| 71st Tactical Missile Squadron | |
|---|---|
 A squadronBGM-109G missile being readied for a simulated launch | |
| Active | 1941–1949; 1953–1969; 1972–1973; 1973–1975; 1984-1989 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | cruise missile |
| Nickname(s) | Wolf Pack (World War II)[1] |
| Motto(s) | Semper Primus (Latin for 'Always First')[2] |
| Engagements | Southwest Pacific Theater |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Philippine Presidential Unit Citation |
| Insignia | |
| patch with 71st Tactical Missile Squadron emblem[note 1][2] |  |
| 71st Bombardment Squadron emblem(World War II)[1] |  |
The71st Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the485th Tactical Missile Wing atFlorennes Air Base, Belgium, where it was inactivated on 30 September 1989 with the implementation of theIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
The squadron was first activated as the71st Bombardment Squadron in 1941 as the United States built up its military forces prior toWorld War II. Shortly after theattack on Pearl Harbor, the squadron deployed to theSouthwest Pacific Theater, participating in combat untilV-J Day, moving forward from Australia toOkinawa. It earned fourDistinguished Unit Citations for its actions during the war. The 71st moved to Japan as part of theoccupation forces, although it was only partly manned and equipped for some of this time. The squadron was inactivated in 1949 as the Defense budget was reduced.
The squadron was again activated in France in 1953, when it replaced anAir National Guard unit that had been mobilized for theKorean War and was being returned to state control. In 1958, the squadron moved on paper to Germany, where it became the71st Tactical Missile Squadron, taking over the missiles and personnel of another squadron, which was inactivated. It upgraded to theTM-76B Mace in 1962 and continued to operate the missile until the Mace was removed from operations in 1969.
The squadron briefly trained pilots for the Air Force as the71st Pilot Training Squadron in the 1970s, but returned to thecruise missile mission with theBGM-109G in 1984.
Thesquadron was first activated on 15 January 1941 atLangley Field, Virginia as the71st Bombardment Squadron, one of the three originalbombardment squadrons of the38th Bombardment Group. The squadron trained withMartin B-26 Marauders, but also flewDouglas B-18 Bolos. In June 1941, the squadron moved toJackson Army Air Base, Mississippi.[2][3]
Shortly after theattack on Pearl Harbor, on 19 January 1942, the ground echelon of the squadron departed for Australia. The air echelon remained at Jackson and continued training, converting toNorth American B-25 Mitchells, until the summer of 1942, when it departed for theSouthwest Pacific Theater.[3]
The air echelon arrived at its first combat station,Breddan Aerodrome, Queensland, Australia in early August 1942. The squadron attacked Japanese airfields and shipping, and supported ground forces in New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago, moving forward through New Guinea and the Netherlands East Indies. In December 1943, the squadron was awarded its firstDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for bombing and strafing Japanese installations onCape Gloucester on New Britain in December 1943. It earned a second DUC for missions on 16 and 17 June 1944 for missions attacking Japanese airfields, merchant ships and naval vessels in New Guinea.[3]
The squadron moved toPitoe Airfield,Morotai in theMaluku Islands. From this base, it bombed airfields, ground installations, harbors and shipping in the southern Philippines to support theinvasion of Leyte. It was awarded a third DUC for strikes on a large enemy convoy atOrmoc Bay on 10 November that prevented the landing of supplies and reinforcements, that were critical to the outcome of theBattle of Leyte.[3]
In January 1945, the squadron moved toLingayen Airfield, onLuzon, Philippines, from which it providedair support for American forces on Luzon, and made attacks onFormosa and enemy shipping along the coast of China. In July 1945, the squadron moved toOkinawa, attacking industrial targets, rail transportation and shipping insouthern Japan untilV-J Day.[3]
The squadron moved toItazuke Airfield, Japan in November 1945, when it became part of theoccupation forces. There it began conversion to theDouglas A-26 Invader. Its manning and equipment was withdrawn in November 1946, but it was again manned in November 1947. However, PresidentTruman’s reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of groups in the Air Force to 48,[4] and the squadron was inactivated on 1 April 1949[2]
The126th Bombardment Wing, anIllinois Air National Guard unit that had beenmobilized for theKorean War and selected to reinforceNATO, moved toLaon-Couvron Air Base, France with its Douglas B-26 Invaders in late May 1952. The installation had not been used as an airfield since 1945, when it was anAdvanced Landing Ground for theArmy Air Forces.[5] The 71st was reactivated to assume the mission, personnel and B-26 light bombers of the108th Bombardment Squadron,[6] anIllinois Air National Guard squadron that was being returned to state control at the end of its active duty tour. Over the next two years, the squadron completed an upgrade of its Invader force to planes equipped for night intruder missions. As facilities at Laon were completed, it was able to move from tents to permanent buildings.[7]
In January 1955, the squadron's pilots began flying missions in jetLockheed T-33 T-Birds to prepare them for conversion toMartin B-57B Canberras. It would not be until the end of the year before the first B-57Cs, equipped with dual controls were on hand, so for some squadron pilots, their first solo in the Canberra was also their first flight in the bomber.[8] In July 1955, the squadron's mission was changed from night intruder missions to the delivery of nuclear weapons.[9]
Starting in January 1956, the squadron, along with the other squadrons of the 38th Wing, began to rotate aircrews and aircraft toLandstuhl Air Base, where they stood alert withnuclear weapons (called Zulu Alert). The squadron also participated in the wing's maintenance of twelve aircraft onalert at its home station. To maintain efficiency in its operational mission, the squadron deployed toWheelus Air Base, Libya for gunnery and bombing practice.[10] In December 1957, the38th Bombardment Wing converted to the dual deputy organization. The 38th Bombardment Group was inactivated and the squadron was assigned directly to wing headquarters.[2]
At the start of 1958, the squadron began transferring its B-57s back to the United States. By 18 June, the squadron's operations at Laon had ceased.[11]
The end of the B-57 bomber mission in Europe did not, however, result in the inactivation of the squadron. On 18 June, the 38th Wing moved to Germany, where it replaced the701st Tactical Missile Wing. The 71st moved on paper toBitburg Air Base, where it became the71st Tactical Missile Squadron and assumed the mission, personnel andMartin TM-61 Matador missiles of the1st Tactical Missile Squadron, which was simultaneously inactivated.[12] The wing's squadrons were dispersed among several bases in Germany, and the squadron was assigned to the missile group at Bitburg, the585th Tactical Missile Group.[13]
The wing's missiles at Bitburg were located at two remote missile launch sites. The squadron operated Site VII "Chargirl", which was located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) NW of Bitburg,49°59′05″N006°28′50″E / 49.98472°N 6.48056°E /49.98472; 6.48056 (Site VII), near .[14] It also operated Site VIII, which was located 4.5 miles (7.2 km) SSW of Bitburg,49°53′21″N006°33′30″E / 49.88917°N 6.55833°E /49.88917; 6.55833 (Site VIII), near.
In September 1962, the 38th Wing reorganized, eliminating its groups. As a result, the squadron was now assigned directly to the 38th Tactical Missile Wing. At the same time, the wing completed its upgrade from Matadors to theTM-76 Mace missile. The Mace was a development of the Matador, with an internal guidance system.[15]
In 1966, the A model of the Mace was retired and the missiles were shipped toEglin Air Force Base. Florida to be used as targets.[15] However, the 71st was the only squadron of the wing that operated the B model of the Mace with an inertial guidance system and longer range, and it remained active when the rest of the wing was inactivated, transferring to the36th Tactical Fighter Wing at Bitburg in October 1965.[16] It remained active until the last Maces were withdrawn from Europe in 1969.
The squadron was reactivated in August 1972 as the71st Flying Training Squadron, when the 38th Wing replaced the 3640th Pilot Training Wing atLaredo Air Force Base, Texas.[17] The squadron operatedCessna T-37 Tweets in the primary phase of Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT).[citation needed] However, with the withdrawal of US forces from Vietnam, pilot training requirements of the Air Force were diminishing, and Laredo was scheduled to close. The squadron was inactivated along with the wing on 30 September 1973 as Laredo closed.[18]
However, the squadron's inactive period was short. It was again activated when the 38th Wing replaced the 3550th Pilot Training Wing atMoody Air Force Base, Georgia on 1 December 1973.[17][19] At Moody, the squadron provided instruction in the basic phase of UPT withNorthrop T-38 Talons.[citation needed] The Air Force's pilot requirements continued to drop, and the squadron ended operations in November 1975. The squadron was inactivated on 1 December 1975 along with the 38th Wing[18][19] when Moody became a tactical tighter base after theVietnam War ended.[20]
The squadron returned to its missile mission and71st Tactical Missile Squadron designation as aBGM-109G Gryphon ground launched cruise missile squadron in August 1984, when it was activated atFlorennes Air Base, Belgium and assigned to the 485th Tactical Missile Wing. It maintained 80 operational missiles in a combat-ready state. Almost as soon as the Gryphons deployed in Europe, protests erupted against them.[21] The BGM-109G missile was site located at50°13′34″N004°39′01″E / 50.22611°N 4.65028°E /50.22611; 4.65028 (71st TMS)
By the time the Gryphons were fully deployed in 1987, talks between the United States and the Soviet Union had begun that led to the signing of theIntermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, banning the missiles from Europe,[22] and the squadron inactivated on 30 April 1989.
|
|
|
|
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 23 July 1942–23 January 1943 | Papua New Guinea 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 24–26 December 1943 | New Britain 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 16-17 June 1944 | New Guinea 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 10 November 1944 | Leyte 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 April 1956–1 March 1958 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 April 1959–30 January 1961 | 71st Tactical Missile Squadron[2] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 June 1964–30 Sep 1965 | 71st Tactical Missile Squadron[28] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 January 1966–31 December 1967 | 71st Tactical Missile Squadron[28] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 January 1966–31 December 1967 | 71st Tactical Missile Squadron[29] |
_Streamer.png) | Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation | 30 January 1945–4 July 1945 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Japan | 17 April 1942 – 2 September 1945 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| East Indies | 17 April 1942 – 22 July 1942 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| China Defensive | 4 July 1942 – 4 May 1945 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Papua | 23 July 1942 – 23 January 1943 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| New Guinea | 24 January 1943 – 31 December 1944 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Northern Solomons | 23 February 1943 – 21 November 1944 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Bismarck Archipelago | 15 December 1943 – 27 November 1944 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Leyte | 17 October 1944 – 1 July 1945 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Luzon | 15 December 1944 – 4 July 1945 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Southern Philippines | 27 February 1945 – 4 July 1945 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Western Pacific | 17 April 1945 – 2 September 1945 | 71st Bombardment Squadron[2] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
| Air Forces |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Bases | ||
| Wings | ||
| Groups | ||
Previously: Philippine Department Air Force (1941); Far East Air Force (1941-1942) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Airfields |
| .svg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Units |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg)