Pennsylvania Air National Guard The Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) is the aerial militia of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard an element of the Pennsylvania National Guar ...

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 ...

Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...

103d Attack Squadron The 103rd Attack Squadron (103 ATKS) is an active unit of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard previously known as the 103rd Fighter Squadron (103 FS). It is assigned to the 111th Attack Wing, stationed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base ...

United States Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, one component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomi ...

MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, one component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomi ...

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint D ...

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.Douglas B-26B/C Invaders and was assigned to the PA ANG

53d Fighter Wing The 53d Fighter Wing (53 FW) is a disbanded unit of the United States Air Force, last stationed at Philadelphia International Airport, Pennsylvania. It was withdrawn from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) and inactivated on 31 October 1 ...

.

Korean War Activation

The 103d was federalized on 10 October 1950 along with its parent 111th Composite Wing due to the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Many of the pilots and maintenance personnel were split off and sent for duty overseas as individuals assigned to other combat units there. Eventually the B-26 bombers were sent as reinforcement aircraft to Far East Air Force for use in Korea. On 10 April 1951 the squadron and Wing were moved to

Fairchild AFB Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately southwest of Spokane. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigne ...

, Washington and re-equipped with

RB-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a United States Army Air Forces long range, strategic heavy bomber that was produced in many experimental and production models from 1943 to 1946. XB-29 : ''Section source: Baugher'' The XB-29, Boeing Model 345 ...

reconnaissance aircraft. Based on the World War II B-29 Bomber, the RB-29s were instead configured with multiple aerial cameras for mapping and reconnaissance missions. These RB-29s were used like the reconnaissance satellites of today, except they required actual over flight of the countries to be photographed. The 111th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (ANG) was composed of the 129th Bomb Squadron (formerly the

3d Bombardment Squadron The 3rd Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 111th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, based at Travis Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 January 1953. History World War ...

), the 130th Bomb Squadron (formerly the 29th Bombardment Squadron) were joined by the 103d Bomb Squadron (Light) from the Pennsylvania ANG which was redesignated as the 103d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (Medium). On 13 June 1952, two 111th pilots were flying an RB-29 over the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

when they were shot down by a pair of

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...

s. The RB-29 was never recovered, having crashed in the waters off of

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

, Russia. The Pennsylvanian families of the Air Guard pilots were told they had simply "vanished" in a weather-reconnaissance flight near Japan. It wasn't until the fall of the Soviet Union and the opening of communist archives that the relatives found out the truth in 1993. It is unknown as to whether any of the pilots or crew of this aircraft were captured by the Soviets at that time. When inactivated the ANG personnel were released to their parent units. The equipment and active duty personnel remained at Fairchild and were gained by the newly formed 99th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing.

Cold War Air Defense

103d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Republic F-84F-5-RE Thunderstreak 51-1356

103d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Lockheed F-94C-1-LO Starfire 51-3562

The 103d and the 111th were returned to control of the

Pennsylvania Air National Guard The Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) is the aerial militia of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard an element of the Pennsylvania National Guar ...

in late November 1952, and the units were re-formed at

Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary international airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It served 30.8 million passengers annually in 2024, making it the busiest airport in Pennsylvania and the 21st-busies ...

by 1 January 1953. The 103d was re-equipped with the North American F-51D Mustang

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

fighter because of a lack of available jets at the time due to the Korean War. It was re-designated as the 103d Fighter Bomber Squadron and assumed an air defense mission. In 1955,

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...

upgraded the group to the

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak is an American swept-wing turbojet-powered fighter-bomber. The RF-84F Thunderflash is variant of the F-84F that was designed for photo reconnaissance. The design was originally intended to be a relatively simp ...

, and it received new aircraft. In July 1956, the 103d FIS switched to F-94A and B Starfigher interceptors; to F-94Cs in 1958 and the Northrop F-89H Scorpion in 1959.

Airlift mission

In 1962, the unit transitioned from the F-89J jet interceptor to a large, heavy transport, the

Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter is a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, B-29 and Boeing B-50 Superfortress, B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, the first of three prototype XC-97s flew on ...

, a double-decked, four-engine airplane. The new mission moved the wing into the

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 ...

(MATS), and its successor

Military Airlift Command The Military Airlift Command (MAC) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of ...

(MAC) in 1966. In 1963, the 111th ended its 39-year history at Philadelphia airport and moved to brand new facilities on the north end of the Willow Grove Naval Air Station. From Willow Grove, the C-97 was used to transport troops and cargo all over the world. The unit's flying personnel were used heavily during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and over two hundred members earned

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. ...

s for their flights into that war zone.

Airborne Forward Air Control

103d Tactical Air Support Squadron U-3A Blue Canoe 60-6052

103d Tactical Air Support Squadron Cessna A-37B Dragonfly 73-1062

103d Tactical Air Support Squadron OA-10A Thunderbolt II

In 1969, the unit changed mission yet again, returning to its original roots as an observation unit. The new 111th Tactical Air Support Group initially flew the U-3A Blue Canoe, a Cessna 310, as an intermediate aircraft until it received the aircraft it needed for Airborne

Forward Air Control Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support (CAS) aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller (FAC). ...

(AFAC): the Cessna O-2A Skymaster. The O-2 was a two propeller aircraft used early in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

for coordination between ground forces and fighter aircraft (the "O" stands for observation). The Forward Air Control mission was sustained with the unit's switch to the OA-37 Dragonfly in 1981. The OA-37, was a heavier derivative of the T-37 trainer, and had been developed specifically for the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The unit made several deployments to

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

in the 1980s to fly with US allies there, who had been sold the A-37 as part of the US Foreign Military Sales program. The A-37s were retired in 1988, and the 111th received the

A-10A Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , is a single-seat, twinjet, twin-turbofan, straight wing, straight-wing, Subsonic aircraft, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Republic ...

ground support aircraft. It was also used as a FAC aircraft (OA-10). Pilots continued their previous mission of providing AFAC and Combat Search and Rescue, although in a much more combat-worthy fighter. The A-10 allowed the wing to take part in the new deployments to

Southwest Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenia ...

following

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. The unit was re-designated as the 111th Fighter Group in 1992 and then as the 111th Fighter Wing in 1995. Participating in

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...

, the wing took advantage of this aircraft upgrade by volunteering for a 90-day deployment to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

in 1995, to support joint combat flight operations for Operation Southern Watch over Iraq. Twelve aircraft were deployed to Al Jaber AB – a joint-use base by U.S. and Kuwait Air Forces. The base was fairly austere as it had suffered considerable war-damage from Desert Storm. Missions included Combat Search and Rescue alert, Kill Box flights over Iraq, Airborne Forward Air Control and joint training missions over Kuwait. About 40% of the wing participated in the deployment Another interesting element was a small side deployment to

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. The 111th was the first Air Guard fighter unit deployed to Al Jaber and also the first ANG Wing to volunteer for a solo 3-month Operation Southern Watch deployment. The combat flight missions over Iraq were to enforce United Nations resolutions and occurred during the 1990s

post Cold War era Post, POST, or posting may refer to: Postal services * Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal s ...

.

Ground Support

In 1996, the 111th FW pilots transitioned from the OA-10 AFAC mission to the universal A-10 "attack" mission. Now the pilots' primary task was to provide

Close Air Support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...

(CAS) for joint service ground forces, as well as performing AFAC and CSAR duties as before. This change to the normal A-10 role aligned the wing with all the other A-10 units in the active duty and Air Reserve Component (ARC). The second 111th FW deployment to Al Jaber AB occurred in 1999, again to support joint combat flight operations for

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...

over Iraq. Missions included Combat Search and Rescue alert, Kill Box flights over Iraq, Airborne Forward Air Control and joint training missions over Kuwait. Use of the A-10 was more limited than before, due to the aircraft's relative lack of a precision weapon capability xcept the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground tactical missile">AGM-65_Maverick.html" ;"title="xcept the AGM-65 Maverick">xcept the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground tactical missile

Global War on Terrorism

Immediately following the 9/11 attacks on NYC and Washington, DC, the 111th FW voluntarily deployed on very short notice back to Al Jaber AB to support joint combat flight operations for

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...

over Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan. Missions included Combat Search and Rescue alert and joint training missions over Kuwait. 111th Weapons personnel assisted in the loading of combat ordnance for the first sorties into Afghanistan in November 2001. From October 2002 – January 2003, the wing was the lead unit for a short notice, voluntary, out-of-cycle AEF deployment to Bagram AB, Afghanistan. Bagram had been a massive Soviet base during the decade when they occupied Afghanistan (1979–89), but was almost completely destroyed in that period and civil war afterwards. The 111th aircraft supported joint combat flight operations with US Army, Special Forces, and coalition ground forces in Afghanistan. The A-10s were flown and maintained in the most primitive conditions, yet the 111th personnel flew 100% of the assigned tasking for their entire deployment – at four times the normal sortie rate of home. Other unique aspects of the operation were total 'blacked out' night-time operations (no lights on the field or camp – everything was done by night vision goggles); an extensive number of mines/UXOs around and on the air field; extreme weather conditions and enemy shelling using BM-12 107mm rockets.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Upon returning to the U.S. in January 2003, the 111th FW again volunteered to participate in another SWA deployment to Al Jaber AB, Kuwait ourth visitfrom February 2003 – May 2003. The wing deployed for joint combat flight operations, in support of US Army, Marine and British ground forces as part of the initial phase of

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. Wing personnel were initially stationed at Al Jaber before transferring to

Tallil AB Nasiriyah Airport is a public and military airport located 23 km (14 mi) southwest of Nasiriyah, Iraq. It is also known as Tallil Air Base until December 2011 and Imam Ali Air Base until March 2017, when the base was used by United S ...

, Iraq, midway through the initial campaign. Tallil was a former Iraqi air force base, which had not been used in a decade. During this campaign, which included direct support for coalition armor forces during the entire invasion from the Kuwait border, through

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

and

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, the wing pilots and maintainers successfully operated at a very high sortie rate. Tallil AB operations set another milestone due to its austere nature and forward location (which was essential to support the armor's thrust toward the capital). The 111th Fighter Wing's achievement of voluntarily deploying to austere bases in two separate combat operations within a five-month period

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: * 003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) * 1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway * ''O03 (O2)'' and other related blood type alleles in the AB ...

was part of the reason the unit was awarded the

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force ...

, with Valor, in 2005. It also was awarded the Reserve Family Readiness Award in 2003 and the ANG Distinguished Flying Unit Award in 2004. In 2009, the 111th Security Forces Squadron was voted best Security Forces Squadron in the entire Air Force. TSgt Marc Berger was voted top cop in the entire Air Force also in 2009, the first member of the 111th SFS to receive such an illustrious award. TSgt Berger indicated he owed this great accomplishment to CMSgt Jimmy Finn, who was his mentor and his teacher.

BRAC 2005 103d Fighter Squadron inactivation

In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD recommended the 111th Fighter Wing be inactivated its assigned A-10 aircraft relocated to the 124th Wing (ANG), Boise Air Terminal Air Guard Station, Boise, ID (three primary aircraft); 175th Wing (ANG), Warfield Air National Guard Base, Baltimore, MD, (three primary aircraft); 127th Wing (ANG),

Selfridge Air National Guard Base Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Un ...

, Mount Clemens, MI (three primary aircraft) and retire the remaining aircraft (six primary aircraft). This recommendation was part of a larger recommendation that would close NAS JRB Willow Grove, PA. DoD claimed that this recommendation would enable Air Force Future Total Force transformation by consolidating the A-10 fleet at installations of higher military value. Despite appeals from

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American politician, author, and former prosecutor who served as the 45th governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. He previously served as chair of the national Democratic Party from 1999 to 2 ...

, the

Governor of Pennsylvania The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, the recommendations were upheld and the A-10s departed during 2010. The 103d Fighter Squadron inactivated on 31 March 2011. On 19 March 2013, it was announced that the 111th Fighter Wing would be re-equipped to take over ground control of the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).Horsham Air Guard Base to operate unmanned drones.
/ref>

Lineage

103d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron - Emblem

103d Fighter Squadron Operation Southern Watch Emblem

* 111th Operations Group : Constituted as 391st Bombardment Group (Medium) on 15 January 1943 : Activated on 21 January 1943 : Inactivated on 25 October 1945 : Redesignated 111th Bombardment Group (Light), and allotted to Pennsylvania ANG on 24 May 1946 : Extended federal recognition on 20 December 1948 : Redesignated 111th Composite Group on 1 November 1950 and assigned as subordinate unit to 111th Air Defense Wing: Redesignated 111th Bombardment Group, 1 February 1951 : Ordered to active federal service on 1 April 1951 : Redesignated 111th Strategic Reconnaissance Group, 1 August 1951 : Relieved from active federal service and returned to Pennsylvania Commonwealth control on 15 November 1952 : Redesignated 111th Fighter-Bomber Group, 1 January 1953 : Redesignated 111th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 1 July 1955 : Redesignated 111th Air Transport Group, 1 April 1962 : Redesignated 111th Military Airlift Group, 8 January 1966 : Redesignated 111th Tactical Air Support Group, 27 May 1969 : Inactivated on 30 June 1974 : Reactivated and redesignated 111th Operations Group, 1 October 1995 : Inactivated on 31 March 2011 : Reactivated in 2016 * 111th Fighter Wing: Established as 111th Air Defense Wing, and allotted to Pennsylvania ANG, 31 October 1950 : Organized and received federal recognition, 1 November 1950, assuming personnel and equipment of

53d Fighter Wing The 53d Fighter Wing (53 FW) is a disbanded unit of the United States Air Force, last stationed at Philadelphia International Airport, Pennsylvania. It was withdrawn from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) and inactivated on 31 October 1 ...

(Inactivated) : Redesignated 111th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 1 July 1955 : Redesignated 111th Air Transport Wing, 1 April 1962 : Redesignated 111th Military Airlift Wing, 8 January 1966 : Redesignated 111th Tactical Air Support Wing, 27 May 1969 : Redesignated 111th Fighter Wing, 15 March 1992 : Redesignated 111th Attack Wing, 1 April 2011

Assignments

*

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 ...

, 21 January 1943 * 99th Bombardment Wing, 25 January 1944 – 27 July 1945 *

Army Service Forces The Army Service Forces was one of the three autonomous components of the United States Army during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces, created on 9 March 1942. By dividing the Army into three large comman ...

(for inactivation), 24–25 October 1945 *

53d Fighter Wing The 53d Fighter Wing (53 FW) is a disbanded unit of the United States Air Force, last stationed at Philadelphia International Airport, Pennsylvania. It was withdrawn from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) and inactivated on 31 October 1 ...

, 20 December 1948 *

Pennsylvania Air National Guard The Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) is the aerial militia of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard an element of the Pennsylvania National Guar ...

, 1 November 1951 : Gained by:

Eastern Air Defense Force The Eastern Air Defense Force (EADF) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on 1 July 1960. History EADF wa ...

,

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...

: Gained by:

New York Air Defense Sector The Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) is a United States Air Force unit of Air Combat Command (ACC), permanently assigned to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). A joint, bi-national military organization, EADS is composed of U ...

,

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...

, 1 October 1956 : Gained by: Eastern Transport Air Force, (EASTAF),

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 ...

, 1 April 1962 : Gained by: Twenty-First Air Force,

Military Airlift Command The Military Airlift Command (MAC) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of ...

, 8 January 1966 : Gained by:

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Lang ...

, 27 May 1969 : Gained by:

Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...

, 1 June 1992–Present

Components

World War II

* 572d Bombardment Squadron (P2), 21 January 1943 – 25 October 1945 *

573d Bombardment Squadron The 573d Tactical Air Support Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was formed by the consolidation of two earlier units bearing the number 573, but has not been active since the consolidation. The first predecessor of the s ...

(T6), 21 January 1943 – 25 October 1945 * 574th Bombardment Squadron (4L), 21 January 1943 – 25 October 1945 *

575th Bombardment Squadron The 575th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The squadron was a World War II unit assigned to the 391st Bombardment Group. After training in the United States throughout 1943, the squadron moved to England, and ...

(O8), 21 January 1943 – 25 October 1945

Pennsylvania Air National Guard

* 111th Composite (later Bombardment, Strategic Reconnaissance, Fighter-Bomber) Group, 1 November 1951 – 1 July 1955 : Re-designated: 111th Operations Group, 1 October 1995 – 31 Mar 2011 * 103d Bombardment (later Strategic Reconnaissance, Fighter-Bomber, Fighter-Interceptor, Air Transport, Military Airlift, Tactical Air Support, Fighter, Attack) Squadron, 20 December 1948 – 15 November 1952; 1 January 1953 – 31 Mar 2011; ?? – present * 117th Bombardment Squadron, 17 January 1947 – 1 April 1951; 1 January 1953 – 1 July 1956 *

129th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 1 August 1951 – 15 November 1953 *

130th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number) * Any of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, or 2013 Music Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ''13'' (Blur album), 1999 * ''13'' (Borgeous album), 2016 * ''13'' (Brian Setzer album), 2006 * ...

, 1 August 1951 – 15 November 1953 * 142d Fighter (later Fighter-Interceptor, Fighter-Bomber Tactical Fighter) Squadron, 1 November 1950 – 10 February 1951; 1 November 1952 – 7 April 1962 (Delaware ANG)

Stations

* MacDill Field, Florida, 21 January 1943 *

Myrtle Beach General Bombing and Gunnery Range Myrtle may refer to: Plants *Myrtaceae, the myrtle family **''Myrtus'', the myrtle genus * List of plants known as myrtle, including a list of trees and plants known as myrtle In geography Canada * Myrtle, Ontario, a community United States ...

,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, 24 May 1943 *

Godman Field Godman Army Airfield is a military airport located on the Fort Knox United States Army post in Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. It has four runways and is used entirely by the United States Army Aviation Branch The United States Ar ...

,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, 4 September–31 December 1943 *

RAF Matching Royal Air Force Matching or more simply RAF Matching is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Harlow, Essex and northeast of London. Opened in 1944, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces. Du ...

(AAF-166), England 25 January 1944 * Roye-Amy Airfield (A-73), France 19 September 1944 * Asch Airfield (Y-29), Belgium 16 April 1945 * Vitry-En-Artois Airfield, France 27 May – 27 July 1945 *

Camp Shanks Camp Shanks was a United States Army installation in the Orangeburg, New York area. Named after Major General David C. Shanks, it was situated near the juncture of the Erie Railroad and the Hudson River. The camp was the largest U.S. Army embark ...

, New York, 24–25 October 1945 *

Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary international airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It served 30.8 million passengers annually in 2024, making it the busiest airport in Pennsylvania and the 21st-busies ...

, Pennsylvania. 20 December 1948 : Operated from:

Fairchild Air Force Base Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately southwest of Spokane. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigned ...

, Washington, 1 April 1951 – 15 November 1952 * Naval Air Station Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, 1963 : Designated: Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove, 1991–2011 : Re-Designated: Horsham Air Guard Station, 2011-Present

Aircraft

*

Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in ...

1943–1945 *

Douglas A-26 Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and attack aircraft, ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during ...

1945 * Douglas B-26B Invader 1948–1951 * Douglas B-26C Invader 1948–1951 * Boeing RB-29 Superfortress 1951–1952 * North American F-51D Mustang 1953–1954 *

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak is an American swept-wing turbojet-powered fighter-bomber. The RF-84F Thunderflash is variant of the F-84F that was designed for photo reconnaissance. The design was originally intended to be a relatively simp ...

1954–1956 *

Lockheed F-94A Starfire The Lockheed F-94 Starfire is a First-generation jet fighter, first-generation jet engine, jet powered all-weather day/night interceptor aircraft designed and produced by Lockheed Corporation. It was the first operational United States Air Force ...

1956–1958 * Lockheed F-94B Starfire 1956–1958 *

Lockheed F-94C Starfire The Lockheed F-94 Starfire is a first-generation jet powered all-weather day/night interceptor aircraft designed and produced by Lockheed Corporation. It was the first operational United States Air Force (USAF) fighter equipped with an afterbu ...

1958–1959 * Northrop F-89H Scorpion 1959–1962 *

Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter is a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, B-29 and Boeing B-50 Superfortress, B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, the first of three prototype XC-97s flew on ...

1962–1969 * Cessna U-3A Blue Canoe 1969–1970 *

Cessna O-2 Skymaster The Cessna O-2 Skymaster (nicknamed "Oscar Deuce") is a military version of the Cessna 337 Super Skymaster, used for forward air control (FAC) and psychological operations (PSYOPS) by the US military between 1967 and 2010. Design and develop ...

1970–1982 * Cessna OA-37B Dragonfly 1982–1989 *

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 19 ...

1988–2011 *

General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, one component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomi ...

2011–Present

References

Rape jokes, vindictive culture in ‘old boys club’ at Horsham’s Air National Guard Station by William Bender, Posted: July 29, 2020
* Freeman, Roger A. ''UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994''. After the Battle, 1994. . * Freeman, Roger A. ''The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent–World War Two''. After the Battle, 1996. . * Maurer, Maurer. ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II''. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . * Johnson, David C. (1988), ''U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day''; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
111th Fighter Wing history

* Rogers, B. (2006). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978.
Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W., ''A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946–1980'', Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980).

External links

111th Fighter Wing – Willow Grove JRB

391st Bomb Group Website

391st Bombardment Group Digital Collection at The University of Akron Archival Services

B-26 Memorial in France "Hitch Hiker"
{{Pennsylvania Wings of the United States Air National Guard Military units and formations in Pennsylvania 111 Military units and formations established in 1943 Pennsylvania Air National Guard

Overview

Units

History

World War II

Korean War Activation

Cold War Air Defense

Airlift mission

Airborne Forward Air Control

Ground Support

Global War on Terrorism

Operation Iraqi Freedom

BRAC 2005 103d Fighter Squadron inactivation

Lineage

Assignments

Components

World War II

Pennsylvania Air National Guard

Stations

Aircraft

References

External links