7th Special Operations Squadron

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7th Special Operations Squadron
AFOUA w/V Device Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
7th Special Operations Squadron emblem (Approved 11 January 1965)[1]
27th Observation Squadron emblem (approved 28 December 1942)[2]

The 7th Special Operations Squadron is an active flying unit of the

, the 7th Special Operations Squadron is able to deploy or extract troops from hostile, sensitive, or otherwise undesirable locations.

The squadron flies the CV-22 Osprey. Their mission is to provide long-range infiltration, exfiltration and resupply of non-conventional special operation forces. The CV-22 is fitted with advanced electronic warfare systems, terrain following and avoidance radars, and navigation systems allowing them to operate under almost any adverse weather or time condition, to maximum efficiency.

World War II

As the 27th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, the unit was assigned to Third Air Force (Jul 1942 – Nov 1943) in the southeastern United States. It provided aerial support for training ground forces. Later, as the 167th Liaison Squadron, the unit served in the European Theater with Ninth Air Force flying courier flights with army group headquarters in areas to the rear of the front lines during 10 Mar – May 1945.

Cold War

The 7th Special Operations Squadron (SOS) was activated on 1 July 1964 as the 7th Air Commando Squadron (7 ACS/USAFE) at

.

Major changes in the squadron began in the summer of 1968 when

, Greece, Spain, and Denmark.

On 3 April 1969, the squadron experienced the loss of one of its two C-47 aircraft and its crew. Major Paul C. Jones was the instructor pilot, Captain Randolph S. Crammer was the co-pilot and Staff Sergeant Donald J. Bissell was the flight engineer. The aircraft was on an instrument training flight and had departed Sembach for Ramstein when the accident occurred. The vertical stabilizer on the C-47 had collapsed, thus putting the aircraft into a condition from which the crew could not recover.

From 28 August until the end of November 1970, a 13-man 7th SOS crew, commanded by Major Irl L. Franklin, participated in the preparation and execution of the

, South Vietnam), the 7th SOS crew lead a dissimilar formation of H-53s and an H-3 deep into North Vietnam. Although no prisoners were found at Son Tay, the Combat Talon portion of the operation went off without a hitch. All aircraft and crews returned safely to Thailand after the mission.

Training at Ramstein was conducted around the clock and the MC-130E could be heard taxiing and conducting low-level flying as often after dark as during daylight. During the years 1969 through 1973, Ramstein hosted two fighter squadrons,

526th Tactical Fighter Squadron

flying the RF-4C and F-102/F-4E respectively. The night belonged to the 7th SOS, protected from prying eyes by the dark, as well as the fog and mist endemic to the area.

The spring of 1971 brought about yet another change with the additional assignment of

Ramstein AB

as a squadron detachment.

By the summer of 1973, however, only the four Combat Talons (64-0523, 64–0555, 64–0561 and 64-0566) stationed at Rhein-Main remained in Europe. All other SOF assets had been either decommissioned or returned to the US. As a result of Operation Creek Action, which was completed in 1973, several extensive 'shuffles' took place. The 7th SOS was transferred from Ramstein AB to Rhein-Main AB.

The 7th SOS's MC-130Es, code-named 'Combat Talon', were no less mysterious and were also striking to look at with their matt black camouflage scheme and two large hooks on the nose. The 7th SOS's MC-130Es have been spotted in every corner of Europe. These sightings have perhaps been connected with NATO marine unit exercises with which the 7th SOS is also involved. One of the most bizarre sightings dates from January 1976 when a traveller from West Berlin saw a low-flying C-130 over the Transitstrasse, the transit route, near

clandestine mission

.

In June 1975, Lt. Col. Thomas Bradley began his Special Operations career with his assignment to the 7th Special Operations Squadron, Rhein Main AB, Germany, serving as Chief Pilot, Operations Officer and in 1978 became the Squadron Commander. In 1979 the 7th SOS was named the Best Flying Squadron in USAFE.

23d Air Force

.

When the 2nd Air Division was inactivated, the

-Vaihingen, West Germany.

With the relocation of the 7406th to Greece, the 7th Special Operations Squadron was moved from Ramstein to Rhein-Main as one of the units shuffled as part of operation Creek Action. The 7406th's Hercules had been used for covert COMINT missions along the Eastern Bloc borders. The 7th SOS's

MC-130Es

, code-named Combat Talon, were no less mysterious and were also striking to look at with their matt black camouflage scheme and two large hooks on the nose.

It is these hooks that provided the clue to the covert task of these aircraft because they were the most visible element of the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system invented at the beginning of the 1960s and originally intended for fast and safe recovery of downed pilots from the ground or the sea as well as for the recovery of reconnaissance satellite capsules parachuting to earth.

The recovery system was not generally known about until around 1965 when several C-130s went into action in the Vietnam War. Being also equipped with terrain following radar and a vast amount of ECM equipment, these special EC-130Es were ideally suited for dropping infiltrators and agents behind enemy lines and picking them up again.

This, then, was the type of aircraft used in Europe by the 7th SOS as MC-130E Combat Talons. Although even today very little is known about this special unit. According to a Fact Sheet issued by the 1st SOW, the MC-130Es can be used for infiltration operations in which commando and sabotage units are dropped in enemy territory and for difficult air drops. For daytime drops the squadron employed high altitude low opening (HALO) drops. Drops after sunset were typically high altitude high opening (HAHO). Heavy equipment pallet drops were often from an extremely low altitude – drops from below fifteen meters were not exceptional.

The 7th SOS was reassigned to the 39th Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Wing, on 1 February 1987 and to the 352d Special Operations Group, on 1 December 1992 relocating in the process to RAF Alconbury, England.

Post Cold War

On 22 May 1990, the

was conducted in early March 1991. Before the squadron could reestablish routine training operations, they were deployed again to Turkey. Within 24 hours of the president's order, they performed the first operational PROVIDE COMFORT airdrop over northern Iraq.

In August 1991, a 7th crew deployed to

, Republic of the Philippines. This augmentation was continuously supported by the 7th SOS until April 1992, when they deployed in support of the State Department ordered evacuation of American citizens in Sierra Leone. Operation SILVER ANVIL brought home more than 400 people.

During the third quarter of 1991, the squadron was notified that it would move from Rhein-Main to

II. For the first time since its activation in the mid 1960s, the squadron would be located outside Germany. Beginning on 5 November 1992, elements of the 7th SOS began the move from Rhein-Main to RAF Alconbury.

The date marked the official move of the squadron, but remaining Combat Talon I crews and maintenance personnel continued to operate out of Germany. Detachment 7, 39 SOW was established at Rhein-Main, effective 5 November, to provide oversight for the CT I element. As the new Combat Talon IIs arrived in Europe, they were delivered to RAF Alconbury. At years end, the 7th SOS was operational with the Combat Talon II, and the older Combat Talon Is were transferred back to the US. Formal raising of the flag at Alconbury took place on 5 November 1992.

Ironically, four months later, in February 1993, the entire squadron deployed back to Rhein-Main AB, Germany in support of Operation PROVIDE PROMISE. While there, members of the unit conceived and tested a unique delivery technique for the free-fall airdrop of individual Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) over

. Using leaflet drop rigging procedures, the Tri-wall Aerial Distribution System (TRIADS) was a way to safely deliver food to drop zones close to cities, which avoided fights at distribution centers and kept the besieged refugees from being lured into Serbian fields of fire. This quality idea went from the drawing board to full utilization in less than thirty days. It is still being used and is saving lives.

In October 1993, 7th SOS aircraft and personnel completed an historic mission to the former Soviet Central Asian states of

, transiting Russia and Georgia. This trip represented the first significant contact between US military forces and military representatives from these newly independent states, and gave the squadron a new appreciation for the region.

In December 1993, the squadron performed another first, a humanitarian relief mission to

.

The same energetic quest for lucrative training locations resulted in a return to Greece and night low-level routes in Spain. In May 1994, two 7th SOS loadmasters ventured to Tunisia, to familiarize Tunisian loadmasters with procedures for air dropping the Combat Rubber Raiding Craft (CRRC). The result was enhanced Tunisian capabilities and improved cooperation with the 1st and 3d Special Forces Group. The squadron's stay at RAF Alconbury was a short one. On 12 January 1995, the squadron moved to

352d Special Operations Group

consolidated all of its assigned forces.

Its unconventional warfare capability has reaped the squadron nine AF Outstanding Unit Awards, the 1997 MacKay Trophy for the most meritorious USAF flight of the year, the 1998 William Tunner Award for the most outstanding airlift mission, and selection as AFSOC's Special Operations Squadron of the Year for 1998, the 2004 PK Carlton Award for Valor. In 2005, one of the squadron's MC-130H aircraft (Callsign Wrath 11) crashed while on an NVG low-level training flight in southern Albania killing all aboard.

In 2013 the 7th SOS transitioned from the MC-130H[1] to the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey.^[5]

On 8 January 2015 the last MC-130H departed the 7 SOS returning to Hurlburt Field where they'll continue to fly and make an impact for special operations. The last MC-130H Combat Talon II departure from RAF Mildenhall marks the final step of Special Operations Command Europe's transition from the Talon II to the CV-22 Osprey.^[6]

Today, the 7th SOS continues to maintain its traditional ties with the United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, Spain, Italy and France. From Central Asia to South Africa and all of Europe, the squadron's mission is ever expanding and it is ready, willing and able to perform wherever tasked—anywhere, anytime.

Lineage

27th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron

• Constituted as the 27th Observation Squadron on 1 July 1942

Activated on 17 July 1942

Redesignated 27th Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter) on 2 April 1943

Redesignated 27th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on 11 August 1943

Disbanded on 30 November 1943

• Reconstituted on 19 September 1985 and consolidated with the 167th Liaison Squadron and the 7th Special Operations Squadron as the 7th Special Operations Squadron^[1]

167th Liaison Squadron

• Activated on 19 February 1945 as the 167th Liaison Squadron by special authority prior to constitution on 1 Mar 1945

Inactivated on 3 October 1946

• Consolidated on 19 September 1985 with the 27th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and the 7th Special Operations Squadron as the 7th Special Operations Squadron^[1]

7th Special Operations Squadron

• Constituted as the 7th Air Commando Squadron, Composite and activated on 14 May 1964 (not organized)

Organized on 1 July 1964

Redesignated 7th Special Operations Squadron on 15 July 1968

• Consolidated on 19 September 1985 with the 167th Liaison Squadron and the 27th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron^[1]

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft

References

Notes

Bibliography

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

• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
  LCCN 61060979
  .
• 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
  .

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