Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
181st Airlift Squadron
The 181st Airlift Squadron is a unit of the 136th Airlift Wing of the Texas Air National Guard stationed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. The 181st is equipped with the Lockheed C-130J Hercules.
It was first activated in June 1943 as The 395th Fighter Squadron, assigned to the 368th Fighter Group. After training in the United States, it moved to the European Theater of Operations, where it served in combat until the spring of 1945 with Ninth Air Force, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation and a Belgian Fourragère for its actions. Following V-E Day, the squadron served in the army of occupation at AAF Station Straubing, Germany until was inactivated on 20 August 1946 and transferred its personnel and equipment to another unit, which was activated in its place.
The squadron was allotted to the United States National Guard as the 181st Fighter Squadron and was activated in 1947. It served in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex as a fighter squadron until the early 1960s, when it assumed an air refueling mission, which continued until 1978, and has been an airlift unit since then.
The squadron was first organized at Westover Field, Massachusetts in June 1943 as the 395th Fighter Squadron, one of the original squadrons of the 368th Fighter Group. The squadron drew its initial cadre from the 326th Fighter Group, an Operational Training Unit at Westover. In June 1943, the cadre of the squadron travelled to Orlando Army Air Base for training at the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics.
The 395th trained with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, moving to Farmingdale Army Air Field, New York to complete its training. The squadron and group left Farmingdale for the Port of Embarkation, Camp Myles Standish on 20 December 1943 and boarded the SS Argentina to sail for Great Britain on 29 December, arriving at the Firth of Clyde on 7 January 1944.
The squadron arrived at RAF Greenham Common on 13 January 1944. It began operations on 14 March, when it flew a fighter sweep over the coast of France. That was to be the unit's only mission from Greenham Common, for it moved the next day to RAF Chilbolton, as the 438th Troop Carrier Group moved into Greenham Common. It made strafing and bombing attacks on transportation targets and flak batteries in preparation for Operation Overlord, the invasion of France. The squadron also participated in Operation Crossbow, attacking launch sites for V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets. On D-Day, the group supported the landing forces in Normandy.
Two weeks after the landings, it moved to Cardonville Airfield, an advanced landing ground in northern France and began operations from the Continent as an element of IX Tactical Air Command. The squadron provided close air support for forces in the Battle of Cherbourg, which secured a vital port for further operations in France. It participated in the air operations that prepared the way for Operation Cobra, the Allied breakthrough at St Lo on 25 July, and supported ground forces during their drive across France. In early August, the squadron became part of XIX Tactical Air Command, which would concentrate on air support for General George S. Patton's Third United States Army.
By early September, fuel shortages were impacting both Third Army and XIX Tactical Air Command, slowing the Allied advance, and sometimes forcing fighter-bombers to land at forward bases to refuel. On 3 September 1944, operating from Chartres Airfield, and in the face of "withering anti-aircraft and small arms fire," the squadron destroyed numerous motor transport vehicles, horse-drawn vehicles, and uncounted troops in the vicinity of Mons (Bergen), Belgium, also attacking as targets of opportunity enemy positions that obstructed the progress of Allied ground forces. For this action, the squadron was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation. The squadron then moved closer to the front, arriving at Laon/Athies Airfield on 11 September. It was cited in the order of the day for the first time by the Belgian Army for the period from D-Day through the end of September.
Hub AI
181st Airlift Squadron AI simulator
(@181st Airlift Squadron_simulator)
181st Airlift Squadron
The 181st Airlift Squadron is a unit of the 136th Airlift Wing of the Texas Air National Guard stationed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. The 181st is equipped with the Lockheed C-130J Hercules.
It was first activated in June 1943 as The 395th Fighter Squadron, assigned to the 368th Fighter Group. After training in the United States, it moved to the European Theater of Operations, where it served in combat until the spring of 1945 with Ninth Air Force, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation and a Belgian Fourragère for its actions. Following V-E Day, the squadron served in the army of occupation at AAF Station Straubing, Germany until was inactivated on 20 August 1946 and transferred its personnel and equipment to another unit, which was activated in its place.
The squadron was allotted to the United States National Guard as the 181st Fighter Squadron and was activated in 1947. It served in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex as a fighter squadron until the early 1960s, when it assumed an air refueling mission, which continued until 1978, and has been an airlift unit since then.
The squadron was first organized at Westover Field, Massachusetts in June 1943 as the 395th Fighter Squadron, one of the original squadrons of the 368th Fighter Group. The squadron drew its initial cadre from the 326th Fighter Group, an Operational Training Unit at Westover. In June 1943, the cadre of the squadron travelled to Orlando Army Air Base for training at the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics.
The 395th trained with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, moving to Farmingdale Army Air Field, New York to complete its training. The squadron and group left Farmingdale for the Port of Embarkation, Camp Myles Standish on 20 December 1943 and boarded the SS Argentina to sail for Great Britain on 29 December, arriving at the Firth of Clyde on 7 January 1944.
The squadron arrived at RAF Greenham Common on 13 January 1944. It began operations on 14 March, when it flew a fighter sweep over the coast of France. That was to be the unit's only mission from Greenham Common, for it moved the next day to RAF Chilbolton, as the 438th Troop Carrier Group moved into Greenham Common. It made strafing and bombing attacks on transportation targets and flak batteries in preparation for Operation Overlord, the invasion of France. The squadron also participated in Operation Crossbow, attacking launch sites for V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets. On D-Day, the group supported the landing forces in Normandy.
Two weeks after the landings, it moved to Cardonville Airfield, an advanced landing ground in northern France and began operations from the Continent as an element of IX Tactical Air Command. The squadron provided close air support for forces in the Battle of Cherbourg, which secured a vital port for further operations in France. It participated in the air operations that prepared the way for Operation Cobra, the Allied breakthrough at St Lo on 25 July, and supported ground forces during their drive across France. In early August, the squadron became part of XIX Tactical Air Command, which would concentrate on air support for General George S. Patton's Third United States Army.
By early September, fuel shortages were impacting both Third Army and XIX Tactical Air Command, slowing the Allied advance, and sometimes forcing fighter-bombers to land at forward bases to refuel. On 3 September 1944, operating from Chartres Airfield, and in the face of "withering anti-aircraft and small arms fire," the squadron destroyed numerous motor transport vehicles, horse-drawn vehicles, and uncounted troops in the vicinity of Mons (Bergen), Belgium, also attacking as targets of opportunity enemy positions that obstructed the progress of Allied ground forces. For this action, the squadron was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation. The squadron then moved closer to the front, arriving at Laon/Athies Airfield on 11 September. It was cited in the order of the day for the first time by the Belgian Army for the period from D-Day through the end of September.