127th Command and Control Squadron
127th Command and Control Squadron | |
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![]() 127th Command and Control Squadron – Distributed Common Ground System | |
Active | 30 July 1940 – 29 September 2014 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Squadron |
Role | Intelligence |
Part of | Kansas Air National Guard |
Garrison/HQ | McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, Kansas |
Nickname(s) | Jayhawks |
Insignia | |
127th Command and Control Squadron emblem |
The 127th Command and Control Squadron (127 CACS) was a unit of the
The squadron is a descendant organization of the
Overview
The mission of the 127 CACS was to provide communication support to the U.S. Government at all levels, including
History
Established by the National Guard Bureau on 30 July 1940 as the 127th Observation Squadron, and activated in August 1941. Initially the squadron had 115 men in its ranks. It was, however, still short of officers since it only had nine officers but was authorized a total of thirty-one. Moved to Sherman Field at Fort Leavenworth, by November 1941 the squadron had one BE-1, one O-47A, one O-38E and several L-1's. All of the aircraft were single engine observation/liaison planes.
World War II
The 127th was ordered to federal service on 6 October 1941, became a training unit for observation and
Tullahoma Army Air Base was situated in close proximity to
On 19 August 1943, the 127th was reassigned to the First Air Support Command (headquarters at
Squadron pilots were constantly involved in duties supporting the British Army. Their missions included such activities as photographic and reconnaissance duties, evacuation of wounded, supply drops, courier duties, and cargo flights. They were entrusted with secret messages, regular mail and with transporting fresh blood to the front. Their operations were directed from the Tactical Air Command headquarters of the Fifteenth Corps of the British Army (their actual higher headquarters in this period was the Second Air Commando Group, United States Army Air Corps). The 127th Liaison Squadron (Commando) cooperated with the British Army from the beginning of the Burma offensive in February until the latter part of April 1945. Through this campaign, every pilot that participated (with one exception) flew sufficient hours and missions to entitle him to an Air Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and most of the pilots were eligible for a second Oak Leaf Cluster to the Air Medal.
After the end of the war, was moved to Okinawa where the unit was inactivated.
Kansas Air National Guard
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/127th_Fighter_Squadron_-_F-51D-5-NA_Mustang_44-13646.jpg/220px-127th_Fighter_Squadron_-_F-51D-5-NA_Mustang_44-13646.jpg)
The wartime 127th Liaison Squadron was re-designated as the 127th Fighter Squadron and was allotted to the
Korean War activation
The 127th was federalized on 10 October 1950 due to the
by 27 November, the wing assembled at Alexandria Municipal Airport, Louisiana for conversion training in the newer F-84Gs. Deployment of the wing was delayed, however, by the need to transfer pilots to Korea from training and delays in receiving engines for the F-84Gs, as well as the ongoing construction at Chaumont AB. Training and delays continued throughout 1951. Due to these delays, many of the activated National Guard airmen were released from active duty and never deployed to France.
With mostly regular Air Force personnel and all the delays behind them, the remaining Guardsmen departed Louisiana on 5 May 1952 for Europe, however, the 128th inherited a base that was little more than acres of mud where wheat fields used to be. The only hardened facilities at Chaumont was a concrete runway and a handful of tarpaper shacks. The 127th wound up being stationed by USAFE at Neubiberg Air Base, West Germany until the facilities in France were suitable for military use. The aircraft arrived at Chaumont on 25 June, being the first USAF tactical air fighters to be based permanently in France, albeit working mostly in tents and temporary wooden buildings on their new base.
The Guardsmen of the 127th ended their active-duty tour in France and returned to the United States in late June, leaving their F-84 Thunderjets in Europe.
Cold War
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/127th_Tactical_Fighter_Squadron_-_4_aircraft_F-100C_formation.jpg/220px-127th_Tactical_Fighter_Squadron_-_4_aircraft_F-100C_formation.jpg)
Upon the squadrons return to Wichita, the 127th Fighter-Bomber squadron was again assigned F-51D aircraft due to the shortage of jets created by the Korean War. In June 1954,
The unit converted to the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/127th_Tactical_Fighter_Training_Squadron_-_Republic_F-105G-1-RE_Thunderchief_63-8347.jpg/220px-127th_Tactical_Fighter_Training_Squadron_-_Republic_F-105G-1-RE_Thunderchief_63-8347.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/184th_Tactical_Fighter_Group_-_McDonnell_F-4D-31-MC_Phantom_66-7735.jpg/220px-184th_Tactical_Fighter_Group_-_McDonnell_F-4D-31-MC_Phantom_66-7735.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/184th_Tactical_Fighter_Group_-_General_Dynamics_F-16B_Block_5_Fighting_Falcon_78-0100.jpg/220px-184th_Tactical_Fighter_Group_-_General_Dynamics_F-16B_Block_5_Fighting_Falcon_78-0100.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/127th_Bomb_Squadron_Rockwell_B-1B_Lancer_Lot_IV_85-0064.jpg/220px-127th_Bomb_Squadron_Rockwell_B-1B_Lancer_Lot_IV_85-0064.jpg)
In January 1968, following the
On 1 October 1973, the 184th assumed the responsibility of operating and maintaining the Smoky Hill Weapons Range at Salina, Kansas. With over 36,000 acres, Smoky Hill is the Air National Guard's largest weapons range.
On 7 August 1979, the unit received its first
In January 1987, the 184th was tasked to activate a squadron of
Post Cold War era
In July 1993, the 184th Fighter Group changed gaining commands and became part of the new
In order to save money, the USAF agreed to reduce its active fleet of B-1Bs from 92 to 60 aircraft. The first B-1B was flown to storage at AMARC on 20 August 2002. In total, 24 B-1Bs were consigned to storage at AMARC, with ten of these being retained in "active storage" which means that they could be quickly returned to service should circumstances dictate. The remaining 14 in storage at AMARC will be scavenged for spare parts to keep the remainder flying. The remaining 8 aircraft to be withdrawn from service were placed on static display at various museums. In exchange for retiring its B-1s, the 184th was redesigned the 184th Air Refueling Wing on 16 September 2002, flying the KC-135R tanker. In addition to the tanker mission, the 184th also took on several new missions within the information operations mission set.
BRAC 2005
In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD recommended to realign McConnell Air National Guard (ANG) Base by relocating the 184th Air Refueling Wing (ANG) nine KC-135R aircraft to the 190th Air Refueling Wing at Forbes Field AGS, which would retire its eight assigned KC-135E aircraft. The 184th Air Refueling Wing 's operations and maintenance manpower would transfer with the aircraft to Forbes. Realigning ANG KC-135R aircraft from McConnell to Forbes would replace the 190th's aging, higher maintenance KC-135E aircraft with newer models while retaining the experienced personnel from one of the highest-ranking reserve component tanker bases.
In June 2007, the 190 ARW gained custody of all KC-135R aircraft from the 184th ARW. This action consolidated all of the Kansas ANG's KC-135R assets into a single wing located at Forbes Field. In April 2008, the 184th Air Refueling Wing was designated the 184th Intelligence Wing making it the first Intelligence Wing in the Air National Guard. With the loss of the flying mission the "Flying Jayhawks" are now the "Fighting Jayhawks".
Lineage
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/127th_Observation_Squadron_-_Emblem.png/175px-127th_Observation_Squadron_-_Emblem.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/127th_Fighter_Squadron_-_50th_Anniversary_Patch.png/175px-127th_Fighter_Squadron_-_50th_Anniversary_Patch.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/127_Bomber_Squadron_emblem.svg/175px-127_Bomber_Squadron_emblem.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/127th_Fighter-Interceptor_Squadron_-_Emblem.png/125px-127th_Fighter-Interceptor_Squadron_-_Emblem.png)
- Designated as the 127th Observation Squadron and allotted to the National Guard on 30 July 1940
- Activated on 4 August 1941
- Ordered to active service on 6 October 1941
- Redesignated 127th Observation Squadron (Light) on 13 January 1942
- Redesignated 127th Observation Squadron on 4 July 1942
- Redesignated 127th Liaison Squadron on 2 April 1943
- Redesignated 127th Liaison Squadron (Commando) on 1 May 1944
- Inactivated on 15 November 1945
- Redesignated 127th Fighter Squadron and allotted to the National Guard on 24 May 1946
- Actuvated on 27 August 1946
- Extended federal recognition on 7 September 1946
- Ordered to active service on 10 October 1950
- Relieved from active duty and returned to state control on 10 July 1952
- Redesignated 127th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 10 July 1952
- Redesignated 127th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 1 June 1954
- Redesignated 127th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Special Delivery) on 1 April 1961
- Redesignated 127th Tactical Fighter Squadron c. 15 October 1962
- Ordered to active service on 26 January 1968
- Relieved from active duty and returned to state control on 18 June 1969
- Redesignated 127th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 25 March 1971
- Redesignated 127th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 8 October 1979
- Redesignated 127th Fighter Squadron on 16 March 1992
- Redesignated 127th Bomb Squadron on 1 July 1994
- Redesignated 127th Air Refueling Squadron on 16 September 2002
- Redesignated 127th Command and Control Squadron on 1 April 2008
- Inactivated in September 2014[2]
Assignments
- Kansas National Guard, 4 August 1941
- 68th Observation Group, 6 October 1941
- 75th Observation Group(later 75th Reconnaissance Group), 12 March 1942
- I Air Support Command(later I Tactical Air Division; III Tactical Air Division), 11 August 1943
- 2d Air Commando Group, 1 May 1944
- United States Army Forces, Pacific, 4 August 1945
- Thirteenth Air Force, 15 September 1945
- Seventh Air Force, 29 October – 15 November 1945
- 131st Fighter Group, 7 September 1946
- 137th Fighter-Bomber Group, 10 October 1950
- 131st Fighter-Bomber Group (later 131st Fighter-Interceptor Group, 131st Fighter Group (Air Defense), 131st Tactical Fighter Group), 10 July 1952
- 184th Tactical Fighter Group, 1 October 1962
- 354th Tactical Fighter Wing, 26 January 1968
- 184th Tactical Fighter Group (later 184th Tactical Fighter Training Group, 184th Tactical Fighter Group, 184th Fighter Group, 184th Bomb Group), 18 June 1969
- 184th Operations Group, 1 October 1995
- 184th Regional Support Group, 1 July 2007 – 29 September 2014
Stations
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Aircraft
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See also
References
Notes
- ^ AF FOIA Request 2009-02224-F, 30 July 2009
- ^ Plumlee, Rick. "Guard unit at McConnell to be sliced by nearly one-third". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- 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.