 781st Bombardment Squadron emblem (Strategic Air Command) | |
| 781st Troop Carrier Squadron emblem | |
| 781st Bombardment Squadron emblem (World War II) | |
The squadron was first activated in 1943 as the 781st Bombardment Squadron. It served in combat in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator unit, earning two Distinguished Unit Citations for its actions. After V-E Day, the squadron served in Air Transport Command, ferrying men from the combat theater back to the United States.
The squadron was activated again as the 781st Troop Carrier Squadron in 1953, when it replaced a reserve squadron that had been mobilized for the Korean War. It moved to France, where it provided theater airlift until inactivating in 1958. The squadron returned to its earlier designation in 1963, when it replaced another B-52 unit at Robins. It was inactivated when it transferred it mission and personnel to another squadron in 1968.