428th Bombardment Squadron
The 428th Electromagnetic Warfare Flight is a United States Air Force Reserve unit stationed at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado. It serves as a reserve associate squadron to the Space Force’s 4th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, helping train, equip, and deploy space-based electromagnetic warfare capabilities.
Origins and World War II
The unit began in March 1942 as the 39th Reconnaissance Squadron, quickly redesignated the 428th Bombardment Squadron. After training in the United States with B-25 Mitchell bombers, it deployed to the Mediterranean Theater for World War II. It supported Operation Torch and the North Africa campaign, then backed Allied ground forces across Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, and southern France. The squadron attacked ships, rail yards, bridges, and other targets to disrupt Axis logistics, supported the invasions of Pantelleria and Sicily, and took part in Operation Dragoon in southern France. It earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for its combat actions, including a 1943 mission against Benevento and a 1945 attack on an Italian railroad bridge at Ora. The unit was inactivated in Italy in 1945.
Cold War and SAC era
The squadron was reactivated in 1959 at Schilling Air Force Base as part of Strategic Air Command, flying Boeing B-47 Stratojet bombers. It participated in SAC’s alert program until 1962, when it was inactivated as the four-squadron organization no longer fit the alert requirements.
Modern reactivation as an electromagnetic warfare unit
The squadron was redesignated the 428th Electromagnetic Warfare Flight and reactivated at Peterson in February 2023, absorbing Detachment 1 of the 710th Operations Group. As an associate unit to the regular 4th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, it trains with and supports space-based electromagnetic warfare missions, bringing expertise in orbital mechanics, satellite command-and-control, and mission planning to strengthen national security capabilities.
Emblems and honors
Its motto, Tempori Efficientes (On Time and Effective), and its two Distinguished Unit Citations reflect its long history of combat service.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 21:48 (CET).