104th Fighter Squadron

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104th Fighter Squadron
Warfield Air National Guard Base, Middle River, Maryland
Nickname(s)	Fightin' O's[1]
Equipment	A-10C Thunderbolt II
Insignia
104th Fighter Squadron emblem
Squadron tail code	MD

The 104th Fighter Squadron (104th FS), nicknamed the Fightin' O's, is a unit of the

.

The squadron is a descendant organization of the 104th Squadron (Observation), which was formed on 29 June 1921. It is one of the

and is the oldest unit of the Maryland Air National Guard.

Heraldry

Unit Emblem: A caricature of a

History

Maryland National Guard

In personnel, if not in official lineage, the 104th Fighter Squadron can trace its origins to 1920 when the Flying Club of Baltimore was organized for former

in 1921 when Maryland formed one of the nation's first post-war flying units with the creation of the 1st Observation Squadron in Baltimore which received federal recognition on 29 June 1921.

Maryland became the fifth state to have a post-World War I National Guard aviation unit. The 1st Observation Squadron (a state designation) was re-designated the 104th Squadron (Observation) under the federal numbering system. At the time, the number 104 was widely used to designate combat support units in the Maryland National Guard, including the 104th Medical Regiment and the 104th Military Police Battalion.

The 104th became the first post-World War I United States National Guard unit to be equipped with its own aircraft, 13

. In addition to Jennies, the 104th flew a variety of other aircraft during the interwar period, almost all of them two-seat biplanes.

Conducted annual summer training at various locations to include Langley Field, VA; Shepard Field, Martinsburg, WV; Middletown Air Depot, PA; and at Detrick Airfield, Frederick, MD.

World War II

At the outset of World War II the 104th became part of the Antisubmarine Patrol used along the East Coast. Initially operating out of the

bombers configured for antisubmarine attack missions.

By this time most of the original Maryland National Guard members had been transferred elsewhere as individual replacements, although a handful were still serving with the unit when it deployed to England in 1943, by which time the 517th Bomb Squadron had been redesignated the

, a B-24 Liberator group. There is no official lineage however, between the 104th Observation Squadron and the 859th Bombardment Squadron.

Meanwhile, the 104th Observation Squadron was reactivated with the 59th Observation Group. The squadron was redesignated as the 104th Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter) on 1 March 1943. Equipped with

. Its mission was to train newly graduated pilots from AAF flight training schools to fly single-engine fighter planes as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). In August 1943, the squadron was redesignated as the 489th Fighter Squadron. However, those changes were administrative in nature, the mission of the squadron remaining the same. The squadron was inactivated and disbanded on 1 May 1944 as part of an Air Force reorganization of its training program. The squadron's training mission subsequently was carried out by "Squadron B", Thomasville Replacement Training Unit. With the end of the war, Thomasville AAF and all of its assigned units were inactivated on 30 September 1945.

Maryland Air National Guard

The wartime 489th Fighter Squadron was reconstituted on 21 June 1945 and re-designated as the 104th Fighter Squadron, and was allotted to the

.

Air Defense Command

The squadron was one of the first in the Air National Guard and was operationally gained by the

, although administrative control was retained by the Maryland ANG.

With the surprise invasion of

in 1951 to better carry out its air defense mission.

By 1955 the Mustangs were at the end of their operational lifetime, and the Air Force issued a directive to ADC to replace all of its interceptor force with Jet Aircraft. As a result, the 104th entered the jet age and received

on 1 July 1957 whose longer runway was necessary to support jet operations.

Tactical Air Command

In 1957 the gaining command of the 104th was transferred to

.

On 1 October 1962, the 104th was authorized to expand to a group level, and the

was federally recognized and activated by the National Guard Bureau. The 104th TFS becoming the group's flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 175th Headquarters, 175th Material Squadron, 175th Combat Support Squadron, and the 175th USAF Dispensary. With the formation of the 175th TFG, all administration of the unit by the 111th ADW ended.

On 13 May 1968, the 175th Tactical Fighter Group was federalized and ordered to active service. It was transferred to

which were deployed to the Vietnam War. At Cannon, the squadron trained active Air Force pilots in forward air controller duties. The unit did not deploy overseas. The units were returned to New York and Maryland state control on 20 December 1968 when the TAC 4429th Combat Crew Training Squadron was activated with regular active-duty Air Force personnel.

In 1970, the F-86H Sabres were transferred after being with the 104th TFS for thirteen years. The 104th was one of the last ANG units to fly the F-86. The Sabres, however, were not retired, but instead transferred to the

, and many a Navy F-4 pilot was "killed" by a F-86H Sabre during these mock battles.

In return, the 104th TFS received

. In the OA-37 configuration, the aircraft was equipped with small rocket pods, usually with smoke or white phosphorus warheads used for target marking.

In 1979, the 175th TFG was the first Air National Guard unit to receive the Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II ground support aircraft. The 104th received brand new A-10A Thunderbolt II attack aircraft from the factory in Hagerstown, Maryland. The unit continues to fly the latest version (A-10C) of the famed tank killer to this day.

Modern era

Early in the 1990s with the declared end of the Cold War and the continued decline in military budgets, the Air Force restructured to meet changes in strategic requirements, decreasing personnel, and a smaller infrastructure. The 175th adopted the new USAF "Objective Organization" in early 1992, with the word "tactical" being eliminated from its designation and becoming the 175th Fighter Group. Tactical Air Command was inactivated on 1 June, being replaced by the new Air Combat Command (ACC).

On 15 June 1996, in accordance with the Air Force "One Wing, One Base" directive, the units of the

-gained civil engineer flight, and, from 2006 to 2016, a network warfare squadron.

In mid-1996, the Air Force, in response to budget cuts, and changing world situations, began experimenting with Air Expeditionary organizations. The Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) concept was developed that would mix Active-Duty, Reserve and Air National Guard elements into a combined force. Instead of entire permanent units deploying as "Provisional" as in the 1991 Gulf War, Expeditionary units are composed of "aviation packages" from several wings, including active-duty Air Force, the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard, would be married together to carry out the assigned deployment rotation.

Following the terrorist attack of 11 September 2001, members of the 175th Wing repeatedly volunteered or have been mobilized to take part in the

In May 2022, ten 104th A-10Cs deployed to Europe for two weeks.[3] Four Warthogs were sent to Norway, while the other six deployed to North Macedonia. While in Europe, the Fightin' O's also visited Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland as part of Agile Combat Employment training.^[4]

Lineage

• Constituted in the National Guard in 1921 as the 104th Squadron (Observation) and allotted to the state of Maryland

Organized and Federally recognized on 29 June 1921

Re-designated 104th Observation Squadron on 25 January 1923

Ordered into active service on 3 February 1941

Re-designated: 104th Observation Squadron (Light) on 13 January 1942

Re-designated: 104th Observation Squadron on 4 July 1942

Inactivated on 18 October 1942

• Activated on 1 March 1943

Re-designated: 104th Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter) on 2 April 1943

Re-designated: 489th Fighter Squadron on 11 August 1943

Disbanded on: 1 May 1944.

• Reconstituted on 21 June 1945

Re-designated: 104th Fighter Squadron and allotted to Maryland ANG on 24 May 1946

Extended federal recognition on 17 August 1946

Re-designated: 104th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron in Aug 1951

Re-designated: 104th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 1 December 1952

Re-designated: 104th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron in Jun 1956

Re-designated: 104th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 10 November 1958

Federalized and ordered to active service on: 13 May 1968

Released from active duty and returned to Maryland control, 20 December 1968

Re-designated: 104th Fighter Squadron on 15 March 1992

Components designated as: 104th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron when deployed as part of an Air and Space Expeditionary unit after June 1996.

Assignments

• Maryland National Guard
  (divisional aviation, 29th Division), 29 June 1921
• Relieved on 15 February 1929 from assignment to the 29th Division. Concurrently assigned to the 315th Observation Group (III Corps) and further attached to the 29th Division for command and control purposes
• 43d Observation Group (III Corps), 1 October 1933 – November 1940
• II Army Corps, 3 February 1941
• 59th Observation Group
  , 1 Sep 1942 – 18 Oct 1942
• 59th Observation Group (later Reconnaissance, Fighter) Group
  , 1 Mar 1943 – 1 May 1944
• Maryland Air National Guard, 17 August 1946

Gained by

Air Defense Command

• 53d Fighter Wing
  , 17 January 1947
• 111th Air Defense Wing
  , 1 November 1950
• 111th Fighter-Interceptor Wing
  , 1 July 1955
• 175th Tactical Fighter Group
  , 1 October 1962
• 175th Fighter Group
  , 15 March 1992
• 175th Operations Group, 1 April 1996 – present

Stations

Aircraft

See also

• List of observation squadrons of the United States Army National Guard
• William Tipton World War I fighter pilot who was one of the founding members of the 104th Observation Squadron, the original unit of the Maryland Air National Guard (MDANG).

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

External links

• Maryland National Guard
• Maryland Military Historical Society