93D Bomb Squadron

93D Bomb Squadron

Collection

The 93d Bomb Squadron (93 BS) is a squadron of the United States Air Force Reserve. It is assigned to the 307th Operations Group, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The squadron is equipped with the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. It is one of two reserve bomber squadrons in the United States Air Force.^[1]

The 93 BS is one of the oldest and most decorated units in the United States Air Force, being organized as the 93d Aero Squadron on 21 August 1917 at Kelly Field, Texas. The squadron deployed to France and fought on the Western Front during World War I as a pursuit squadron. The unit was demobilized after the war in 1919.^[2]

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Description

Driving down the huge ramp at Barksdale AFB, on the outskirts of Shreveport, Louisiana, you pass countless B-52H tails proudly displaying “LA” tailcode of the 2d Bomb Wing (BW). After passing well over a mile of the imposing bombers, you notice that the codes in two rows have changed to “BD” and the tails are topped with “AFRC” titles. This signals your arrival at the US Air Force’s only Reserve bomber unit, the 93d Bomb Squadron (BS). The “Scalp Hunters” are widely-known for their Native American squadron patch and distinctive “SCALP” radio call sign.

Operating under Air Force Reserve Command’s (AFRC) 10th Air Force, the 93d BS stood up at Barksdale in 1993. Part of the 917th Wing, along with the A-10s of the co-located 47th Fighter Squadron, the 93d operates independently from the 2d BW and concentrates on the conventional bombing mission. This, however, does not mean the squadron has no close ties with its active-duty brothers. The 93d has been instrumental in the integration of a number of new systems that have gone on to be applied throughout the B-52H community, most notably the introduction of targeting/navigation pods throughout the fleet. The 93D Bomb Squadron, with its wealth of experienced personnel, was the ideal unit to work with the test community to integrate the pods, and then to develop a training syllabus for the initial cadre of regular-force Radar Navigators to use the new system.