181st Airlift Squadron | |
|---|---|
 181st Airlift Squadron Lockheed C-130H-LM Hercules 85-1365 | |
| Active | 1943–1946; 1947–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  Texas |
| Branch |  Air National Guard |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Airlift |
| Part of | Texas Air National Guard |
| Garrison/HQ | Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas |
| Nickname | Panzer Dusters (World War II)[1] |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Belgian Fourragère |
| Insignia | |
| 181st Airlift Squadron emblem |  |
| 395th Fighter Squadron emblem |  |
| Tail stripe | Blue stripe inscribed Texas between two stars |
| World War II fuselage code | A7 |
The181st Airlift Squadron is a unit of the136th Airlift Wing of theTexas Air National Guard stationed atNaval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. The 181st is equipped with theLockheed C-130J Hercules.
It was first activated in June 1943 as The395th Fighter Squadron, assigned to the368th Fighter Group. After training in the United States, it moved to theEuropean Theater of Operations, where it served in combat until the spring of 1945 withNinth Air Force, earning aDistinguished Unit Citation and aBelgian Fourragère for its actions. FollowingV-E Day, the squadron served in thearmy of occupation atAAF Station Straubing, Germany until was inactivated on 20 August 1946 and transferred its personnel and equipment to another unit, which was activated in its place.
The squadron was allotted to theUnited States National Guard as the181st Fighter Squadron and was activated in 1947. It served in theDallas-Fort Worth metroplex as afighter squadron until the early 1960s, when it assumed anair refueling mission, which continued until 1978, and has been anairlift unit since then.
Thesquadron was first organized atWestover Field, Massachusetts in June 1943 as the395th Fighter Squadron, one of the original squadrons of the368th Fighter Group. The squadron drew its initialcadre from the326th Fighter Group, anOperational Training Unit at Westover. In June 1943, the cadre of the squadron travelled toOrlando Army Air Base for training at theArmy Air Forces School of Applied Tactics.[2]
The 395th trained withRepublic P-47 Thunderbolts, moving toFarmingdale Army Air Field, New York to complete its training. The squadron and group left Farmingdale for the Port of Embarkation,Camp Myles Standish on 20 December 1943 and boarded theSS Argentina to sail for Great Britain on 29 December, arriving at theFirth of Clyde on 7 January 1944.[3][4][2]
The squadron arrived atRAF Greenham Common on 13 January 1944. It began operations on 14 March, when it flew a fighter sweep over the coast of France.[4] That was to be the unit's only mission from Greenham Common, for it moved the next day toRAF Chilbolton,[3] as the438th Troop Carrier Group moved into Greenham Common.[5] It madestrafing andbombing attacks on transportation targets andflak batteries in preparation forOperation Overlord, the invasion of France. The squadron also participated inOperation Crossbow, attacking launch sites forV-1 flying bombs andV-2 rockets. OnD-Day, the group supported the landing forces in Normandy.[4]
Two weeks after the landings, it moved toCardonville Airfield, anadvanced landing ground in northern France and began operations from the Continent as an element ofIX Tactical Air Command.[3][6] The squadron providedclose air support for forces in theBattle of Cherbourg, which secured a vital port for further operations in France. It participated in the air operations that prepared the way forOperation Cobra, the Allied breakthrough atSt Lo on 25 July, and supported ground forces during their drive across France. In early August, the squadron became part ofXIX Tactical Air Command, which would concentrate on air support for GeneralGeorge S. Patton'sThird United States Army.[7]
By early September, fuel shortages were impacting both Third Army and XIX Tactical Air Command, slowing the Allied advance, and sometimes forcing fighter-bombers to land at forward bases to refuel.[8] On 3 September 1944, operating fromChartres Airfield, and in the face of "withering anti-aircraft and small arms fire," the squadron destroyed numerous motor transport vehicles,horse-drawn vehicles, and uncounted troops in the vicinity ofMons (Bergen), Belgium, also attacking as targets of opportunity enemy positions that obstructed the progress of Allied ground forces. For this action, the squadron was awarded theDistinguished Unit Citation.[3][4][9] The squadron then moved closer to the front, arriving atLaon/Athies Airfield on 11 September.[3] It wascited in the order of the day for the first time by theBelgian Army for the period from D-Day through the end of September.[3]
The squadron continued its support of allied ground forces, participated in the assault against theSiegfried Line, and took part in theBattle of the Bulge from December 1944 through January 1945 by attacking rail lines and trains,marshalling yards, roads and vehicles, armored columns, and gun positions. It was cited in the order of the day for a second time by the Belgian Army for this support and awarded theBelgian Fourragère.[3] The squadron continued operations with the Allied forces that pushed across the Rhine and into Germany until the end of the war.[4] The last combat mission flown by the 368th Group was a fighter sweep nearPrague on 5 May 1945.[10] The squadron ended the war credited with the destruction of 35 enemy aircraft.[11]
AfterV-E Day, the unit served with thearmy of occupation, atAAF Station Straubing. On 20 August 1946, the 368th Group and its elements were inactivated and replaced at Straubing by the78th Fighter Group. The squadron transferred it personnel and equipment to the82d Fighter Squadron, which was simultaneously activated.[3][4][12][13]
The wartime 395th Fighter Squadron was redesignated the181st Fighter Squadron and allotted to theNational Guard the day after it was inactivated in Germany. It was organized atLove Field, Dallas, Texas and was extended federal recognition on 27 February 1947. The squadron was assigned to its World War II headquarters, which had also been assigned to the National Guard as the136th Fighter Group,[14] and was equipped withNorth American P-51D Mustangs.
The mission of the squadron was to train forair defense. During the postwar years, the 181st primarily trained over the northern part of the state, while the other two squadrons of the 136th Group, the111th Fighter Squadron, atEllington Air Force Base and the182d Fighter Squadron, atBrooks Air Force Base, near San Antonio, trained in southeastern Texas and the Texas Hill Country.
With the breakout of theKorean War in October 1950, the 136th Fighter Group was one of the first Guard units to be federalized and went on active duty, along with the 111th and 182d Fighter Squadrons and moved toLangley Air Force Base, Virginia. The 181st Fighter Squadron remained in theTexas Air National Guard and was assigned directly to its headquarters. The 181st was re-equipped with the Very Long Range F-51H Mustang, which had been developed to escortBoeing B-29 Superfortress bombers in the Pacific Theater. The F-51H would allow the squadron to intercept any unidentified aircraft over any part of Texas. In September 1952, the squadron became the181st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
With the 136th Fighter-Bomber Group's release from active duty in July 1952, the squadron was again assigned to it. It became the181st Fighter-Bomber Squadron the following January. Despite this name change, the squadron remained focused on the air defense mission.
It wasn't until January 1955 that the squadron received its first jets,Lockheed F-80C Shooting Stars. In July it was redesignated the181st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron.On 1 July 1957 the136th Fighter-Interceptor Wing was reorganized alongAir Defense Command's (ADC) regional model, becoming the 136th Air Defense Wing, while the 136th Group became the 136th Fighter Group (Air Defense), and new fighter groups were activated for the wing's other squadrons. The 181st was selected by ADC to man analert program on an around the clock basis, with armed fighters ready to scramble at a moment's notice. This brought the squadron into the daily combat operational program of the Air Force alongside regular air defense fighter squadrons. The squadron's obsolescent F-80 fighters were upgraded to theradar equipped andMighty Mouse rocket armedNorth American F-86D Sabre by the end of the year.
In August 1961, the 181st became the181st Air Refueling Squadron asTactical Air Command (TAC) replaced ADC as the unit's mobilization gaining command. The 181st was equipped withBoeing KC-97L Stratotankers, its mission becomingair refueling, primarily of TAC fighter aircraft. The 181st moved from Love Field toHensley Field, which relieved Love Field from supporting airliners and military aircraft from a field near the downtown area of a major city.
With the transfer of the interceptors and no previously qualified aircrew or maintenance personnel assigned, the 181st went through a year of transition to its new mission. The squadron achieved operational status in the KC-97 in eight months. The previous "normal" time for similar conversions was two years. In 1966 the squadron began a rotational deployment toRamstein Air Base in support of Operation Creek Party, which providedUnited States Air Forces Europe an air refueling capability. The Creek Party deployment rotations lasted until 1976, and over the decade the squadron saw millions of pounds of jet fuel off-loaded and millions of miles flown, all accident free. In 1976 the squadron's gaining command becameStrategic Air Command, the Air Force's single manager of refueling assets. However, the Air National Guard had begun retiring its KC-97s and by 1978 all had left the inventory.
On 1 April 1978, the 181st became the181st Tactical Airlift Squadron and its gaining command becameMilitary Airlift Command (MAC), re-equipping withLockheed C-130B Hercules transports. The new mission wasairlift of troops, military equipment, cargo and aeromedical support.
The squadron participated in numerousCold War military exercises such as Team Spirit, Volant Oak, Red Flag, and Reforger. Other Joint Chief of Staff exercises included Ember Dawn IV in Alaska and Brave Shield in Europe. In 1979, the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve assumed full responsibility for airlift operations in Panama.
In mid-December 1989, squadron aircraft,aircrews, and support personnel deployed for Exercise Volant Oak atHoward Air Force Base, in thePanama Canal Zone It flew combat airlift missions forUnited States Southern Command duringOperation Just Cause, the replacement ofManuel Noriega as the ruler of Panama. More than 100 combat sorties were flown, with no casualties or damage to aircraft.
In August 1986 the Wing received the new C-130H aircraft. By late January 1991, the squadron provided voluntarily and involuntarily activated, to participate inOperation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Aircraft and air crews from the squadron flew two-month-long tours of duty in Operation Volant Pine, a backfill of airlift aircraft to Europe by Air National Guard C-130s.
In 1997, wing members deployed supporting state and federal missions. During the period the unit supportedDepartment of Defense missions deploying to Oman and Saudi Arabia in support ofOperation Southern Watch, and in humanitarian airlift. On 1 October 1998 with the closure of Hensley Field, the squadron moved to the formerCarswell Air Force Base, now designated as Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth.
As part of the Global War on Terrorism, the unit has deployed numerous times in support ofOperation Noble Eagle,Operation Iraqi Freedom,Operation Enduring Freedom,Operation New Horizons, with an average of six deployments per unit member. When the squadron is the primary force provider for an expeditionary unit, that unit is designated the 181st Expeditionary Airlift Squadron.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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