The 67th Special Operation Squadron (67th SOS), nicknamed ''the Night Owls'', is an active

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

unit operating the Lockheed MC-130J Commando II and Fairchild Dornier C-146A Wolfhound. It is based at

RAF Mildenhall Royal Air Force Mildenhall, or more simply RAF Mildenhall , is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station located near Mildenhall, Suffolk, Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a List of Royal Air Force stations, ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, in the United Kingdom and assigned to the 752d Special Operations Group. It was originally activated at RAF Sculthorpe in 1952, transferred to

Morón Air Base Morón Air Base is located at in southern Spain, approximately southeast of the city of Seville. The base gets its name from the nearby town of Morón de la Frontera, while it is located inside the municipality of Arahal. The base is shared ...

in Spain in 1966, relocated to

RAF Woodbridge Royal Air Force Woodbridge, or more simply RAF Woodbridge, is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Woodbridge and around 7 miles north-east of Ipswich, in the county of Suffolk, England. Constructed in 1943 as a RAF military airfi ...

, Suffolk, in 1970, transferred to

RAF Alconbury Royal Air Force Alconbury, or more simply RAF Alconbury, is an active Royal Air Force station near Huntingdon, England, that for many years was used by the USAF. The airfield is in the civil parish of The Stukeleys, close to the villages of G ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

in 1992 and, finally, moved to RAF Mildenhall in 1995. The 67th SOS is tasked with flying single or multi-ship low-level air refueling missions for special operations helicopters, infiltration, exfiltration and resupply of special operations forces by airdrop or airland.

History

1952–1994

The unit was constituted as the 67th Air Rescue Squadron (67th ARS) on 17 October 1952. It was activated on 14 November 1952 at RAF Sculthorpe, England and discontinued, followed by inactivation, on 18 March 1960 at

Prestwick Airport Glasgow Prestwick Airport (), commonly referred to as Prestwick Airport, is an international airport serving the west of Scotland, situated northeast of the town of Prestwick, and southwest of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the less busy of the tw ...

, Scotland. It was activated again on 10 May 1961 and organized on 18 June 1961 at Prestwick Airport, Scotland. The unit was redesignated 67th Air Recovery Squadron (67th ARS) on 1 August 1965, and then as the 67th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron (67th ARRS) on 8 January 1966. It was transferred to

, Spain on 1 July 1966. On 15 January 1970, the 67th ARRS transferred to

, England. The unit operated the Lockheed HC-130N/P fixed wing (also used as rotational support for their detachment of

HH-3E Jolly Green Giant The Sikorsky S-61R is a twin-engine helicopter used in transport or search and rescue roles. A developed version of the S-61 (the SH-3 Sea King), the S-61R was also built under license by Agusta as the AS-61R. The S-61R served in the United Sta ...

helicopters stationed at

NAS Keflavik Naval Air Station Keflavik (NASKEF) was a United States Navy air station at Keflavík International Airport, Iceland, located on the Reykjanes peninsula on the south-west portion of the island. NASKEF was closed on 8 September 2006 and its faci ...

, Iceland) and

Sikorsky MH-53 The Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low series is a retired long-range special operations and combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopter for the United States Air Force. The series was upgraded from the HH-53B/C, variants of the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stall ...

rotary wing aircraft. On 1 June 1988, the unit was split into two units redesignated the 67th Special Operations Squadron (67th SOS) for the HC-130 aircraft and the

21st Special Operations Squadron The 21st Special Operations Squadron is a unit within the 353rd Special Operations Wing, United States Air Force based at Yokota Air Base, Japan. The unit has been activated and inactivated a number of times in its history. Prior to October 20 ...

for the HH-53 rotary wing. On 1 April 1992, they moved to

, UK.

RAF Mildenhall (1995–present)

Last 67th SOS MC-130P refuels CV-22 in January 2014

On 7 May 1993, it was announced that the 352nd Special Operations Group, including the 67th SOS, would relocate to

in Suffolk. However, this move was not completed until 30 April 1995, with the 67th SOS arriving on 17 February 1995. In February 1996, the squadron's HC-130N/Ps were redesignated the MC-130P Combat Shadow by

Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command ...

(AFSOC). On 7 June 2013, ''the Night Owls'' began to replace their MC-130P Combat Shadows when their first Lockheed MC-130J Commando II (''10-5714'') arrived. The last MC-130P sortie was flown on 24 January 2014, which saw a tour of the country over locations including Prestwick, Alconbury and the Dumfries. The squadron completed the transition from the MC-130P to the MC-130J on 3 February 2014, when ''66-0215'' departed for

Hurlburt Field Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force S ...

, Florida. On 8 January 2015, the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

announced that RAF Mildenhall would be closing, with the 67th SOS relocating to

Spangdahlem Air Base Spangdahlem Air Base (International Air Transport Association airport code, IATA: SPM, International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO: ETAD, former code EDAD) is a NATO air base with the United States Air Force as a tenant constru ...

in Germany. After a prolonged assessment on the future of Mildenhall, the Department of Defense revealed on 29 July 2020 that the decision on Mildenhall would be reversed, while Spangdahlem Air Base would lose its flying mission with the relocation of the

480th Fighter Squadron The 480th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the "Warhawks", is an active United States Air Force unit operating the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, General Dynamics F-16CJ Fighting Falcon. The 480th, assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdah ...

Aviano Air Base Aviano Air Base () is a base in northeastern Italy, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. It is located in the Aviano municipality, at the foot of the Carnic Pre-Alps or Southern Carnic Alps, about from Pordenone. The Italian Air Force has ...

, Italy. On 31 October 2020, ''the Night Owls'' participated in the successful rescue of 27 year-old hostage Philip Warton in Nigeria. In August 2024, the 67th SOS participated in Exercise Pristine Flank 24, organised by the

Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; ; ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions. The Finnish Air ...

, in which the squadron was tasked with refuelling Finnish

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas and North ...

s. In March 2024, the decision was made by AFSOC to base the Fairchild Dornier C-146A Wolfhound at RAF Mildenhall. The first C-146A (''10-3077'') was delivered to RAF Mildenhall on 4 December 2024 and was assigned to the 67th SOS.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 67th Air Rescue Squadron on 17 October 1952 : Activated on 14 November 1952 : Discontinued and inactivated on 18 March 1960 * Activated on 10 May 1961 (not active) : Organized on 18 June 1961 : Redesignated 67th Air Recovery Squadron on 1 August 1965 : Redesignated 67th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron on 8 January 1966 : Redesignated 67th Special Operations Squadron on 1 June 1988

Assignments

* 9th Air Rescue Group, 14 Nov 1952 (attached to

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a Numbered Air Force, numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U ...

after 15 November 1953) *

Air Rescue Service The United States Air Force Combat Rescue School (for most of its existence, either Air Rescue Service or Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service), was an organization of the United States Air Force. The school was established in 1946 as ''Air ...

, 24 Jun 1958–18 March 1960 *

Military Air Transport Service The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NA ...

, 10 May 1961 (not organized) * Air Rescue Service (later Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service), 18 June 1961 * Atlantic Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Center (later, 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing), 8 April 1967 * 39th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing (later 39th Special Operations Wing), 17 May 1973 (under operational control of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 12–27 June 1976, attached to Joint Special Operations Task Force: 13 January–18 March 1991, 6 April–10 June 1991) *

352d Special Operations Group The 352nd Special Operations Wing is an operational unit of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command currently stationed at RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom. The unit's heritage dates back to 1944 as an air commando unit. The 352n ...

, 1 December 1992 (attached to Joint Special Operations Task Force, 2 March–12 July 1993) * 752d Special Operations Group,

Stations

* RAF Sculthorpe, England, 14 November 1952 * Prestwick Airport, Scotland, 7 November 1953 – 18 March 1960 * Prestwick Airport, Scotland, 18 June 1961 * Moron Air Base, Spain, 1 July 1966 * RAF Woodbridge, England, 15 January 1970 (deployed at

RAF Akrotiri Royal Air Force Akrotiri, commonly abbreviated RAF Akrotiri (; ) is a large Royal Air Force (RAF) military airbase on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which comprise Akroti ...

, Cyprus, 13–27 June 1976;

Incirlik Air Base Incirlik Air Base () is a Republic of Turkey, Turkish air base of slightly more than 3320 ac (1335 ha), located in the İncirlik quarter of the city of Adana, Turkey. The base is within an urban area of 1.7 million people, east of the city ...

, Turkey, 13 January–18 March 1991 and 6 April–10 June 1991) * RAF Alconbury, England, 1 April 1992 (deployed at Brindisi Air Base, Italy and Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, 2 March–12 July 1993) * RAF Mildenhall, England, 17 February 1995 – present

Aircraft

Aircraft operated include: *

Boeing SB-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...

(1952–1956) *

Fairchild C-82 Packet The C-82 Packet is a twin-engine, twin-boom cargo aircraft designed and built by Fairchild Aircraft. It was used briefly by the United States Army Air Forces and the successor United States Air Force following World War II. Design and developm ...

(1952–1953) *

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for tro ...

(1953–1955) * Douglas SC-54 Skymaster (later HC-54) (1955–1958; 1962–1965) * Sikorsky SH-19 (later HH-19) (1955–1960; 1962–1964) *

Grumman SA-16 Albatross The Grumman HU-16 Albatross is a large, twin-radial engined amphibious flying boat that was used by the United States Air Force (USAF), the U.S. Navy (USN), the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and the Royal Canadian Air Force primarily as a search and ...

(later HU-16) (1957–1960; 1962–1963) *

Douglas C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilia ...

(1962–1965) * Lockheed HC-130H (1965–1969) *

Kaman HH-43 Huskie The Kaman HH-43 Huskie is a helicopter developed and produced by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Kaman Aircraft. It is perhaps most distinctive for its use of twin intermeshing rotors, having been largely designed by the German aeronautical ...

(1966–1969; 1970; 1971–1972) * Lockheed HC-130P Combat King (1969–1996) * Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant (1969–1971) * Lockheed HC-130N Combat King (1970–1996) * Sikorsky HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant (1971–1988) * Lockheed MC-130P Combat Shadow (1996–2014) * Lockheed MC-130J Commando II (2013–present) * Fairchild Dornier C-146A Wolfhound (2024–present)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{USAF Air Force Special Operations Command 067