| 110th Bomb Squadron | |
|---|---|
 B-2 Spirit stealth bomber operated by the Missouri Air National Guard 110th Bomb Squadron | |
| Founded | 14 August 1917 |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  Missouri |
| Branch |  Air National Guard |
| Type | Strategic Bombardment |
| Role | Squadron |
| Part of | Missouri Air National Guard |
| Garrison/HQ | Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, Missouri |
| Nickname | "Lindbergh's Own" |
| Mascots | Banjo, the Missouri Mule[1] |
| Engagements | World War I World War II Operation Northern Watch |
| Insignia | |
| 110th Bomb Squadron emblem |  |
| Squadron code | SL (198? – June 2009) WM (2009 – present) |
The110th Bomb Squadron (110 BS) is a unit of theMissouri Air National Guard131st Bomb Wing located atWhiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, Missouri. The 110th is equipped with theNorthrop Grumman B-2 Spirit.
The 110 BS is the oldest unit in the Missouri Air National Guard, with over 90 years of service to the state and nation. It is a descendant organization of theWorld War I110th Aero Squadron, established on 14 August 1917. It was reformed on 23 June 1923, as the110th Observation Squadron, and is one of the29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of theUnited States Army National Guard formed beforeWorld War II.
The 131st Bomb Wing, of which the 110th Bomb Squadron is a part, is the onlyAir National Guard Bomb Wing certified to conduct nuclear operations.[2]
Established atKelly Field, Texas in August 1917 as the110th Aero Squadron. Constructed facilities and engaged in supply and related base support activities. Later re-designated as 804th Aero Squadron (1 February 1918), then "Squadron K, Kelly Field" in July 1918. Demobilized 1918 shortly after the Armistice with Germany.[3]
The squadron was constituted by theMilitia Bureau on 23 June 1923, when it authorized the immediate organization of the110th Observation Squadron,35th Division Air Service, Missouri National Guard. The squadron's first headquarters was located in a filling station on Manchester Avenue. From there it was moved to a small room over a grocery store on Olive Street Road in St. Louis County. Meetings were held at the local airport, then little more than a pasture, and there were no airplanes and no uniforms for the enlisted men. The squadron's original authorized officer strength was one major, five captains, eleven first lieutenants and fourteen second lieutenants, for a total of thirty-one. In its early years, the squadron had only about half of its authorized officer strength. The squadron's first commanding officer was Major William B. Robertson.[4]
The squadron's first plane was aCurtiss JN-4 "Jenny", which was purchased by the officers of the squadron and used for flight training until early 1924 when three surplus wartime JN-4's were received from the Militia Bureau. The planes were housed in a corrugated sheet metal hangar erected on the field during theNational Air Races in 1923 and later turned over to the squadron. Additional aircraft and equipment were received throughout 1924, and by the year's end, a well received training program was in effect. Only eighteen months had elapsed since the unit was formally organized.
During the next few years the JN-4's were replaced by theConsolidated PT-1,Consolidated TW-3,Curtiss O-11, andDouglas O-2H aircraft and the unit assumed a mission of observation and reconnaissance. Their chief pilot on the "St. Louis to Chicago" airmail run was a young man namedCharles Lindbergh. Lindbergh became a member of the 110th as a 2nd lieutenant on 14 March 1925 and held the rank of captain when he made his historic 1927 Trans-Atlantic solo flight. Lindbergh remained a member of the squadron until 1929.[5]
In February 1929, the 35th Division Aviation headquarters was disbanded, but the 110th Observation Squadron remained attached to the 35th Division for tactical purposes, being assigned in October 1933 to the 47th Observation Group for command and control purposes. Men, equipment, and unit headquarters consolidated in a new hangar at Lambert Field (nowSt. Louis Lambert International Airport) in 1931. Summer field training conducted in the 1930s allowed 110th members to hone their skills on the K-17 aerial camera. TheDouglas O-38 aircraft was received in 1933 and replaced in 1938 by theNorth American O-47A, an all-metal mid-wing observation aircraft.
The unit's first summer encampments were held in 1924 and 1925 at Camp Clark, nearNevada, Missouri. Subsequent encampments were atFort Riley,Kansas; Lambert Field;Eglin Field,Florida;Fort Sill,Oklahoma; andSt. Cloud, Minnesota. Detachments were also sent many years to support the summer training of the Missouri National Guard's203rd Coast Artillery Regiment atFort Barrancas, Florida, and the units of the 35th Division's 60th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Riley and Fort Sill. In April 1934, the squadron provided aerial surveillance of, and for, the7th Cavalry Brigade (Mechanized) during its movement fromFort Knox,Kentucky, to Fort Riley.
The Guardsmen were ordered into active service on 23 December 1940 as part of the buildup of theArmy Air Corps after theFall of France. The unit was sent to Little Rock, Arkansas and initially flew antisubmarine patrols over theGulf of Mexico. After theAttack on Pearl Harbor, the squadron was sent to California where it flew patrols over theSouthern California coast again performing antisubmarine patrols.
In early 1943, it was assigned toThird Air Force and trained as a combat reconnaissance unit, being equipped with a mixture of photo-reconA-20 Havocs andB-25 Mitchells. Was deployed toFifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific in the fall of 1943 and flew reconnaissance missions overNew Britain,New Guinea, and theAdmiralty Islands from bases inNew Guinea andBiak. Reinforced with armed P-40 and P-39 fighters, it also flew combat mission against Japanese installations, airfields, and shipping, while supporting Allied ground forces onNew Guinea andBiak. During that time, it flew courier missions, participated in rescue operations, and hauled passengers and cargo. From November 1944, the group flew reconnaissance missions overLuzon, supported ground forces, photographed and bombed airfields inFormosa and China, and attacked enemy shipping in theSouth China Sea. A Presidential Unit Citation awarded for the 12/26/44 attack on Japanese Naval Task Force. In all, the unit destroyed 122 aircraft and 11 ships.
At the end of the war, the 110th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron moved to Japan and was part of theoccupation forces. It demobilized in the fall of 1945 and was inactivated in early 1946.
The wartime 110th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was re-activated and re-designated as the 110th Fighter Squadron, and was allotted to the Missouri Air National Guard on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Lambert Field and was extended federal recognition on 1 January 1947 by the National Guard Bureau. The 119th Fighter Squadron was bestowed the history, honors, and colors of the wartime 110th TRS. The squadron was equipped with F-51D Mustang fighters and assigned to the Missouri ANG 131st Fighter Group. Its mission was the air defense of St Louis and the state of Missouri.
On 1 March 1951 the 110th was federalized and brought to active-duty due to theKorean War. It was initially assigned toStrategic Air Command (SAC) and transferred toBergstrom AFB, Texas and assigned to the FederalizedMissouri ANG131st Fighter-Bomber Group. The 131st FBG was composed of the 110th FS, the192d Fighter Squadron (Nevada ANG), the178th Fighter Squadron (North Dakota ANG), and the170th Fighter Squadron (Illinois ANG). At Berstrom, its mission was as a filler replacement for the27th Fighter-Escort Group which was deployed to Japan as part of SAC's commitment to the Korean War.
The unit was at Bergstrom until November when it was transferred toTactical Air Command (TAC) and moved toGeorge AFB, California. At George, the unit was scheduled to be re-equipped withF-84D Thunderjets and was programmed for deployment to Japan, however, the F-84s were instead sent to France and the 131st Fighter-Bomber Wing remained in California and flew its F-51 Mustangs for the remainder of its federal service. The 110th Fighter-Bomber Squadron was released from active duty and returned to Missouri's control on 1 December 1952.
Shortly after its return to Lambert Field, the 110th was reformed as a light bombardment squadron in January 1953 and was moved under Tactical Air Command. It receivedB-26 Invaders that returned from theKorean War and trained primarily in night bombardment missions, which the aircraft specialized in while in Korea.
With the removal of the B-26 from bombing duties in 1957 as neared the end of their service lives, the 110th entered the Jet Age. The 110th received its first jet aircraft in the spring of 1957 when it receivedF-80 Shooting Stars. The 110th flew F-80s until June 1957, when it transitioned to theF-84F Thunderstreak fighter-bomber.
On 1 October 1961, as a result of the1961 Berlin Crisis, the mobilized Missouri Air National Guard 131st Tactical Fighter Wing deployed toToul-Rosières Air Base, France as the 7131st Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional). When activated as the 7131st TFW, it consisted of the 110, 169 and 170 TFS, from Lambert Field, St. Louis MO, Peoria Municipal Airport, Peoria IL, and Capitol Airport, Springfield IL, respectively. The designation 7131st was used as the Wing, composed of three federalized ANG squadrons, only deployed the 110th Tactical Fighter Squadron to France. The 169th and 170th TFS rotated personnel to Toul-Rosières during their period of activation due to budget restraints, however only one squadron's worth of aircraft and personnel were at Toul at any one time.
While in France, the Guardsmen assumed regular commitments on a training basis with the U.S. 7th Army as well as maintaining a 24-hour alert status. The 7131st exchanged both air and ground crews with the Royal Danish Air Force's 730th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Skydstrup Air Station, Denmark, during May 1962. As the Berlin situation subsided, all activated ANG units were ordered to be returned to the United States and released from active duty. The 7131st TFW was inactivated in place in France on 19 July 1962 and left its aircraft and equipment to USAFE.
After returning to St Louis, the unit was re-equipped withF-100C Super Sabres in late 1962. It trained with the F-100s for the next 17 years, during which time it upgraded to the F-100D in 1971. Although the 110th was not activated during the Vietnam War, many of the squadron's pilots were sent to F-100 squadrons inSouth Vietnam between 1968 and 1971. In 1977,Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Charles Lindbergh's widow, gave permission to designate 110th Tactical Fighter Squadron as "Lindbergh's Own."
In 1978, the unit acquired the "home grown"McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II, the aircraft primarily being piloted by Vietnam War veterans. Between June and July 1982, the 110th TFS deployed twelve Phantoms toRAF Leeming in theUnited Kingdom to participate in Exercise Coronet Cactus.[6] The squadron again upgraded to the more advanced F-4E Phantom II in 1985 and in 1991 was again upgraded to theMcDonnell Douglas F-15A/B Eagle air superiority aircraft when the F-4s were retired. The 110th was one of the last Air National Guard units to convert to the F-15.
More than 500 members from the 131st Fighter Wing and the tenant units located at Lambert International Airport were called into service to battle theGreat Flood of 1993. In the post-Cold War era, the unit deployed toIncirlik AB, Turkey in support ofOperation Northern Watch in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
Members of the 131st returned in October 2000 from duty rotations in Southwest Asia and Europe, while other unit members were still stationed overseas. Eventually, a total of about 430 wing members were scheduled to deploy, with the majority leaving in October 2000 forPrince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia, in support ofOperation Southern Watch. A little more than half of the deployed 131st Fighter Wing members and 12 F-15s made up the AEF-9's 110th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (EFS). The 110th EFS primarily provides air superiority for Operation Southern Watch. AEF-9 was deployed from September through November 2000. In 2004, the improvedF-15C Eagle arrived, replacing the older aircraft.
On 30 May 2007, a 110th FS F-15D pilot ejected safely from his aircraft (78-0571) just before it crashed during a training mission in rural Knox county, Indiana. The plane went down just before 11 am EDT south of Vincennes, near the Illinois border, as it conducted standard training maneuvers, according to a release from the National Guard.[7] Investigators said the plane was flying at about 20,000 feet prior to the crash. The pilot had been with the 131st Fighter Wing for 12 years and was highly experienced, officials said. The unit had most recently enforced no-fly zones in Iraq. This crash decreased the 131st's aircraft count from 20 to 19.
On 2 November 2007, another F-15C (80-0034) from the 131st crashed inMark Twain National Forest, in Missouri. No property was damaged and no people on the ground were hurt, however the pilot broke an arm and a shoulder, despite ejecting from the plane. The pilot also was said to be in "shock" when landowners found him. The crash was due to a flaw in a part of the plane's fuselage; this led to all F-15 aircraft being grounded at one point between November and January 2008.[8] Since after the accidents, the 131st's flights have been reduced, also due to the wing slowly moving to flying B-2s. However the 131st and the F-15's were still on active duty.
In its 2005BRAC recommendations, DoD recommended to realign the 131st Fighter Wing. The 110th's F-15s (15 aircraft) would be distributed to the 57th Fighter Wing,Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada (nine aircraft), and 177th Fighter Wing, Atlantic City International Airport (AGS), New Jersey (six aircraft). After which, the unit was moved toWhiteman Air Force Base and became the first Air National GuardNorthrop Grumman B-2 Spirit "stealth bomber" unit.
The F-15s began to leave Lambert on 15 August 2008 and by January 2009, most of the 13 remaining aircraft were in the main hangar being stripped of markings or already had their markings removed. The final two F-15Cs departed on 13 June 2009 after a closing ceremony titled "The End of an Era", that was attended by over 2,000 people. Some pilots were taking B-2 training courses while others are changing units, or decided to retire early. The 131st Fighter Wing was the most experienced F-15 Fighter wing in the United States; out of the four pilots that flew over 4,000 F-15 flight hours, three of them were from the unit.
The 110th Bomb Squadron, as part of the 131st Bomb Wing, transitioned to Air Force Global Strike Command on 4 October 2008 when the 131st Bomb Wing held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Whiteman AFB. The ceremony celebrated the first official drill for traditional guardsmen at Whiteman and the grand opening of building 3006, the 131st Bomb Wing's first headquarters there. On 16 June 2009, the last F-15 departed Lambert Field. In March 2011, crew from the 110th BS participated inOperation Odyssey Dawn, which saw airstrikes over Libya against the forces ofMuammar Gaddafi.[1]
In August 2013, the 131st Bomb Wing was deemed fully mission-capable, meaning that it fully completed the transition to Whiteman Air Force Base. In January 2017, aircrew from the 110th Bomb Squadron helped destroy ISIL terrorist camps in Sirte, Libya. The squadron has deployed multiple times in support of Bomber Task Forces; to includeRAF Fairford, UK, in March 2020,[9] Keflavik AB, IS in August 2021, and RAAF Amberley, AUS in August 2024.
On the night of June 21, 2025, members of the 131st Bomb Wing and the 110th Bomb Squadron were a key participant in Operation MIDNIGHT HAMMER, a precision strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordo, Natanz, and Esfahan. This mission was the first combat release of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the largest B-2 strike in history, and the longest continuous strike for the 131st Bomb Wing.
** This unit is not related to another110th Aero Squadron (Service) that was activated in May 1918 atRich Field, Waco, Texas.
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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