971st Airborne Warning and Control Squadron
971st Airborne Warning and Control Squadron | |
---|---|
Active | 1935–1945; 1946–1959; 1969–1971 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force |
Nickname(s) | Green Hornets (1946-1949) |
Engagements | World War II
|
Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
Insignia | |
Emblem of the 1st Strategic Support Squadron | |
Emblem of the 1st Troop Carrier Squadron (Unofficial) |
The 971st Airborne Warning and Control Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit designation. It was designated on 15 January 1985 by the consolidation of the World War II 1st Troop Carrier Squadron, which was inactivated on 18 December 1945 at Fort Lawton, Washington; the 1st Strategic Support Squadron, which was inactivated on 15 January 1959 at Biggs Air Force Base, Texas, and the 1st Air Transport Squadron, which was inactivated on 20 June 1971 at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.
The 1st TCS was a transport squadron which served primarily in the
The 1st SSS was a Strategic Air Command transport squadron providing a limited air transport capability to supplement that of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS).
The 1st ATS was a
History
Origins
Prior to the early 1930s, transport aircraft in the
On 1 October 1933 the 1st Provisional Transport Squadron was constituted. However, there were no funds to equip or pay personnel for the unit, which remained inactive. It was authorized to partially activate in 1935 at the
In May 1937, the squadron was reassigned from the Fairfield Air Depot to the newly activated
World War II
After the
Upon the squadron's arrival in India, it was assigned to Tenth Air Force Headquarters. Upon its arrival with C-47s, it was decided that the squadron was to be attached to the
With the squadron's return to Tenth Air Force control, it began combat operations, primarily supporting American and British forces in Burma. The squadron was active carrying commandos who would parachute at low altitude behind enemy lines, and perform their mission. Frequently, the squadron would locate small groups of men in camouflaged areas and drop resupply containers out of the door of the aircraft, usually flying at low level with the aircraft vulnerable to enemy ground weapons fire. In late April 1944 the squadron supported the Allied attack on Myitkyina Airfield in northern Burma. The squadron flew paratroopers and also towed in CG-4A Waco gliders to the airfield during the battle; later moving in combat engineers and equipment to prepare the captured airfield to land reinforcements.[8]
After the battle ended the squadron continued its combat operations, transporting Allied troops, evacuating wounded personnel, and hauling supplies and material, including gasoline, oil, signal and engineering equipment, medicine rations, and ammunition. The squadron's missions were concerned primarily with support for Allied forces that were driving southward through Burma, but the 1st also made flights to China.[9]
The squadron was reassigned to
Strategic Air Command
The 1st Air Transport Unit was organized at
The 1st continued the logistics support and special air transport mission of the inactivated 320th. In November 1946 the 58th Bomb Wing was assigned to
In early 1949 the unit participated in Operation Scordo, In this operation the unit transported support personnel and equipment to the four bases in Hawaii, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and the Azores, that were used by the
During 1949, as the mission load grew, the 1st became the 1st Strategic Support Squadron
The wartime mission of the squadron was based on the requirement for SAC's medium bombers to deploy to overseas bases to successfully reach their targets. Even with air refueling, some bombers would only reach a recovery base rather than its original launch base. SAC planned to use the squadron to transport personnel and equipment to recovery bases to perform maintenance and recovery operations. The attitude that SAC could not rely on other sources for this support was partly based in General Curtis LeMay’s experience during World War II when he had to rely on theater commanders for supply and found that theater supply channels could not keep up with the pace of strategic bombing operations. This convinced him that SAC needed total control of all aspects of a nuclear campaign.[14]
During the postwar years and through the 1950s the squadron carried much classified equipment and personnel to various locations around the world. It was upgraded first to C-97 Stratofreighters in 1949 operating 12 of that type. In 1951 C-124 Globemaster IIs replaced the C-97s, the first C-124A arriving at Biggs on 18 January 1951. It was inactivated on 15 January 1959 when SAC got out of the transport business and the 97th Bomb Wing was transferred from Biggs to Blytheville Air Force Base, Arkansas.[6]
Consolidation
On 15 January 1985, the Air Force Historical Research Agency consolidated these three units, and designated it as the 971st Airborne Warning and Control Squadron. The 971st was never activated and remains in an inactive status.[12]
Lineage
1st Strategic Support Squadron
- Constituted on 10 Jul 1946 as the 1st Air Transport Unit
- Activated on 30 July 1946
- Redesignated as 1st Strategic Support Unit on 1 June 1948
- Redesignated as 1st Strategic Support Squadron on 14 January 1949
- Inactivated on 15 January 1959
- Consolidated with the 1st Troop Carrier Squadron and the 1st Air Transport Squadron as the 971st Airborne Warning and Control Squadron on 15 January 1985 (Remained inactive)[12]
1st Troop Carrier Squadron
- Constituted as the 1st Provisional Transport Squadron on 1 October 1933
- Authorized to be partially organized on 1 March 1935
- Redesignated 1st Transport Squadron on 25 June 1935
- Fully activated on 15 July 1935[2]
- Redesignated 1st Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 July 1942
- Inactivated on 18 December 1945[6]
- Consolidated with the 1st Strategic Support Squadron and the 1st Air Transport Squadron as the 971st Airborne Warning and Control Squadron on, 15 January 1985 (Remained inactive)[12]
1st Air Transport Squadron
- Constituted as the 1st Air Transport Squadron on 8 May 1969[Note 2]
- Activated on 25 July 1969[15]
- Inactivated on 30 June 1971[15]
- Consolidated with the 1st Strategic Support Squadron and the 1st Troop Carrier Squadron as the 971st Airborne Warning and Control Squadron on, 15 January 1985 (Remained inactive)[12]
Assignments
- 1st Strategic Support Squadron
- 58th Bombardment Wing, 30 July 1946
- Eighth Air Force, 1 November 1946 – 15 January 1959.[12]
- 1st Troop Carrier Squadron
- V Corps Area, 1 October 1933 (Not Active)[2]
- Fairfield Air Depot, 15 July 1935
- 10th Transport (later Troop Carrier) Group, 20 May 1937
- Tenth Air Force, c. 2 February 1943
- Attached to: India-China Wing, Air Transport Command, 2 February-7 March 1943
- Attached to: Troop Carrier Command, Eastern Air Command, 20 December 1943 – 6 March 1944
- 443d Troop Carrier Group, 6 March 1944 – 18 December 1945[6]
- 1st Air Transport Squadron
- 1st Composite Wing, 25 July 1969 – 20 June 1971
Stations
- 1st Strategic Support Squadron
- Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico, 30 July 1946
- Fort Worth Army Air Field (later Griffiss Air Force Base, Carswell Air Force Base), Texas, on 22 September 1947
- Biggs Air Force Base, Texas, on 14 Dec 1948–15 January 1959[12]
- 1st Troop Carrier Squadron
|
|
- 1st Air Transport Squadron
- Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, 25 July 1969 – 20 June 1971
Aircraft
- 1st Strategic Support Squadron
- Douglas C-54 Skymaster, 1946–1949
- Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter, 1949–1951
- Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, 1951–1959[12]
- 1st Troop Carrier Squadron
- Bellanca C-27 Airbus, 1935–1937
- Douglas C-33, 1936–1939
- Included Douglas C-39 and various modifications of civilian Douglas DC-3s 1939–1941
- Douglas C-47 Skytrain, 1942–1945
- Curtiss C-46 Commando, 1945[6]
See also
- 320th Troop Carrier Squadron
- 2d Strategic Support Squadron
- 3d Strategic Support Squadron
- 4th Strategic Support Squadron
References
Notes
- ^ The 1st Air Transport Unit also inherited the nickname "Green Hornets" from the 320th. This nickname derived from the green tail stripe used by the 320th as a unit marking during Operation Crossroads, the atomic bomb tests performed in 1946. "Green Hornets Famous World Over."
- ^ There were two previous units that carried the designation 1st Air Transport Squadron. The first was the 1st Airlift Squadron. The second was a Major Command Controlled (MAJCON) unit organized by Military Air Transport Service (MATS) that was designated and organized on 1 June 1948 at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. It was redesignated 1263d Air Transport Squadron on 1 October 1948, when the Air Force required all MAJCON units be numbered with four digits in blocks of numbers assigned to each major command. This squadron was discontinued on 20 July 1952, when MATS replaced its MAJCON units with Air Force controlled (AFCON) units by reviving World War II Ferrying and Transport squadrons. The 1263d was replaced by the 47th Air Transport Squadron. See Mueller, p. 234
Citations
- ^ a b c Maurer, Aviation in the U.S. Army, pp. 367-368
- ^ a b c Clay, [page needed]
- ^ a b Goff, [page needed]
- ^ Maurer, Combat Units, [page needed]
- ^ "The military history at General Mitchell Field" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 9–10
- ^ U.S. Army Air Forces Historical Study No. 117; The Tenth Air Force, 1943; AAF Historical Office, Headquarters, Army Air Forces, July, 1946
- ^ Merrill's Marauders [page needed]
- ^ Craven & Cate, The Army Air Forces in World War II, Vol. 5, The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki June 1944 to August 1945
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 393
- ^ a b c d e "'Green Hornets' Famous World Over". Biggstuff. Biggs Air Force Base. TX. 25 March 1949.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Haulman, Daniel L., Lineage and Honors History, 1st Strategic Support Squadron, Air Force Historical Research Agency, 23 April 2014
- ^ a b "1st Strategic Support Squadron History". Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ^ Deaile, p. 165
- ^ a b See Mueller, p. 12
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Clay, Steven E. (2011). US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 (PDF). Vol. 3 The Services: Air Service, Engineers, and Special Troops 1919–1941. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. OCLC 637712205. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1953). "Introduction". The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. V, The Pacific – Materhorn to Nagasaki. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. p. xxxvi. OCLC 7004158.
- Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. OCLC 704158.
- Deaile, Melvin G. (2007). The SAC Mentality: The Origins of Organizational Culture in Strategic Air Command 1946-1962. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- Goss, William A. (1955). "The Organization and its Responsibilities, Chapter 2 The AAF". In Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. OCLC 704158.
- Maurer, Maurer (1987). Aviation in the U.S. Army, 1919-1939 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force. OCLC 15661556. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- 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.
- Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
- Merril's Marauders, CMH Publication 100-4. American Forces in Action (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Center of Military History. 1989 [1945]. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015. (Online version is split among several URLs. Listed URL is for title and introduction and includes links to all others.)