| 596th Bombardment Squadron | |
|---|---|
_(2).jpg) 596th Squadron Boeing B-52[a] | |
| Active | 1943–1945; 1963–1993 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Motto(s) | Excalibur |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations Gulf War |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| Patch with 596th Bomb Squadron emblem[b][1] |  |
| World War II group tail marking[2] | Yellow diagonal stripe |
| World War II squadron fuselage code[2] | X2 |
The 596th Bomb Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 2d Operations Group at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, where it was inactivated on 1 October 1993, and its resources transferred to another unit.
The squadron was first activated in April 1943 as the 596th Bombardment Squadron and equipped with Martin B-26 Marauders. It departed for the European Theater of Operations in the spring of 1944. From bases in England, and later on the European continent, it participated in combat until late April 1945, and was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions. It remained in Europe after V-E Day until the end of 1945, when it returned to the United States and was inactivated at the Port of Embarkation.
The squadron was again activated in February 1963, when it assumed the personnel and Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses of another unit at Dow Air Force Base, Maine. It stood alert and flew training missions until 1968, when Dow closed and it moved to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It participated in the longest strike mission in history at the start of Desert Storm, flying from Barksdale to its launch position near Iraq.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).