06/06/2024
728th Airlift Squadron
Much like the 97th and hundreds of other squadrons and units, the 728th was created out of necessity to fight in the war and provide an organization for the hundreds of thousands of draftees and volunteers. The 728th was constituted on May 14, 1943, as a heavy bombardment squadron at Geiger Field, Washington (now Spokane International Airport), this makes the 728th the only squadron in the current organization of the 446 Airlift Wing constituted in Washington, a true “homegrown” squadron. The 728th crews found themselves flying B-17s, The Flying Fortress, which had a much greater range and payload capacity than a C-47, making it ideal for long-range bombing missions. The 728th was stationed in Deopham Green, England near Norwich, England in East Anglia, where they would be stationed for the duration of the war, assigned to the 452nd Bombardment Group.
From Deopham Green, the 728th would conduct bombing missions across the European front, even striking deep into the heart of Germany attacking, factories, and vital infrastructure. Many of the crews that would eventually comprise the bulk of the 728th, were not a part of them when they were constituted, rather they came from Florida where B-17 crews were created and trained. From Florida, they would often fly the same aircraft they would fight in across the Atlantic Ocean to England. Their bombing mission came at a cost though. Throughout the war the 728th lost 128 aircraft, due to enemy fire, crash, or other reasons giving the 728th an estimated 38-42% survival rate for the war. In total, the 728th flew “…250 missions and 7,279 sorties out of Deopham Green. They dropped a total of 16,446 tons of bombs on marshaling yards, aircraft-assembly plants, aircraft component works, ball-bearing factories, synthetic rubber plants, and oil installations.”
On 6 June 1944 around 2:00 am the 728th along with thousands of other bombardment squadrons took to the skies to conduct one of the most important, if not the most important, missions they would fly for the entire war. The 728th was part of the preparatory bombings of the landing area and beyond for the Allied invasion of Normandy, France in Operation OVERLORD. The objective of the bombings was much like the objectives of the paratroopers. The bombings were intended to cut lines of commutation, avenues of approach, beach defenses, and other troop support methods, in short, to isolate the Normandy beachhead. However, these bombings were both successful and unsuccessful because many of the bombers were concerned with Allied troop casualties delayed dropping their bombs but still dropped them on Axis infrastructure but failed to effectively strike beach defenses. In total, the 728th contributed to the drop of over 2,500 tons of bombs during the D-Day support bombings.
The ability of the 728th to persevere despite the amount of loss of personnel and aircraft is what has echoed throughout their service. The 728th has participated in nearly every American conflict since World War II, slowly changing its mission from bombardment to airlift support. Most recently in the War on Terrorism, the 728th was part of the first C-17s to actively support operations in Afghanistan and later Iraq, establishing a legacy of service.
