Most of the USAF ICBM units today were B24/B25 units during WWII.
I was once assigned to the 490th Missile Squadron at Malmstrom AFB, MT. During WWII, it was the 490th Bomb Squadron in the China-Burma India theater, flying B25s.
The squadron commander's radio operator painted a Skull & Wings on the plane when it first arrived in theater, and that became the squadron's unofficial patch.
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That patch is still used by the 490th Missile Squadron today.
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Throughout 1943 the 490th transported supplies throughout China and provided tactical support to troops, but its main job was interdiction missions, particularly against bridges used by the Japanese to move troops and supplies. Most of those attacks against bridges were unsuccessful to do the terrain and the tactics used. They tried several techniques, to include modifications of skip bombing and dive bombing, but none worked.
On New Year's Day of 1944, one of the squadron members accidentally discovered a new technique for bombing bridges that they called
hop bombing.
Attached FileOver the next several months, they became so good at destroying bridges (eight just in the first week after discovering the technique) that the 10th Air Force Commander, in a letter to their CO, praised "you and your Bridge Busters". The name stuck. Their expertise at bombing bridges earned them the label as "one of the most specialized bombardment squadrons in the world."
There are several B25s in Burma Bridge Buster livery around the country. I've seen one at the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, been told there's one in Washington state, there's one on a stick at Lackland AFB, and the one I'm most familiar with is outside the gate of Malmstrom AFB.
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This is a picture of that plane, during a reunion in the early 2000s of the remaining Bridge Busters. One of them has a very interesting story. His name is Arnold Spielberg (he's still alive at 101). He was the communications chief for the 490th for 2.5 years, and went on to become an accomplished electrical engineer working at GE (where he created the first electronic point of sale cash register).
To get to the reunion, he was flown there in his son's private jet. His son's name is Steven. Yes, THAT Steven Spielberg.
Which is why, in the director's notes in Saving Private Ryan, as he's talking about the influence of his dad on his movie making, you'll see a picture of then-MSgt Spielberg wearing a skull-and-wings patch on his jacket, taken during his time flying B25 missions for the Burma Bridge Busters. Or, like in this interview, where you see a young Steven wearing his dad's jacket.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6CfaN7sOZLI/mqdefault.jpg)
Saving Private Ryan Behind Scenes Part 1
For me, it's one thing to talk about the planes, but GOOD history is about people's stories.