742d History Brief Script

SLIDE 1:
In the beginning...

June 1st 1943
We begin at Alamogordo Army Air Field, NM

(take time...) 
The 742d squadron flew the B-24 Liberator, which was introduced in 1941, and retired in 1968. It had an 8,000lb bomb load, and a 70,547lb max takeoff weight.

They first saw service in WWII on 12 June 1942. 13 B-24s attacked Axis-controlled oil fields and refineries around Ploiesti, Romania.

B-24 squadrons deployed to all theaters of the war, including Africa, Europe, India, the Atlantic, and the Pacific.

As part of the 455th Bomb Group, the 742d trained at Orlando Fl; Pinecastle Army Base, Fl; Kearns Army Base, UT; and Langley Field, VA.

SLIDE 2:

WWII

January 15th 1944
San Giovanni, Italy
Photos are 742d Squadron Area, and their airfield

April 2nd 1944
The 742d attacked a ball bearing plant in Steyr, Austria.
They were attacked by 75 to 80 enemy fighters.
Because of the success of this attack, the 742d was awarded its first Distinguished Unit Citation.

June 24th 1944
The 742d earned its second Distinguished Unit Citation with the attack on the Moosbierbaum oil refinery near Vienna, Austria.
Approx 125 enemy fighters swarmed the formation, destroying six B-24s -- the heaviest single loss on any mission.
Despite heavy anti-anircraft fire, the 742d scored numerous hits on the target area. 

May 8th 1945 
The Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Gemany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. 
On April 30th, Hitler committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin, and so the surrender of Germany was authorized by his replacement,  President of Germany Karl Donitz.
The act of military surrender was signed on May 7th in Reims, France, and May 8th in Berlin, Germany.

July 16th 1945
The Trinity Test was conducted in Jornada Del Muerta, NM 

The Project code name was Manhattan. Conducted in a remote area south of Albequerque, NM, this was the first US test explosion of an atomic bomb. 
The blast was measured at 18.6Kt.
It was the culmination of 28 months of intense scientific research led by physicist Dr. J Robert Oppenheimer.

August 6th 1945 
The US became the first and only nation to use nuclear weapons in warfare.
A B-29 Superfortress, the Enola Gay, dropped "Little Boy" over the city of Hiroshima.
Approx 80,000 people were killed, with another 35,000 injured.
The blast destroyed nearly 5 square miles, or 60% of the city.
Of the 90,000 buildings in the city before the blast, only 28,000 remained after.

The second atom bomb was dropped on Japan by the US on Nagasaki, resulting finally in Japan's unconditional surrender.
The devastion wrought at Hiroshima was not sufficient to convince the Japanese War Council to surrender, forcing this second atomic bombing. 
The number of people killed is estimated at between 60,000 and 80,000. Its approx yeild was 22Kt.

SLIDE 3:

Post WW II era

Following the end of the war in Europe, on September 9th 1945, the 742d was inactivated.
The men of the 742d finally got to return home.

March 21st 1946 
The United States Army Air Forces was divided into 3 separate commands: Strategic Air Command, Air Defense Command, and Tactical Air Command. 

September 9th 1947
As a newly activated reserve unit based in Hensley Field, TX, the squadron was redesignated 742d Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy), now flying B-29s.
Shortly afterwards, was again inactivated June 27th 1949.

March 25th 1950
The joint chiefs of staff, in a basic decision on guided missile roles and missions, gave the US Air Force formal and exclusive responsibility for strategic guided missiles.

November 1st 1952 
Operation Ivy
The US detonated the world's first thermonuclear weapon, the hydrogen bomb, on Eniwetok atoll in the pacific.
It became the 4th largest device ever tested by the US.
The island itself was vaporized by the weapon's blast.
The underwater crater left by the explosion was over a mile wide and 164ft deep.
The explosion yielded 10.4 megatons of energy -- or 450 times more than the Nagasaki blast.

July 25th 1956 - July 1st 1957
Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, SC
The Air Force activated the squadron as the 742d Fighter-Day Squadron.
Their mission was to fly the aircraft F-100, but the squadrons never received any planes and was inactivated a year later on July 1st 1957.

SLIDE 4: 

June 11th 1957
The First Atlas Series test missile was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.  
On April 1st, 1958, the 567th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated. It was the first operational Atlas ICBM squadron, as well as the first operational ICBM squadron.

February 6th 1958
The Tital 1 ICBM took its maiden flight.
It was Retired from service in early 1965 to make room for the solid-fueled missiles.

February 27th 1958
Congress gave the Air Force approval to develop the Minuteman I.  It was oriented towards Mass Production, Simplicity, Efficiency, High Survivability, and consistant and reliable desctruction capability. 
In October 1961, the first operational minuteman flight was brought online at Malmstrom AFB.

(pause)

January 1st 1962
Construction of the MM I ICBM silos assigned to Minot AFB, dispersed across 8,000 sq. miles of North Dakota begins.

June 18th 1962  
The squadron moved to Minot, ND to control the new Minuteman I missiles. It was redesignated as the 742d Strategic Missile Squadron, under newly renamed 455th Strategic Missile Wing, Stragic Air Command. 

...and here's closer look at Minot's ICBM field and it's 3 current squadrons.

April 1st 1964
The squadron was declared fully combat ready in April 1964 with 50 minuteman I missiles.

June 16th 1968 
Cape Canaveral, FL
Crews completed the first test launch of a MMIII missile.
The launch was a success from silo 32.

August 25th 1968
The 455th Strategic Missile Wing was inactivated, and the 742d Strategic Missile Squadron was reassigned to the 91st Strategic Missile Wing. 
The change was in line with Air Force policy in keeping active those units with the most illustrious histories.

April 17th 1970 
The first minuteman III missile was put in place. The first MMIII was emplaced in LF-H02.
As the MMIII missiles were deployed, the last of the MMI missiles were removed from service. 

SLIDE 5: 

August 19th 1970
The first MMIII ICBMs went on alert at Minot AFB. 

September 1st 1991
Following the end of the Cold War, drastic changes were happening in the Air Force...

The 91st Strategic Missile Wing became the 91st Missile Wing, 
and the 742d switched from Strategic Missile Squadron to just Missile Squadron

June 1st 1992
Because Strategic Air Command stood down, ICBMs were assigned to the newly established Air Combat Command. 

(pause)
July 1st 1993
The Space Command took over responsibility of the ICBM community. 

Recipient of numerous awards and decorations, here's a quick run-down of 742d's accomplishments....

The 742d became the only squadron to ever win the Blanchard trophy in Guardian Challenge. All other trophies were awarded at the wing level.