702d Expeditionary Airlift Squadron

702d Expeditionary Airlift Squadron
Members of the 702d Expeditionary Airlift Squadron in front of a C-27 Spartan at Kandahar Air Base Afghanistan
Active	1943-1945; 1947-1949; 1952-1957; 1957-1965; 1971-2000: After 2010
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Airlift
Motto(s)	We Fly for the Troops (2011-2012)
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation French Croix de Guerre with Palm
Insignia
702d Airlift Squadron emblem (approved c. July 1996)
Patch with 702d Troop Carrier Squadron emblem (approved 9 January 1962)
702d Bombardment Squadron emblem
World War II Fuselage Code	WW

The 702d Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 305th Operations Group, stationed at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 1 March 2000.

The 702d Bombardment Squadron was activated 1 April 1943 at Gowen Field in Idaho, where initial organization took place while key personnel traveled to Orlando AAB, Florida for training with the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics. Both elements met at Wendover Army Air Field, Utah on 8 June 1943, where initial training with the Consolidated B-24 Liberator took place. The squadron moved to Sioux City Army Air Base, Iowa in July 1943 to complete training. In September the 702d began to receive B-24H aircraft, the model of the Liberator they would fly in combat.

On 20 October 1943 the ground echelon moved to Camp Shanks, New York and embarked on the RMS Queen Mary on 26 October 1943, sailing next day. The unit arrived in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland on 2 November 1943 and disembarked at Gourock. The air echelon departed Sioux City late in October 1943 and flew to the United Kingdom via the southern route: Florida, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and West Africa. Upon arrival, the squadron was stationed at RAF Tibenham as part of the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing. The group was initially given a fuselage code of IS.

The 700th entered combat on 13 December 1943 by attacking U-boat installations at Kiel. The unit operated primarily as a strategic bombardment organization until the war ended, striking such targets as industries in Osnabrück, synthetic oil plants in Lutzendorf, chemical works in Ludwigshafen, marshalling yards at Hamm, an airfield at Munich, an ammunition plant at Duneberg, underground oil storage facilities at Ehmen, and factories at Münster.