100th Fighter Squadron
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2013) |
100th Fighter Squadron | |
---|---|
Dannelly Field, Alabama | |
Nickname(s) | Red Tails |
Motto(s) | Red Tails... We Deliver |
Tail Code | AL |
Commanders | |
100 FS/Snacko Commander | Capt. Jonathan “Blue” Gill |
Insignia | |
100th Fighter Squadron emblem |
The 100th Fighter Squadron (100 FS) is a unit of the Alabama Air National Guard 187th Fighter Wing located at Dannelly Field, Alabama. The 100th is equipped with the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.
The 100th FS was one of the
History
World War II
Established in February 1942 at
Due to the segregated status of the Army Air Forces in 1942 and the reluctance by the service to deploy African Americans into combat, the 332d remained in an extended training status. The Group was transferred to
For six months, the unit remained at Selfridge until pressure on the Army led to the decision to deploy the 100th to the Fifteenth Air Force in Italy at the end of 1943, under the command of Robert B. Tresville, to support the strategic aerial bombardment campaign being carried out by Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator Heavy bombers from newly established air bases in the Foggia, Italy area.
As the Italian Campaign pushed further north into Italy during 1944, the squadron moved to operate from forward captured air bases, flying bomber escort missions initially with Republic P-47D Thunderbolts, then being upgraded to the long-range North American P-51D Mustang fighter. In combat, the unit engaged enemy forces in the Rome-Arno area, then during the D-Day landings in France, took part in the Normandy and Northern France campaigns. It returned to the MTO in August 1944, flying combat missions supporting the Invasion of southern France and attacking enemy targets in Northern Italy, Po Valley, the German Rhineland and the Western Allied invasion of Germany during March and April 1945.
With the end of the War in Europe in May 1945, the squadron was returned to Southern Italy, being stationed at Lucera Airfield, near Foggia where the unit slowly was demobilized and personnel returned to the United States. The 100th Fighter Squadron was inactivated as an administrative unit at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey in mid-October 1945.
Cold War
The 332d was re-activated as part of
The 100th was reactivated by
Air Training Command re-activated the 100th as a Flying Training Squadron at
Post-Cold War era
In 1999, the 100th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron was activated as a provisional
After the Kosovo Campaign, the 100th was again re-activated as a flying training squadron at
Alabama Air National Guard
In 2007, the Alabama legislature requested the National Guard Bureau to allow the Alabama Air National Guard 160th Fighter Squadron to be re-designated as the 100th Fighter Squadron so the state could honor the legacy of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. This was obtained from the Air Force and on 12 September 2009, the 100th Flying Training Squadron was inactivated. The designation was transferred to the National Guard Bureau by the Air Force and it was allotted to the Alabama ANG. As a result, the 160th Fighter Squadron was inactivated, and the new 100th Fighter Squadron assumed its personnel, equipment and aircraft. The 160th Fighter Squadron stood down in a ceremony at Montgomery Air National Guard Base, on 13 September 2007, with the 100th Fighter Squadron standing up and being bequeathed the history, lineage, and honors of the World War II 100th Fighter Squadron and its successor units.
From the onset the squadron started training on the block 30 version of the General Dynamics F-16C/D Fighting Falcon that carried over from the 160th FS. The squadron flies the F-16 in a traditional air defense and conventional attack role.
In August 2009, the 100th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron deployed 240 airmen and aircraft to
The squadron deployed to Romania in August 2012 to participate in Dacian Viper 2012, a three-week joint exercise with the Romanian Air Force. The Alabama ANG contingent, which included nearly twenty fighter pilots and eight F-16s, exercised with approximately 200 Romanian soldiers, technical staff, and pilots flying six Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Lancer fighters at 71st Air Base, located near the town of Câmpia Turzii in the northwestern part of Romania.[1] The squadron returned to Romania in 2015, taking part in combined air operations during the Dacian Viper 2015 exercise.[2]
In December 2017, the Air Force announced that the 100th was one of two Air National Guard squadrons selected for equipping with the
Lineage
- Constituted 100th Pursuit Squadron on 27 December 1941
- Activated on 19 February 1942
- Re-designated: 100th Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942
- Inactivated on 19 October 1945
- Activated on 1 July 1947
- Inactivated on 1 July 1949
- Re-designated: 100th Air Refueling Squadron on 1 January 1953[dubious ]
- Activated on 23 May 1953
- Inactivated on 24 November 1953
- Reactivated on 8 September 1954
- Inactivated on 25 June 1966
- Re-designated: 100th Flying Training Squadron on 1 September 1989
- Activated in the reserve on 1 September 1989
- Inactivated on 1 April 1993
- Re-designated: 100th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron 1 April 1999
- Converted to provisional status and allotted to United States Air Forces in Europe to activate or inactivate any time after 1 April 1999
- Activated on 9 April 1999
- Inactivated on 20 June 1999
- Reactivated as 100th Flying Training Squadron and converted to regular status on 1 July 1999
- Inactivated on 12 September 2007
- Re-designated: 100th Fighter Squadron, and allocated to the Alabama ANG on 13 September 2007
- Extended federal recognition on 13 September 2007, assuming personnel and equipment of 160th Fighter Squadron
- Designated: 100th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron when deployed and attached to United States Air Forces Central
Assignments
- Southeast Air Corps (later Army Air Forces) Training Center, 19 February 1942
- Third Air Force, 4 July 1942
- 332d Fighter Group, 13 October 1942 – 19 October 1945; 1 July 1947 – 1 July 1949
- Second Air Force, 23 May – 24 November 1953
- Fourteenth Air Force, 8 September 1954
- Attached to: 19th Bombardment Wing, 2 February – 16 August 1956
- 100th Bombardment Wing, 16 August 1956 – 25 June 1966
- 82d Operations Group, 1 September 1989 – 1 April 1993
- 100th Expeditionary Operations Group, 9 April – 20 June 1999
- 340th Flying Training Group, 1 July 1999 – 12 September 2007
- 187th Operations Group, 13 September 2007 – present
Stations
- Tuskegee Army Airfield, Alabama, 19 February 1942
- Selfridge Army Air Base, Michigan, 29 March 1943
- Oscoda Army Airfield, Michigan, 12 April 1943
- Selfridge Army Air Base, Michigan, 9 July – 22 December 1943
- Montecorvino Airfield, Italy, 3 February 1944
- Capodichino Airfield, Italy, 15 April 1944
- Ramitelli Airfield, Italy, 28 May 1944
- Cattolica Airfield, Italy, c. 4 May 1945
- Lucera Airfield, Italy, c. 18 July – September 1945
- Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, 17–19 October 1945
- Lockbourne Army Air Base (later AFB), Ohio, 1 July 1947 – 1 July 1949; 23 May 1953 – 24 November 1953
- Robins AFB, Georgia, 8 September 1954
- Pease AFB, New Hampshire, August 1956 – 25 June 1966
- Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, 1 September 1989 – 1 April 1993
- RAF Mildenhall, England, 9 April 1999 – 20 June 1999
- Randolph AFB, Texas, 1 July 1999 – 12 September 2007
- Dannelly Field, Montgomery, Alabama, 13 September 2007 – present
- Elements operated from: Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, April–November 2014
Aircraft
- Bell P-39 Airacobra, 1943, 1944
- Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1943
- Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, 1944
- North American P-51D Mustang, 1944–1945.
- F-47N Thunderbolt, 1947–1949
- KB-29P SuperfortressTanker, 1953
- KC-97G Stratotanker, 1954–1966
- Cessna T-37 Tweet, 1989–1993
- Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 1999
- Northrop T-38A Talon, 1989–1993, 1999–2007
- Raytheon T-1 Jayhawk, 1999–2007
- Beechcraft T-6 Texan II, 2000–2007
- F-16C Fighting Falcon, 2007–2023
- Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, 2023–present
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ Clare Reed (11 October 2012). "Dacian Viper: Guard F-16s In Romania". codeonemagazine.com.
- ^ Christopher Baldwin (12 November 2015). "187 Fighter Wing Airmen, F-16s return from Romania". 187fw.ang.af.mil.
- ^ Staff writer, no byline (21 December 2017). "AF selects locations for next two Air National Guard F-35 bases". Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
- ^ Greg Hadley (3 May 2023). "With F-16s Gone and New F-35s on Their Way, Alabama Guard Wing Starts Conversion". airandspaceforces.com.
- DVIDS.
- ^ "Alabama's Red Tails receive first Lightnings". scramble.nl. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. OCLC 72556.