The 318th Special Operations Squadron flies the

Pilatus PC-12 The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in addi ...

and is currently stationed at

Cannon Air Force Base Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located approximately southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. The host unit at Cannon is the 27th Special Operations Wing (27 SOW) also known as "The Steadfast Line". It is under the jurisdi ...

, New Mexico. The 318th is under the command of the

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 ...

. Crews plan, prepare, and execute nonstandard aviation missions in support of joint special operations forces while directly supporting

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...

commanders by conducting

night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night v ...

infiltration,

exfil In military tactics, extraction is the process of removing personnel or units from an area; when conducted with stealth in an area controlled by the enemy it is referred to as exfiltration. An example of a hostile extraction was Battle of ...

tration, resupply and other combat taskings on unimproved

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

History

The squadron was activated on 1 May 1944 as the 318th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando) at

Camp Mackall Camp Mackall is an active United States, U.S. United States Army, Army training facility located in eastern Richmond County, North Carolina, Richmond County and northern Scotland County, North Carolina, Scotland County, North Carolina, south of ...

, North Carolina and serving under the 3d Air Commando Group. The unit participated in the

Southwest Pacific Theater The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia, its mandate Territory of New Guin ...

, flying the

Waco CG-4 The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used American troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4A by the United States Army Air Forces, and given the service name Hadrian (after the Roman emperor) by the British. The ...

glider and

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 troo ...

transport. The squadron was inactivated 25 March 1946. Reactivated on 15 November 1971 at

Pope Air Force Base Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Spring Lake, Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective 15 November 2012. Forme ...

, North Carolina, the unit was stood up as the 318th Special Operations Squadron, serving under

1st Special Operations Wing The 1st Special Operations Wing (1 SOW) at Hurlburt Field, Florida is one of three United States Air Force active duty Special Operations wings and falls under the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The 1st Special Operations Wing ...

. The unit's mission was to provide

unconventional warfare Unconventional warfare (UW) is broadly defined as "military and quasi-military operations other than conventional warfare" and may use covert forces or actions such as subversion, diversion, sabotage, espionage, biowarfare, sanctions, propaga ...

support in Vietnam with the

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

until inactivation on 1 June 1974. The unit was most recently reactivated on 16 May 2008. The unit replace a detachment that had operated the

since 27 July 2007, first at

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 as 1st Special Operations Group, Detachment 4, then after 30 December 2007 at

, New Mexico as

27th Special Operations Group The 27th Special Operations Group (27 SOG) is the flying component of the 27th Special Operations Wing, assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The group is stationed at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. The Group carri ...

, Detachment 2.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 318th Troop Carrier Squadron, Commando on 1 May 1944 and activated : Inactivated on 25 March 1946 * Redesignated 318th Special Operations Squadron on 21 October 1971 : Activated on 15 November 1971 : Inactivated on 1 June 1974 : Activated on 2 May 2008

Assignments

* 3d Air Commando Group, 1 May 1944 – 25 March 1946. * 1st Special Operations Wing, 15 November 1971 – 1 June 1974 * 27th Special Operations Group, 2 May 2008 – present

Stations

* Camp Mackall, North Carolina, 1 May 1944 *

Dunnellon Army Air Field Marion County Airport is a county-owned public airport located in the unincorporated area of Dunnellon, in Marion County, Florida, United States. In 2014, the general aviation airport averaged 105 flights per day. The complex features two lighte ...

, Florida, 15 August 1944 * Camp Mackall, North Carolina, 12 September 1944 *

Baer Field Baer (or Bär, from ) or Van Baer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Baer * Alan Baer, American tuba player * Arthur "Bugs" Baer (1886–1969), American journalist and humorist * Buddy Baer (1915–1986), American boxer * ...

, Indiana, 30 September-ii October 1944 *

Nadzab Airfield Complex Officially named Nadzab Tomodachi International Airport, Nadzab Airport is a regional airport located at Nadzab outside Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea along the Highlands Highway. It is served by both private and regional aircraft with do ...

, New Guinea, 26 October 1944; *

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

, Philippines, (undetermined location), 5 January 1945 *

Mangaldan Airfield Mangaldan Airfield is a World War II airfield located north of the town of Mangaldan, near Lingayen Gulf, to the east of Dagupan in the province of Pangasinan on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. It was abandoned after the war. History T ...

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, 26 January 1945 * Laoag Airfield, Luzon, Philippines, 15 April 1945 *

Ie Shima Airfield is a training facility, managed by the United States Marine Corps and a former World War II airfield complex on Ie Shima, an island located off the northwest coast of Okinawa Island in the East China Sea. The airfield as such was inactivated ...

, Okinawa, 9 August 1945 (operated from Atsugi Airfield, Japan, 20 September-7 October 1945) *

Chitose Air Base , is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base located in Chitose, Hokkaidō, adjacent to New Chitose Airport. It is the JASDF's primary base in northern Japan and tasked with monitoring Japan's maritime borders with Russia. It was also Hokkaidō's ...

, Japan, 27 October 1945 – 25 March 1946. * Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, 15 November 1971 – 1 June 1974 *

, New Mexico, 2 May 2008 – present

Aircraft

* Waco CG-4, 1944 *

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 ...

, 1944–1946 * Lockheed C-130 Hercules, 1971–1974 * PZL C-145A Skytruck, 2007–2013 * Pilatus PC-12, 2007–present

References

; Notes

Bibliography

* * * {{USAAF 5th Air Force World War II

318 Year 318 ( CCCXVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Licinianus and Crispus (or, less frequently, year 1071 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 318 fo ...