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19th Antisubmarine Squadron

19th Aerromedical Airlift Squadron
USAF - Military Airlift Command.png
Douglas C-124C-DL Globemaster II 50-087.jpg
Active 1942–1943; 1952–1969
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Role Airlift
Part of Military Airlift Command
Decorations Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
Insignia
19th Logistic Support Squadron emblem (approved 26 January 1956) 19 Logistic Support Sq emblem.png

The 19th Military Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 62d Military Airlift Wing, Military Airlift Command, stationed at McChord Air Force Base, Washington. It was inactivated on 22 December 1969.

The first predecessor of the squadron was activated at Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah in July 1942 as the 363d Bombardment Squadron, one of the four original squadrons of the 304th Bombardment Group. In September, the squadron moved to Geiger Field, Washington, where it received its first personnel and began training with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, but soon moved to Virginia and switched to the Consolidated B-24 Liberator.

After its arrival on the eastern seaboard, the squadron began antisubmarine warfare patrols. In November, it was renamed the 19th Antisubmarine Squadron and in December, its parent 304th Bombardment Group, whose squadrons had dispersed to various locations, was inactivated and the squadron was assigned to the 25th Antisubmarine Wing, which supervised Army Air Forces throughout the Atlantic coast. The Navy believed that more antisubmarine forces were required to protect convoys in the North Atlantic, where attacks were becoming more concentrated. In March, the 19th Antisubmarine Squadron relocated to Gander Airport in Newfoundland, soon joined by two other squadrons.

AAF Antisubmarine Command had moved antisubmarine units to England in December 1943, but they had moved to French Morocco, where they formed the 480th Antisubmarine Group. To replace them, the antisubmarine squadrons in Newfoundland, including the 19th, moved to RAF St Eval in Cornwall in March 1943, where they formed the 479th Antisubmarine Group. The squadron conducted patrols over the Bay of Biscay, achieving its greatest success in the first two months it was in action. Following this period, German U-boats adopted tactics that kept them submerged in the group's area of operations during daylight hours. The 480th Group continued its patrols, occasionally engaging Luftwaffe aircraft until October. It was disbanded in England in November, along with the 19th Squadron.


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