The squadron was first activated as the 346th Bombardment Squadron in 1942. After training in the United States, it moved to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it earned two Distinguished Unit Citations in operations against the Axis Powers. After V-E Day, the squadron remained in Italy until November 1945, when it was inactivated. The squadron was activated in the reserves from 1947 to 1949, but does not appear to have been fully manned or equipped.
In 1953, the squadron was activated as the 346th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron as part of Strategic Air Command. It returned to the bombardment mission two years later, and served in this role until inactivating in 1974. Although the squadron remained in the United States except for one deployment in the 1950s, during the Vietnam War it deployed its aircrews and Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses to Southeast Asia. For extended periods, all squadron personnel and equipment were deployed.
The squadron was activated in 1993 as the 346th Test and Evaluation Squadron and performed operational testing and evaluation until inactivating in 1995. It was activated in its current role in 2000.
Mission
The squadron mission is to conduct independent operational tests and evaluations, emissions security tests, and other specialized tests of cyberspace capabilities. It operates Air Force Space Command’s cyber test & training range. The 346th's 120 personnel include 50 active duty airmen, 30 Department of Defense civilian employees and 40 contractors.[1]
The 346th conducts operational tests for components of weapons systems, equipment, or software to determine its operational effectiveness and suitability. It identifies unexpected critical system performance issues that might affect system combat effectiveness before system fielding.[1]
The squadron's ground echelon went by ship from New York City to Marrakech, Morocco; the air echelon flew to Morrison Field, Florida, then along the South Atlantic Route.[citation needed] The ground and air echelons of the squadron were reunited at Navarin Airfield, Algeria in March 1943. It moved forward to Oudna Airfield, Tunisia after the Allies drove Axis forces from North Africa in May 1943. The squadron concentrated on targets such as airfields, harbor facilities, shipping, viaducts and bridges in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.[4] In early June 1943, the squadron participated in Operation Corkscrew, the reduction of Pantelleria Island in preparation for the invasion of Sicily.[5]
In November 1943, the 346th became part of Fifteenth Air Force, which focused on the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. The following month it moved to Tortorella Airfield, Italy. From this base, it engaged in the bombardment of enemy targets in Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Yugoslavia; attacking oil refineries, marshaling yards, aircraft factories, and other strategic objectives. On 23 April 1944, the squadron participated in an attack on aircraft factories in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, despite heavy enemy interceptor opposition. For this action, it was awarded a second DUC.[4]
Following V-E Day, the squadron became part of the occupation forces in Italy, until inactivating in November 1945.[2][4]
Air Force reserve
The squadron was again activated under Air Defense Command (ADC) in the reserve at Birmingham Municipal Airport, Alabama, on 19 May 1947 and again assigned to the 99th Group.[2] Its training was supervised by ADC's 477th AAF Base Unit (later the 2587th Air Force Reserve Training Center).[6] Although it was nominally a very heavy bomber unit, it is not clear whether or not the squadron was fully staffed or equipped with combat aircraft.[7] In 1948 Continental Air Command (ConAC) assumed responsibility for managing reserve and Air National Guard units from ADC.[8] President Truman’s reduced 1949 defense budget, however, required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force,[9] ConAC also reorganized its reserve units under the Wing Base Organization, and the 19th Air Division and other reserve units at Birmingham Municipal Airport, including the squadron, were inactivated and replaced by the 514th Troop Carrier Wing in June 1949.[2][6]
The 346th's mission changed when it became the 346th Test and Evaluation Squadron in June 1993 and was activated under the 99th Test Group at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. For the next two years, it performed operational test and evaluation for Air Combat Command systems. The squadron and 99th Group were inactivated at Ellsworth in 1995 as ACC centralized its operational test and evaluation under the 53d Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.[2]
The squadron was again activated at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas in August 2000 as the 346th Test Squadron and assigned to the 318th Information Operations Group.[2] As part of the unit's focus on cyber defense, in 2014 it began participating in a joint project of the Air Force Civil Engineer Center and Twenty-Fourth Air Force to protect Air Force industrial control systems against attacks from external sources. This project recognized that industrial control systems (systems commonly used to automate physical industrial processes such as electrical and transportation operations) have become increasingly automated, rendering them vulnerable to cyber attacks.[10]
Lineage
Constituted as the 346th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 January 1942
Activated on 1 Jun 1942
Redesignated 346th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 29 September 1944
Inactivated on 8 November 1945
Redesignated 346th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 13 May 1947
Activated in the reserve on 29 May 1947
Inactivated on 27 June 1949
Redesignated 346th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Heavy and activated on 1 January 1953
Redesignated 346th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 1 October 1955
Inactivated on 31 March 1974
Redesignated 346th Test and Evaluation Squadron on 1 June 1993
^Aircraft is Boeing B-52D-35-BW Stratofortress serial 56-669. This plane was hit by a surface to air missile over North Viet Nam on 21 December 1972 during Operation Linebacker II and crashed in Laos. Baugher, Joe (19 May 2023). "1956 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
^Approved 18 February 1944. Description: On a medium blue disc, border black, a rattlesnake in striking position, proper, tail entwined about large black aerial bomb, highlighted light blue and white, falling to dexterbase.
^Aircraft is Boeing B-17F-55-BO Flying Fortress, serial 42-29513, El Diablo. It flew 121 combat missions (114 with the squadron) by 26 February 1944. It was then deemed "War Weary". It was stripped of its armament and converted into a weather ship for the 304th Bombardment Wing at Cerignola, Italy. It was salvaged on 23 August 1945. Baugher, Joe (8 September 2023). "1942 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
