965th Airborne Air Control Squadron

The 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron is part of the 552d Air Control Wing at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operates Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft conducting airborne command and control missions.

965th Airborne Air Control Squadron
552d Air Control Wing Boeing E-3 Sentry at Tinker AFB
Active1943–1944; 1944–1945; 1955–1971; 1978–present
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
RoleAirborne Command and Control
Part ofAir Combat Command
Garrison/HQTinker Air Force Base
Motto(s)Semper Vigiles Latin Always Watchful
EngagementsChina-Burma-India Theater
Desert Storm
Global War on Terrorism[1]
DecorationsAir Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device
Air Force Meritorious Unit Award
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm[1]
Insignia
965th Airborne Air Control Squadron emblem (approved 31 January 1979)[1]
965th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron emblem (approved 4 September 1956)[2]

The first two antecedents of the squadron were active during World War II. The 595th Bombardment Squadron served as an Operational and Replacement Training Unit, before being inactivated in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces training units. The 165th Liaison Squadron performed special operations in India and Burma from September 1944 until the end of the war, when it returned to the United States for inactivation.

The unit's other predecessor unit was activated in 1955 as the 965th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron. It performed air defense patrols off the Pacific coast of the United States until inactivating in 1971. It was activated again at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma in 1978 as the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron,

Mission

Provide the combat Air Force with airborne systems and personnel for surveillance, warning and control of strategic, tactical, and special mission forces.[3]

History

Bombardment training
B-17 Flying Fortress

The 595th Bombardment Squadron was first activated at Mountain Home Army Air Field, Idaho on 16 February 1943 as one of the four original squadrons of the 396th Bombardment Group.[1][4] After initial organization and equipping with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, the squadron moved to Moses Lake Army Air Base, Washington. There the squadron acted as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) for B-17 units. The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups"[5] In August 1943, the unit's mission changed to being a Replacement Training Unit (RTU).[1] Like OTUs, RTUs were an oversized units. Their mission, however was to train individual pilots or aircrews.[5]

In November 1943, the 595th moved to Drew Field, Florida, where it would remain for the duration of its active service.[1] However, the Army Air Forces was finding that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were not well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[6] The 592d was inactivated on 1 May 1944 at Drew Field, Florida.[1] Its personnel and equipment became part of the 326th AAF Base Unit.[7]

Special operations in Burma
UC–64 Norseman
L-5 Sentinel

The 165th Liaison Squadron was activated at Asansol, India as part of the 1st Air Commando Group in September 1944. It flew evacuation missions and provided light transport services for ground forces in Burma from 6 October 1944 until 23 April 1945. It returned to Asansol that month and remained there until October, when it returned to the United States and was inactivated at the Port of Embarkation.[1]

Air defense patrols
EC-121 Warning Star

The 965th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron was activated in August 1955 as part of the at McClellan Air Force Base, California. It flew long range surveillance, beginning in the late 1950s and rotated aircrews to Southeast Asia from, after about 4 April 1965 until it was inactivated in June 1971.[1]

Airborne warning and control

The 965th was reactivated at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma in 1978 to fly the Boeing E-3 Sentry. The squadron became non-operational the following year, although it remained on the active list. It resumed operations in 1984. The following year, the lineage of the 595th Bombardment Squadron and 165th Liaison Squadron were consolidated with the squadron. It flew combat support missions over Panama from, 20 December 1989 – 24 January 1990 and in Southwest Asia from, 17 January – 6 March 1991.[1]

Operations

Lineage
595th Bombardment Squadron
  • Constituted as the 595th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 29 January 1943
Activated on 16 February 1943
Inactivated on 1 May 1944
Consolidated with the 165th Liaison Squadron and the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron as the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron on 19 September 1985[1]
165th Liaison Squadron
  • Constituted as the 165th Liaison Squadron (Commando) on 9 August 1944
Activated on 3 September 1944
Inactivated on 3 Nov 1945
Consolidated with the 595th Bombardment Squadron and the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron as the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron on 19 September 1985[1]
965th Airborne Air Control Squadron
  • Constituted as the 965th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron on 28 April 1955
Activated on 8 August 1955
Inactivated on 30 June 1971
  • Redesignated 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron on 28 February 1978
Activated on 1 July 1978
Consolidated with the 595th Bombardment Squadron and the 165th Liaison Squadron on 19 September 1985
Redesignated 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron on 1 July 1994[1]

Assignments
  • 396th Bombardment Group, 16 February 1943 – 1 May 1944
  • 1st Air Commando Group, 3 September 1944 – 3 November 1945
  • 552d Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing, 8 August 1955 – 30 June 1971
  • 552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing (later 552 Airborne Warning and Control Division, 552 Airborne Warning and Control Wing, 552 Air Control Wing), 1 July 1978
  • 552d Operations Group, 29 May 1992 – present[1]

Stations

Aircraft

References
  1. Dollman, TSG David (17 October 2016). "Factsheet 965 Airborne Air Control Squadron". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  2. Endicott, pp. 901-902
  3. 552 OG Fact Sheet Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Maurer, Combat Units, p. 283
  5. Craven & Cate, Introduction, p. xxxvi
  6. Goss, p. 75
  7. See Mueller, p. 351 (simultaneous inactivation of 396th Bombardment Group units and organization of 326th Base Unit).

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

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