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The 17th Weapons Squadron is a
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, assigned to the
USAF Weapons School The USAF Weapons School is a unit of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, assigned to the 57th Wing and Space Delta 1. It is located at Nellis AFB, Nevada. Mission The mission of the USAF Weapons School is to teach gradu ...
at
Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloquialism, colloq.) is a United States Air Force military installation, installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts Aerial warfare, air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exerc ...
, Nevada. The squadron traces its lineage to the
United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...
's 17th and 147th Aero Squadrons, both of which were active during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The 147th was redesignated the 17th Pursuit Squadron in the post-war Air Service and later consolidated with the 17th Aero Squadron in 1936 to preserve the history of both pursuit units. The 17th Aero Squadron was activated in August 1917 and earned 13 campaign streamers in France flying the
Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...
. The 147th Aero Squadron was organized in November 1917 and flew the
Nieuport 28 The Nieuport 28 C.1, a French biplane fighter aircraft flown during World War I, was built by Nieuport and designed by Gustave Delage. Owing its lineage to the successful line of sesquiplane fighters that included the Nieuport 17, the Nieupor ...
and SPAD S.XIII fighters, earning eight streamers. During
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 ...
, the 17th Pursuit Squadron participated in the defense of the Philippines flying the
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...
and garnering the first American Ace of
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 ...
. Wiped out during the Battle of the Philippines, some of its squadron members endured the
Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March was the Death march, forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of around 72,000 to 78,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war (POWs) from the municipalities of Bagac and Mariveles on the Bataan Peninsula to Camp ...
. Reactivated 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 ...
, the squadron went on to fly Republic F-105F Thunderchief Wild Weasel aircraft, and in
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 ...
flying the General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon.


Mission

Flying the
McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather Multirole combat aircraft, multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. Intended for the Dual-Role Fighter (DRF) program (initially cal ...
, the squadron accomplishes its mission by providing graduate-level instructor academic and flying courses to USAF Combat Air Forces (CAF). The squadron conducts extensive technical off-station training and liaises with CAF units. The 17th emblem, modified from the one adopted in 1917, consists of a Great White Snowy Owl in front of a black triangle with a blue background. Because of its distinctive Owl Patch, the squadron's nickname is the Hooters.


History


World War I


17th Aero Squadron

Company A, Remount Station,
Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a United States Army, U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam", it is named for the first president o ...
, Texas was organized on 13 May 1917, about a month after President Wilson declared war on Germany. It was later redesignated Company M, and later, Company B. On 16 June, its personnel were organized as the 29th Provisional Aero Squadron, Aviation Section, Signal Corps, which was redesignated the 17th Aero Squadron on 30 July. It was made of entirely of volunteers.Gorrell, Series E, Volume 4, The unit was the first United States aero squadron sent to Canada to be trained by the British; the first squadron to be completely trained prior to be sent overseas with its complete quota of trained pilots; the first squadron to be attached to British
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF) squadrons and the first to be sent into combat. The squadron entered combat as a pursuit unit with British Second and
Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...
Armies from 15 July-28 October 1918 seeing extensive combat during the Battle of the Somme while serving with the RAF. In October 1918 the squadron was requested by the Americans to be transferred to the
American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...
(AEF) and it was reassigned to Second Army on 1 November 1918 and prepared for operations on American front but did not become combat-ready before the end of hostilities on 11 November 1918. It was demobilized in 1919. One of the aces serving in the squadron during World War I was Robert Miles Todd. On 17 October 1936, the
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
17th Aero Squadron was consolidated with the
United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
17th Pursuit Squadron.


147th Aero Squadron

The 147th Aero Squadron was organized at
Kelly Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-use airport, Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he ...
, Texas on 11 November 1917. It was ordered directly to
Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
, Texas for training at Everman Field #2,
Camp Taliaferro Camp Taliaferro was a World War I flight-training center run under the direction of the Air Service, United States Army in the Fort Worth, Texas, area. Camp Taliaferro had an administration center near what is now the Will Rogers Memorial C ...
. It trained in Texas until February 1918, when it deployed to France, where additional training was received. It became part of the 1st Pursuit Group in June.Gorrell, Series E, Volume 18, Initially flying French
Nieuport 28 The Nieuport 28 C.1, a French biplane fighter aircraft flown during World War I, was built by Nieuport and designed by Gustave Delage. Owing its lineage to the successful line of sesquiplane fighters that included the Nieuport 17, the Nieupor ...
pursuit aircraft, the squadron was heavily engaged in combat in the Toul Sector and the Aisne-Marne Sector. It was part of the defense against the German offensive in mid-July in the Champagne-Marne, then went on the offensive during the Aisne-Marne during July. It took part in the St. Mihiel offensive, and the great American Meuse-Argonne Offensive which continued until the Armistice with Germany on 11 November 1918. During its time in combat, the squadron gained 62 victories and suffered nine casualties. The squadron flew 2,000 combat hours.


Inter-war period

After returning to the United States in April 1919 nearly all of the 147th's personnel were demobilized. The War Department created a new 1st Pursuit Group between late April and mid-August 1919 when it dispatched a small cadre of personnel to Selfridge Field, Michigan. New recruits and veterans from other flying units became members of the new 147th Squadron, and by late summer the process was complete. However, on 28 August, the squadron departed by train to Kelly Field, Texas where it became part of the new Advanced Pursuit Training School. At Kelly Field, the squadron was assigned to the re-formed 1st Pursuit Group, effective 22 August 1919. The pursuit school was the first step in building a new permanent air service and by providing a course of instruction for pilots at Kelly, it was a way to transfer the hard-earned knowledge gained during World War I to a new generation of fliers. Pilots received hands-on experience in aircraft and engine maintenance. They also flew a training program that covered formation flying, aerobatics, air-to-air and air to ground gunnery, reconnaissance and patrol tactics. The aircraft used were British Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s and U.S.-built
Airco DH.4 The Airco DH.4 is a British two-seat biplane day bomber of the First World War. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland (hence "DH") for Airco, and was the first British two-seat light day-bomber capable of defending itself. It was desig ...
s that were excess from the war effort. On 14 March 1921, the 147th was redesignated as the 17th Squadron (Pursuit) and in Pursuit Group moved from Kelly to
Ellington Field Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegi ...
, near
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, Texas. In June 1922, the 1st Group prepared to return to Selfridge. The four squadrons of the group (17th, 27th, 94th and 95th) departed Ellington on 24 June. The long deployment to Michigan was a novelty, and the press followed the
group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
's progress closely. The group arrived at Selfridge Field on 1 July 1922. Selfridge served as the 1st Pursuit Group's home for many years. As the Army's only pursuit group, the War Department took special pains to ensure that it was maintained in a high state of readiness. On 21 January 1924, the War Department sanctioned unit emblems. The "Great Snow Owl", chosen by the World War I 17th Pursuit Group as its emblem when transferred to the American Expeditionary Forces in 1918 was adopted by the 17th Pursuit Squadron on 4 March 1924. In May 1924, the group opened a satellite airfield at Oscoda, Michigan to function as an aerial gunnery camp for the unit. Loud-Reames Aviation Field was renamed Camp Skeel, for World War I pilot Captain Burt E. Skeel, and was used as an aerial gunnery range and for winter maneuvers by the 1st Pursuit Group. During World War II, the facility would be expanded as Oscoda Army Air Field, as a training base. After the war, it would be expanded and become
Wurtsmith Air Force Base Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in Iosco County, Michigan. Near Lake Huron, it operated for seventy years, from 1923 until decommissioned in 1993. On January 18, 1994, Wurtsmith was listed as a Superfun ...
. During the 1920s, the unit participated in exercises, demonstrations, and maneuvers, events the War Department used as combined training and public relations exercises. Public and congressional interest in aviation was high. Equipped with fast, nimble, pursuit planes such as the
Curtiss P-1 Hawk The P-1 Hawk (Curtiss Model 34) is a 1920s open-cockpit biplane fighter aircraft of the United States Army Air Corps. An earlier variant of the same aircraft had been designated PW-8 prior to 1925."US Military Aircraft Designations & Serials 190 ...
, the unit attracted the attention of the public wherever it appeared. Overall, the Twenties were a productive decade for the unit. The 1st Pursuit Group responded well to being the Air Corps' only group-level pursuit organization, and developed a well-trained force that responded to the demands placed on it. The 1930s produced a different set of challenges. During the Thirties, the group introduced at least six new aircraft into the Air Corps inventory. It also provided personnel for newly formed squadrons and groups. The onset of the Great Depression gave the unit additional responsibilities in 1931, the group participated in several air shows staged to benefit the unemployed. Squadron involvement ranged from two- and four-ship flights to squadron deployments. Beginning in 1933, the unit saw a handful of its officers detailed to work with the
Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...
, a
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
program designed to put unemployed youths to work on various conservation projects. The Curtiss P-6E Hawks flown by the squadron were improvements in the line of Hawks since the squadron received the P-1 in 1925. In 1934, it converted to the Boeing P-26A Peashooter, a low-wing, all-metal monoplane, and in 1937, it received the
Seversky P-35 The Seversky P-35 is an American fighter aircraft built by the Republic Aviation, Seversky Aircraft Company in the late 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, the P-35 was the first single-seat fighter in United ...
, the first single-seat fighter in U.S. Army Air Corps to feature all-metal construction, retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit. 17 October 1936 saw the Air Corps formally consolidate the 17th Pursuit Squadron with the World War I 17th Aero Squadron. With the consolidation, the combat history and lineage of its World War I predecessor became a part of the 17th. The growing threat of war with the Japanese Empire in the Philippine Islands led to the 17th Squadron to be relieved from assignment to the 1st Pursuit Group and transferred to the
Philippine Department The Philippine Department (Filipino: ''Kagawaran ng Pilipinas/Hukbong Kagawaran ng Pilipinas'') was a regular United States Army organization whose mission was to defend the Philippine Islands and train the Philippine Army. On 9 April 1942, duri ...
. Leaving Selfridge on 31 October, the squadron was reassigned to the 4th Composite Group at Nichols Field, near
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
in the Philippines, on 14 December 1940.


World War II


Battle of the Philippines

The 17th Pursuit Squadron had been sent overseas without aircraft to fly Seversky P-35s that had been held back from a sale to Sweden to reinforce the Philippines. Until their aircraft arrived and were assembled in March 1941, they practiced in the Boeing P-26 Peashooters that then constituted the interceptor force at Nichols Field. By late 1941 standards, the P-35A was hopelessly obsolescent. It was too lightly armed and lacked either armor around the cockpit or self-sealing fuel tanks, and the instruments of the aircraft flown by the 17th were marked in Swedish and calibrated in the
metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
. When new
Curtiss P-40E Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was a WWII fighter aircraft that was developed from the P-36 Hawk, via the P-37. Many variants were built, some in large numbers, under names including the Hawk, Tomahawk, and Kittyhawk. Allison-engined Model 75 X ...
s arrived in September 1941, the 17th was happy to hand down the Severskys to the 34th Pursuit Squadron, recently arrived from the United States without its aircraft. With the 3d and
20th Pursuit Squadron 020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exch ...
s, the 17th formed the interceptor component of the Philippine Department's 4th Composite Group.Edmonds, On 1 October 1941 the squadrons were reassigned to the newly created 24th Pursuit Group and became part of the Far East Air Force (FEAF) when it stood up in November. After word was received of the attack on Pearl Harbor, FEAF units gathered in anticipation of the Japanese attack everyone knew would be coming. However, attack orders against known Japanese forces on Formosa were not forthcoming. "We can't attack till we're fired on". By 11:00 am both the 20th and 17th Pursuit Squadrons were on the ground at Clark Field. Both had been flying patrol missions during the morning and needed to refuel. While the planes were being serviced, the pilots went to eat; as soon as they had eaten, they returned to their planes and went on alert. The 17th, who had refueled first, was ready to go.Morton, About 11:30 am, a message from Iba Field reported a large formation of planes heading west over the China Sea, heading presumably for Manila. The 17th was ordered into the air to patrol over the
Bataan Peninsula Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga, Bataan, Balanga while Mariveles, ...
and the entrance to
Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...
and intercept whatever the Japanese tried to send though. At that moment, the first formation of Japanese bombers appeared over Clark Field. They came over the unprotected field in a V-formation at a height estimated at 22,000 to 25,000 feet, dropping their bombs on the aircraft and buildings below, just as the air raid warning sounded. As at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese achieved complete tactical surprise. The 17th and 21st Pursuit Squadrons, on patrol over Bataan and Manila, received no warning of the raid, and thus did not attack the Japanese aircraft. The Japanese followed up their success of the first day of war with air attacks that completed the destruction of American airpower in the Philippines. Before dawn of the 9th, seven Japanese naval bombers struck Nichols Field near Manila, opening the next round, but the remainder of that day's attackers were grounded on Taiwan by fog. On the 10th they struck Nichols and Del Carmen Airfields in full force in the early afternoon. The pattern set at Clark Field two days earlier was repeated. High-level bombers came in first and hit the barracks, offices, and warehouses. The fighters then came in at low level to strafe the grounded planes and installations. An entire flight of 17th planes returning to refuel was shot down by Zeros, although all the pilots survived. There was no
antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
fire and no fighter protection over the field. By that time American airpower was at a low ebb. There were only 22 P-40s in commission, with six more promised if they could be repaired in time. With FEAF thus reduced in strength, it was decided to use the remaining planes for reconnaissance in order to conserve them as long as possible. The pursuit planes were based at Clark and Nichols, and the heavy bombers were withdrawn to Del Monte. On the morning of the 12th, few American planes remained to hinder the Japanese. With almost all of the squadron's aircraft destroyed, the men of the ground echelon were pressed into service as infantry under the 5th Interceptor Command. On Christmas Eve of 1941, the 17th's ground echelon evacuated Nielson Field and went by train to Bataan. There they took part in the Battle of the Philippines. However, most of its aircraft were destroyed on the ground, by Japanese air raids. Some 17th personnel later fought as infantry during the
Battle of Bataan The Battle of Bataan (; 7 January – 9 April 1942) was fought by the United States and the Philippine Commonwealth against Imperial Japan during World War II. The battle represented the most intense phase of the Japanese invasion of the Phi ...
and, after their surrender, were subjected to the
Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March was the Death march, forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of around 72,000 to 78,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war (POWs) from the municipalities of Bagac and Mariveles on the Bataan Peninsula to Camp ...
.


Defense of Java

Other members of the 17th escaped to Australia, where they collected new P-40s (see Pensacola Convoy) and reformed as the 17th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional). In January 1942, the squadron undertook a flight across Australia and the
Arafura Sea The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea. Geography The Arafura Sea is ...
, to Java and took part in the
Dutch East Indies Campaign The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by forces of the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Allied forces attempted unsuccessfully t ...
, where it claimed 49 Japanese aircraft destroyed, for the loss of 17 P-40s. At the end of February, as Japanese ground forces approached, the squadron handed over its surviving aircraft to the Dutch military and returned to Australia. What remained of the 17th Pursuit Squadron was integrated into other American units in Australia. Fifth Air Force carried the squadron as an active, unmanned unit through the end of the war. Lastly, 2 April 1946, the unit was placed in inactive status. It would remain inactive until almost the end of the Vietnam War.


Vietnam War

It was reactivated on 12 November 1971 as the 17th Wild Weasel Squadron, and assumed the mission, personnel, and Republic F-105G Thunderchief Wild Weasel IV of the inactivating 6010th Wild Weasel Squadron. The mission of the 17th was the destruction of North Vietnamese
surface-to-air-missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-a ...
batteries by destroying or otherwise shutting down their guidance radars, leaving enemy missile sites effectively blind and impotent. The electronic weapons officer in the rear seat of the Wild Weasel F-105G operated a battery of sophisticated electronic equipment which was capable of detecting the emissions from enemy radars and determining the exact location of their sources. Once these sites were identified, the Wild Weasel aircraft could attack them with a battery of AGM-45 Shrike anti-radar missiles, which were designed to home in on an enemy radar transmission and follow it all the way to its source and destroy it. The Wild Weasel aircraft would also carry powerful jamming equipment which was designed to confuse the enemy radar installation or to misdirect any surface-to-air missiles that might be launched. Alternatively, the Wild Weasel crew could direct other aircraft toward the missile sites, which would be attacked by iron bombs or cannon fire. After the end of American military flights over North Vietnam in January 1973, the squadron maintained the capability to deliver Wild Weasel support for operations over Cambodia of
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic aircraft, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the ...
,
General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production models of the F-111 had roles that included attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons capabiliti ...
, and
McDonnell F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bowers ...
aircraft until August 1973. It maintained an alert mission until the squadron was inactivated in 1974. The squadron's aircraft were returned to the United States, being assigned to the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing at
George Air Force Base George Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, 8 miles northwest, of central Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. Established by the United States Army Air C ...
, California.


17th Tactical Fighter Squadron

Reactivated as the 17th Tactical Fighter Squadron in early 1982 at
Shaw Air Force Base Shaw Air Force Base (Shaw AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located approximately west-northwest of downtown Sumter, South Carolina. It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is under the jurisdict ...
, South Carolina, assigned to the newly redesignated 363d Tactical Fighter Wing as the wing was converting from a McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II tactical reconnaissance mission to
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...
s.F-16.net 17th Tactical Fighter Squadron
/ref> The initial aircraft received were Block 10 F-16A models, but shortly afterwards the first block 15 aircraft started to arrive. The responsibility of the 17th was
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 ...
, air
interdiction Interdiction is interception of an object prior to its arrival at the location where it is to be used in military, espionage, and law enforcement. Military In the military, interdiction is the act of delaying, disrupting, or destroying enemy f ...
, suppression of enemy air defenses and armed reconnaissance to support worldwide contingencies. For this mission the squadron was eventually equipped with Block 50 aircraft and the AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile. This was one of a few units within the USAF that flew with this missile. In 1985 the squadron was upgraded to the Block 25 F-16C from the General Dynamics factory in Fort Worth. These aircraft were more capable in comparison with the former block 15 models. Also new weapon systems could now be introduced, like the CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition. After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the 24 aircraft of the 17th were deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base,
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
, United Arab Emirates on 9 August 1990 and started flying air defense missions over the Saudi kingdom as part of
Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
. When Operation Desert Storm started in January 1991 the squadron was at the forefront of air operations. Upon their return to the United States, in March 1991, the squadron started receiving some brand-new block 42 F-16s. Their primary mission of air interdiction remained the same. During 1993 the first rumors came that the entire wing was to be disbanded. The news was quickly acknowledged. On 31 December 1993 the squadron was inactivated in favor of squadrons from the senior 20th Fighter Wing, which was moving from the closed
RAF Upper Heyford Royal Air Force Upper Heyford or more simply RAF Upper Heyford is a former Royal Air Force station located north-west of Bicester near the village of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. In the World War II, Second W ...
, England to Shaw as part of the USAFE drawdown at the end of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. The squadron transferred its aircraft and personnel to the 20th Fighter Wing, and the 17th Fighter Squadron, along with the entire 363d Fighter Wing was inactivated. After lying dormant for ten years, the 17th was reactivated at Nellis AFB in February 2003, and renamed the 17th Weapons Squadron. Equipped with Boeing F-15E Strike Eagles, they fly direct support of the U. S. Air Force Weapons School, assigned to the
57th Wing The 57th Wing (57 WG) is an operational unit of the United States Air Force (USAF) United States Air Force Warfare Center, Warfare Center, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The 57 WG's mission is to provide well trained and wel ...
.


Lineage

; 17th Aero Squadron * Organized as the 29th Provisional Aero Squadron on 16 June 1917 : Redesignated 17th Aero Squadron on 30 July 1917 : Demobilized on 1 April 1919 : Consolidated with the 17th Pursuit Squadron as the 17th Pursuit Squadron on 17 October 1936 ; 17th Weapons Squadron * Organized as the 147th Aero Squadron on 11 November 1917 : Redesignated 17th Squadron (Pursuit) on 14 March 1921 : Redesignated 17th Pursuit Squadron on 25 January 1923 * Consolidated with the 17th Aero Squadron on 17 October 1936 : Redesignated: 17th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 6 December 1939 : Inactivated on 2 April 1946 * Redesignated 17th Wild Weasel Squadron on 12 November 1971 : Activated on 1 December 1971 : Inactivated on 15 November 1974 * Redesignated 17th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 11 December 1981 : Activated on 1 July 1982 : Redesignated 17th Fighter Squadron on 1 November 1991 : Inactivated on 31 December 1993 * Redesignated 17th Weapons Squadron on 24 January 2003 : Activated on 3 February 2003


Assignments

; 17th Aero Squadron * Post Headquarters, Kelly Field, 16 June 1917 * Training Section, Air Service, 4 August 1917 (attached to the
Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...
) * Post Headquarters, Camp Taliaferro, Texas, 12 October 1917 (attached to the Royal Flying Corps) * Aviation Concentration Center, 23 December 1917 – 9 January 1918 *
American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...
, 11 February-30 October 1918 (attached to Royal Air Force) * No, 65 Wing RAF, 20 June 1918 * No. 13 Wing RAF, 18 August 1918 * 4th Pursuit Group, 4 November 1918 * 1st Air Depot, AEF, 12 December 1918 – 15 January 1919 * Unknown, 15 January-1 April 1919Assignment information in Bailey, except as noted. ; 17th Weapons Squadron * Post Headquarters, Kelly Field, 10 November 1917 * Post Headquarters, Camp Taliaferro, Texas, 12 November 1917 (attached to the Royal Flying Corps for training) * Aviation Concentration Center, 19 February-5 March 1918 *
American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...
, 25 March-1 June 1918 (attached to Second Aviation Instruction Center, 25 March-22 April 1918) * 1st Pursuit Group, Air Service, 1st Army, AEF, 1 June–December 1918 * Unknown, December 1918–22 August 1919 * 1st Pursuit Group, 22 August 1919 * 4th Composite Group, 14 December 1940 * 24th Pursuit Group, 1 October 1941 – 2 April 1946 * 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 December 1971 – 15 November 1974 * 363d Tactical Fighter Wing (later 363d Fighter Wing), 1 July 1982 (attached to 363d Tactical Fighter Wing Provisional, 9 August 1990 – 13 March 1991) * 363d Operations Group, 1 May 1992 – 31 December 1993 *
USAF Weapons School The USAF Weapons School is a unit of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, assigned to the 57th Wing and Space Delta 1. It is located at Nellis AFB, Nevada. Mission The mission of the USAF Weapons School is to teach gradu ...
, 3 February 2003 – present


Stations

; 17th Aero Squadron * Camp Kelly (later Kelly Field), Texas, 16 June 1917 *
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ontario, Canada, 4 August 1917 (detachments at Deseronto, Ontario and
Camp Borden Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Camp Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Forc ...
, Ontario, after c. 25 August 1917) *
Hicks Field Hicks Field (Camp Taliaferro Field #1) is a former World War I military airfield, located north-northwest of Saginaw, Texas. It operated as a training field for the Air Service, United States Army, from 1917 until 1920. It was one of 32 ...
, Camp Taliaferro, Texas, c. 14 October 1917 * Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City, New York, 23 December 1917 – 9 January 1918 *
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, England, 25 January 1918 * Romsey RC,
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
, England, 25 January 1918 * France, 10 February 1918 : Unit divided into four flights which operated from various stations in
Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (; ; West Flemish: ''Nôord-Nauw van Kales'') was a former regions of France, administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new Regions of France, region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the ...
,
Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...
, and
Oise Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.< ...
Departments, until squadron reassembled on 20 June 1918 * Petite Synthe Aerodrome, France, 20 June 1918 * Auxi-le-Château Aerodrome, France, 19 August 1918 : Detachment operated from Beugnatre Airdrome, 10–20 September 1918 * Sonchamp Aerodrome, France, 20 September 1918 * Gengault Aerodrome, France, 4 November 1918 * Colombey-les-Belles Airdrome, France, 12 December 1918 *
Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
, France, 15 January-7 March 1919 *
Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 23,272 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within the Town of Hempstead ...
, c. 20 March-1 April 1919 ; 17th Weapons Squadron * Kelly Field, Texas, 11 November 1917 * Benbrook Field, Camp Taliaferro, Texas, 12 November 1917 *
Hicks Field Hicks Field (Camp Taliaferro Field #1) is a former World War I military airfield, located north-northwest of Saginaw, Texas. It operated as a training field for the Air Service, United States Army, from 1917 until 1920. It was one of 32 ...
, Camp Taliaferro, Texas 22 December 1917 * Garden City, New York, 19 February-5 March 1918 * Tours Aerodrome, France, 25. March 1918 * Epiez Aerodrome, France, 22 April 1918 * Gengault Aerodrome, France, 1 June 1918 *
Touquin Aerodrome Touquin Aerodrome was a temporary World War I airfield in France, used briefly in June–July 1918 by French escadrilles and units of the Air Service, United States Army, and again by the French from February to May 1919. It was located in the � ...
, France, 28 June 1918 * Saints Aerodrome, France, 9 July 1918 * Rembercourt Aerodrome, France, 1 September 1918 * Colombey-les-Belles Airdrome, France, 12 December 1918 *
Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port, port city in the Finistère department, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of a peninsula and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an impor ...
, 5 February-8 March 1919 * Garden City, New York, 19 March 1919 * Selfridge Field, Michigan, 27 April 1919 * Kelly Field, Texas, 31 August 1919 * Ellington Field, Texas, 1 July 1921 * Selfridge Field, Michigan, 1 July 1922 * Nichols Field,
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
, Philippines, 5 December 1940 : Operated from Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, 9–24 December 1941 * Bataan Airfield, Luzon, Philippines, 25 December 1941 – April 1942 : Air echelon operated from Lubao Field, Luzon, Philippines, 25–31 December 1941 : Air echelon operated from
Del Monte Airfield Del Monte Field (active 1941–1942) was a heavy bomber airfield of the Far East Air Force (FEAF) of the United States Army Air Forces, located in Mindanao in the Philippines. The airfield was located in a meadow of a Del Monte Corporation pine ...
,
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
, Philippines, c. 8 April–May 1942 * Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, 1 December 1971 – 15 November 1974 * Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, 1 July 1982 – 31 December 1993 : Deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, 9 August 1990 – 13 March 1991 *
Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloquialism, colloq.) is a United States Air Force military installation, installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts Aerial warfare, air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exerc ...
, Nevada, 3 February 2003 – present


Aircraft

; 17th Aero Squadron *
Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" is a series of biplanes built by the Glenn Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft ...
, 1917 * Sopwith F-1 Camel, 1918 * SPAD S.XIII, 1918 ; 17th Weapons Squadron * Nieuport 28, 1918 * SPAD S.XIII, 1918, 1921–1922 * Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5, 1919–1922 * Thomas-Morse MB-3, 1922–1925 * Dayton-Wright DH-4, 1919–1925 * Curtiss PW-8 Hawk, 1924–1926 * Curtiss P-1 Hawk, 1926–1930 *
Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12 or Boeing F4B is an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps, United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. It was the chief fighter aircraft in American service during the early 193 ...
, 1930–1932 * Curtiss P-6 Hawk, 1932–1934, 1936–1938 * Boeing P-26 Peashooter, 1934–1938, 1940–1941 * Seversky P-35, 1938–1940, 1941 * Lockheed C-40 Electra, 1939–1940 * Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1941–1942 * Republic F-105 Thunderchief, 1971–1974 * General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, 1982–1993 * McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, 2003–present


Awards and campaigns


See also

* George Augustus Vaughn Jr. * Howard Burdick * Howard Clayton Knotts * List of American aero squadrons * Lloyd Andrews HamiltonFranks, ''et al''., p. 86 *
Robert Olds Robert Olds (June 15, 1896 – April 28, 1943) was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces, theorist of strategic bombing, strategic air power, and proponent of an independent United States Air Force. Olds is best known today as th ...
* William Dolley Tipton


References


Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations


Bibliography

* * Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank W. ''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'' Grub Street, 1992. , . * Franks, Norman, et al. ''American Aces of World War I.'' Osprey Publishing, 2001. , . * * * * * * Molesworth, Carl. ''P-40 Warhawk Aces of the Pacific (Aircraft of the Aces)''. London: Osprey Publishing, 2003 * * * * * ''First Fighter: A History of the First Fighter Wing, 1918–1983''. Office of History, Langley AFB, Virginia {{USAAF 5th Air Force World War II Weapons 0017 Military units and formations established in 1917 1917 establishments in Texas