166th Air Refueling Squadron
166th Air Refueling Squadron | |
---|---|
Active | 1942–Present |
Country | United States |
Allegiance | Ohio |
Branch | Air National Guard |
Type | Squadron |
Role | Air Refueling |
Part of | Ohio Air National Guard |
Garrison/HQ | Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Columbus, Ohio |
Nickname(s) | Sluff[citation needed] |
Tail Code | "Block O" Red Tail Stripe |
Insignia | |
166th Air Refueling Squadron emblem |
The 166th Air Refueling Squadron (166 ARS) is a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard 121st Air Refueling Wing located at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Columbus, Ohio. The 166th is equipped with eight KC-135R Stratotankers.
History
World War II
The 364th Fighter Squadron was established at
Became part of the
Ohio Air National Guard
The wartime 364th Fighter Squadron was re-designated as the 166th Fighter Squadron, and was allotted to the Ohio Air National Guard, on 24 May 1946. It was organized at
With the formation and federal recognition of the Ohio ANG
In October 1948 the squadron exchanged its F-51Ds for F-51H Mustang very long range escort fighters that were suitable for long-range interception of unknown aircraft identified by Ground Control Interceptor radar stations, the 166th being one of the first ANG squadrons to receive the F-51H. In March 1950, the squadron entered the jet age with the receipt of Republic F-84C Thunderjets.
Korean War federalization
With the surprise invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1950, and the regular military's complete lack of readiness, most of the Air National Guard was called to active duty. The 166th Fighter Squadron was federalized on 10 February 1951 and assigned to the
On 20 September, the 166th was reassigned to the Federalized Oregon ANG
However,
Air defense command
After the Korean War mobilization ended, the ADC 86th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron assumed the assets of the 166th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron F-84Cs and many of their personnel.
The 166th was re-equipped with F-51H Mustangs which the squadron flew until 1954 when the 166th received refurbished
Upgraded with new
1961 Berlin Crisis
The 121st Tactical Fighter Wing were called to active duty for a period of twelve months on 1 October. When activated, the wing consisted of three operational units, the Ohio ANG
The mission of the activated 121st TFW was to reinforce the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), and deploy to
On 4 November the first ANG T-33 aircraft arrived at Etain, with the F-84's arriving on 16 November. On 11 December, the deployed units of the 121st TFW were redesignated the 7121st Tactical Wing. Ground shipments of equipment and supplies arrived from Ohio during January 1962 along with additional supplies and equipment from the Chateauroux-Deols Air Depot.
The mission of the 7121st TW was tactical air support of US Army units in case of an armed conflict with the Warsaw Pact, and alert began almost immediately upon arrival. Four F-84F's were loaded with armament and maintained on alert 24/7 for continual launch preparedness. However, as the F-84 was a day fighter only, its night alert was of limited use if necessary.
Rotational deployments to the gunnery range at Wheelus AB were also made, where the excellent weather and ranges there provided the Air National Guard pilots an opportunity to re-qualify in air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons delivery. Weather permitting, daily missions at U S Army training ranges in West Germany were also flown to exercise with ground units there. Several ANG fighter pilots were detached as Forward Air Controllers and Air Liaison Officers to work with Seventh Army units, and additional pilots were deployed from Ohio to keep the squadron at full strength.
A NATO exchange program was conducted with the West German Air Force, with 4 F-84's being deployed to Hopsten Air Base, West Germany with an equal number of German personnel and aircraft being deployed to Etain to fly missions with the 166th. This was the first German Air Force deployment to France since the end of World War II.
In July 1962 the deployed Air National Guardsmen were no longer needed in Europe and the 7121st began to redeploy its personnel to Ohio. All the aircraft and support equipment, however, remained at Etain to equip a new wing being formed there, the
The last of the ANG personnel departed on 9 August 1962.
Tactical air command
Having left their Thunderstreaks in France, the 166th TFW was re-equipped with
Along with the Kansas ANG F-100C
On 10 June 1968, the ANG squadrons returned to the United States after the men of the Pueblo were released. However, the experience of the F-100's in South Korea showed the Air Force that the F-100C was not a good air defense aircraft. The F-100s were aging and clearly unsuited to the most pressing operational responsibilities in the event of an attack by the North Koreans. In addition, the F-100's were slow in attaining altitude and lacked an effective all-weather, air-to-air combat capability, essential in Korea. In 1971 the F-100Cs were retired and replaced by
In 1974 Lockbourne AFB was renamed Rickenbacker AFB in honor of Captain
When the active duty units departed in 1979, Rickenbacker became an Air National Guard Base with the 121st as its largest flying unit. The 1980s brought new and more demanding tasks when the 121st became part of President
Training for this high priority mission was intense and included many deployments, exercises and evaluations. Additional deployments during the 1980s were Coronet Castle and Coronet Miami at
By the time of
Air refueling
With the end of the Cold War, a major reorganization of the Air Force was soon underway which would bring about the most significant mission change in the history of the 121st. After 35 years of flying fighters it was to become an air refueling wing.
In 1992, the A-7D’s were flown to storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona and the first
Under the 120th ARW, the squadron began flying from bases in southern France to support strike aircraft during
After the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the 121st Air Refueling Wing launched into immediate action supporting armed aircraft over the United States during
In addition to the combat deployments, the unit has also been very heavily tasked with airlift missions during national emergencies. Immediately following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, the 121ARW was one of the first units to send aircraft into Louisiana filled with supplies and troops. Similar missions were flown in September 2005, after Hurricane Rita.
Lineage
- Constituted 364th Fighter Squadron and activated, on 1 December 1942
- Inactivated on 20 August 1946.
- Re-designated: 166th Fighter Squadron, and allotted to Ohio ANG, on 21 August 1946
- Extended federal recognition on 10 November 1947
- Re-designated: 166th Fighter Squadron (Jet), 1 March 1950
- Federalized and ordered to active service on: 10 February 1951
- Re-designated: 166th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 10 February 1951
- Released from active duty and returned to Ohio state control, 1 November 1952
- Re-designated: 166th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 1 November 1957
- Re-designated: 166th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 1 September 1961
- Federalized and ordered to active service on: 1 October 1961
- Released from active duty and returned to Ohio state control, 20 August 1962
- Federalized and ordered to active service on: 26 January 1968
- Released from active duty and returned to Ohio state control, 18 June 1969
- Re-designated: 166th Air Refueling Squadron, 16 January 1993
- Components designated as: 166th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron when deployed as part of an Air and Space Expeditionary unit after June 1996.
Assignments
- 357th Fighter Group, 1 Dec 1942 – 20 Aug 1946
- 66th Fighter Wing, 10 November 1947
- 55th Fighter Wing, 7 December 1947
- 121st Fighter Group, 26 June 1948
- 122d Fighter-Interceptor Group, 10 February 1951
- 142d Fighter-Interceptor Group, 20 September 1951
- 121st Fighter-Interceptor Group, 1 November 1952
- 121st Fighter-Bomber Group, 1 November 1957
- 121st Tactical Fighter Group, 1 September 1961
- Attached to: 7121st Tactical Wing, 4 November 1961 – 9 August 1962
- 354th Tactical Fighter Wing, 26 January 1968
- 121st Tactical Fighter Group, 18 June 1969
- 121st Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 July 1974
- 121st Air Refueling Wing, 16 January 1993
- 121st Operations Group, 1 October 1993 – Present
Stations
|
|
Aircraft
|
|
Aircraft flying in this unit
KC-135
63-7992(R) (Jan'94); 63-7993(R) (Jan'94)
References
Notes
- ^ Grant, C.L., The Development of Continental Air Defense to 1 September 1954, (1961), USAF Historical Study No. 126, p. 33
- ^ a b Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. p. 123. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- OCLC 72556.
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. p. 123. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- Grant, C.L., The Development of Continental Air Defense to 1 September 1954, (1961), USAF Historical Study No. 126, p. 33
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. pp. 297–298. OCLC 72556.
Further reading
- McLaren, David (2004) Lockheed P-80/F-80 Shooting Star: A Photo Chronicle, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., ISBN 0887409075
- McLaren, David. (1998) Republic F-84 Thunderjet, Thunderstreak & Thunderflash: A Photo Chronicle, Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military/Aviation History. ISBN 0-7643-0444-5.
- Rogers, B. (2006) United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978 ISBN 1-85780-197-0
- Stroup, Robert M. II, (2008) Crossroads of Liberty, Pictorial Histories Publishing Co, Inc. ISBN 978-1-57510-133-0.
- Anonymous (1988) Ohio Air National Guard 60 Year History, Columbus, OH, Headquarters Ohio Air National Guard;