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'{{Infobox Military Unit |unit_name= 556th Strategic Missile Squadron |image= [[File:556th Strategic Missile Squadron - SAC - Emblem.png|250px]] |caption= Emblem of the 556th Strategic Missile Squadron |dates= 1942-1965 |country= [[United States]] |allegiance= |branch=[[United States Air Force]] |type= Strategic Missile Launch Squadron |role= |size= |command_structure= |current_commander= |garrison= |ceremonial_chief= |colonel_of_the_regiment= |nickname= |patron= |motto= |colors= |march= |mascot= |battles= |notable_commanders= |anniversaries= |decorations= |battle_honours= }} {{kml}} [[File:556th Bombardment Squadron - Emblem.png|thumb|200px|World War II 556th Bombardment Squadron emblem]] [[File:Convair SM-65F Atlas 100 556 SMS Site 6 Au Sable Forks NY.jpg|thumb|Convair SM-65F Atlas #100 at Site 6 Au Sable Forks NY]] [[File:Convair SM-65F Atlas 84 556 SMS Site 2 Alburg VT.jpg|thumb|Convair SM-65F Atlas #84 at Site 2 Au Alburg VT during a fueling test]] The '''556th Strategic Missile Squadron''' is an inactive [[United States Air Force]] unit. It was last assigned to the [[820th Strategic Aerospace Division]]. It was inactivated at [[Plattsburgh Air Force Base]], [[New York]] on 25 June 1965. ==History== ===World War II=== Activated as a [[B-26 Marauder]] medium bombardment squadron in late 1942. Trained under [[Third Air Force]] and deployed to [[European Theater of Operations]] (ETO) in July 1943. Initially being stationed in [[England]] and assigned to [[IX Bomber Command]], Engaged in tactical bombardment of enemy targets in Occupied Europe initially from stations in [[England]], then after [[D-Day]], moved to [[Advanced Landing Ground]]s in [[France]] and [[Belgium]]; advancing eastward as Allied ground forces advanced. Supported [[Eighth Air Force]] strategic bombardment missions over [[Nazi Germany]] and Occupied Europe; striking enemy airfields to obtain maximum interference in Luftwaffe day interceptor attacks on heavy bomber formations returning to England. Also participated in Western Allied Invasion of Germany, March-April 1945, combat ending with German Capitation in May 1945. Became part of the [[United States Air Forces in Europe]] while squadron demobilized personnel in 1945. Squadron reassigned to the United States as a paper unit, inactivated in November 1945. Reactivated in 1957 as a [[Strategic Air Command]] Strategic Missile Squadron, initially performing testing on the [[SM-62 Snark]] intercontinental cruise missile. Performed testing at the [[Atlantic Missile Range]] in [[Florida]]; moving to [[Presque Isle AFB]], [[Maine]] for operational deployment in 1959. Reactivated after missile was brought into service. ===Strategic Air Command=== Reactivated in 1961 as a [[Strategic Air Command]] [[SM-65F Atlas]] ICBM launch squadron, stationed at [[Plattsburgh AFB]], [[New York]] and assigned to the [[820th Strategic Aerospace Division|820th Air (later Strategic Aerospace) Division]] on 1 July 1961. The activation of the 556th SMA at Platsburgh AFB was the only Atlas ICBM squadron east of the Mississippi River. The squadron was assigned twelve missiles, based in a 1 x 12 configuration: twelve independent widely dispersed launch sites comprised the missile squadron. The first missile arrived in April 1962, and the silos were declared operational in December. During the Cuban missile crisis, the 556th received orders to maintain all 12 missiles on alert status. The Atlas F was the final and most advanced version of the Atlas ICBM and was stored in a vertical position inside underground concrete and steel silos. When stored, the Atlas F sat atop an elevator. If a missile was placed on alert, it was fueled with RP-1 (kerosene) liquid fuel, which could be stored inside the missile for extended periods. If a decision was made to launch the missile, the missile was raised to the surface and the liquid oxygen tank was filled. The launch would occur shortly after completion of this process. (see below for site details). The exposure on the surface that this procedure entailed was the great weakness of the Atlas F. It was exposed and vulnerable during this time. The Titan II and Minuteman missiles could be launched from within their silos, thereby eliminating this vulnerability. Also, since the Titan did not use a cryogenic fuel or oxydizer, and the Minuteman was a solid fuel rocket, they could be stored fully fueled and ready to launch within a very few minutes. On December 1, 1964, the first Atlas F missile was removed from alert status in favor of the more advanced [[LGM-25C Titan II]]; squadron was inactivated on 25 June 1965. Missile sites were later sold off to private ownership after demilitarization. ===Lineage=== * Constituted '''556 Bombardment Squadron (Medium)''', on 25 Nov 1942 : Activated on 1 Dec 1942 : Redesignated '''556 Bombardment Squadron, Medium''' on 9 Oct 1944 : Inactivated on 12 Nov 1945 * Redesignated '''556th Strategic Missile Squadron''' on 22 Nov 1957 : Activated on 15 Dec 1957 : Inactivated on 16 Jul 1959 * Activated on 26 Apr 1961 : Organized on 1 Oct 1961 : Inactivated on 25 June 1965 ===Assignments=== * [[387th Bombardment Group]], 1 Dec 1942-12 Nov 1945 * [[Strategic Air Command]], 15 Dec 1957 * [[702d Strategic Missile Wing]], 1 Apr-16 Jul 1959 * [[Strategic Air Command]], 26 Apr 1961 * [[820th Strategic Aerospace Division|820th Air (later Strategic Aerospace) Division]], 1 Oct 1961-25 June 1965 ===Stations=== {{col-begin}} {{col-break|width=50%}} * [[MacDill Field]], [[Florida]], 1 Dec 1942 * [[Drane Field]], [[Florida]], 12 Apr 1943 * [[Godman Field]], [[Kentucky]], 12 May-10 Jun 1943 * [[RAF Chipping Ongar]] (AAF-162), [[England]], 1 Jul 1943 * [[RAF Stoney Cross]] (AAF-452), [[England]], c. 21 Jul 1944 * [[Cherbourg – Maupertus Airport|Maupertus Airfield]] (A-15), [[France]], c. 1 Sep 1944 * [[Châteaudun Air Base|Chateaudun Airfield]] (A-39), [[France]], c. 18 Sep 1944 {{col-break|width=50%}} * [[Saint-Simon – Clastres Air Base|Clastres Airfield]] (A-71), [[France]], c. 4 Nov 1944 * [[Maastricht Aachen Airport|Maastricht Airfield]] (Y-44), [[Netherlands]], c. 4 May 1945 * Rosieres-en-Santerre Airfield (B-87), [[France]], 30 May-c. Nov 1945 * [[Camp Kilmer]], [[New Jersey]], 11-12 Nov 1945 * [[Patrick AFB]], [[Florida]], 15 Dec 1957 * [[Presque Isle AFB]], [[Maine]], 9-16 Jul 1959 * [[Plattsburgh AFB]], [[New York]], 1 Oct 1961-25 June 1965 {{col-end}} ===Aircraft and missiles=== [[File:556th Strategic Missile Squadron - SM-65F Atlas Missile Sites.png|thumb|SM-65F Atlas Missile Sites]] * [[B-26 Marauder]], 1942-1945 * [[SM-62 Snark]], 1958–1959 * [[SM-65F Atlas]], 1962–1965 * Operated twelve missile sites of one missile at each site (12 total): : 556-1 5.2 mi W of Rouses Point, NY {{Coord|45|00|04|N|073|28|18|W|display=inline|name=556-1}} : 556-2 1.0 mi E of Alburg, VT {{Coord|44|59|14|N|073|17|18|W|display=inline|name=556-2}} : 556-3 1.3 mi SSW of Swanton, VT {{Coord|44|54|08|N|073|08|17|W|display=inline|name=556-3}} : 556-4 6.4 mi S of Willsboro Point, NY {{Coord|44|20|33|N|073|22|11|W|display=inline|name=556-4}} : 556-5 8.2 mi NNE of Elizabethtown, NY {{Coord|44|19|55|N|073|33|13|W|display=inline|name=556-5}} : 556-6 2.1 mi NE of Au Sable Forks, NY {{Coord|44|27|36|N|073|38|33|W|display=inline|name=556-6}} : 556-7 4.1 mi E of Loon Lake, NY {{Coord|44|32|30|N|073|58|31|W|display=inline|name=556-7}} : 556-8 6.6 mi WSW of Saranac, NY {{Coord|44|36|04|N|073|51|24|W|display=inline|name=556-8}} : 556-9 5.9 mi NW of Dannemora, NY {{Coord|44|46|15|N|073|49|20|W|display=inline|name=556-9}} : 556-10 7.3 mi SE of Chateaugay, NY {{Coord|44|50|36|N|073|59|17|W|display=inline|name=556-10}} : 556-11 14.0 mi WNW of Dannemora, NY {{Coord|44|54|44|N|073|49|04|W|display=inline|name=556-11}} : 556-12 10.7 mi WNW of Chazy, NY {{Coord|44|58|03|N|073|37|29|W|display=inline|name=556-12}} ==See also== * [[List of United States Air Force missile squadrons]] ==References== {{Portal box|United States Air Force|Military of the United States|World War II}} {{AFHRA}} {{Reflist}} * Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0-89201-097-5 {{USAF missile units}} {{United States Air Force}} {{Strategic Air Command}} [[Category:Military units and formations of the United States in World War II]] [[Category:Missile squadrons of the United States Air Force|Missile]] [[Category:Military units and formations in New York]] [[Category:Military units and formations in Maine]] ==External links== * [http://www.atlasbases.homestead.com/ 556th Missile Sites]'