388th Electronic Combat Squadron
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The 388th Electronic Warfare Squadron is an active
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
unit, stationed at
Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test ...
, where it is assigned to the
350th Spectrum Warfare Wing The 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing is an active United States Air Force organization. It was activated in 2021 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing is responsible for delivering electromagnetic spectrum capabilities to 70 United States and ...
.


History

Established in early 1942 as a light bomb squadron, equipped with
Douglas A-24 Banshee The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/dive ...
s, although equipped with export model
Vultee A-31 Vengeance The Vultee A-31 Vengeance is an American dive bomber of World War II that was built by Vultee Aircraft. A modified version was called A-35. The Vengeance was not used operationally by the United States but was operated as a front-line aircraft ...
dive bombers for training. Trained under
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 ...
in the southeast United States, also used for
antisubmarine Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations a ...
patrols over the Atlantic southeast coast and then Gulf of Mexico. Deployed to Southern California in early 1943 to the
Desert Warfare Center A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
, trained in light bombing while supporting Army maneuvers in the
Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
until October. Re-equipped with
North American A-36 Apache The North American A-36 (company designation NA-97, listed in some sources as "Apache" or "Invader", but generally called Mustang) is the Attack aircraft, ground-attack/dive bomber version of the North American P-51 Mustang, from which it coul ...
dive bombers and deployed to New Guinea as part of
Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organ ...
. In the Southwest Pacific the squadron attacked Japanese strong points and tactical positions and targets of opportunity in support of general
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
's campaign along the north coast of New Guinea; then advancing into the Netherlands East Indies and Philippines as part of the Island Hopping campaign. It was re-equipped with
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 ...
s, and later with
Douglas A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American light bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for ...
s. Engaged in heavy fighting on
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 ...
,
Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of ...
and
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 ...
in the Philippines during 1944–1945. The squadron moved to
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
in mid-August and after the Atomic Bomb missions had been flown; remained on Okinawa until December until returning to the United States with most personnel demobilizing. It was inactivated as a paper unit on 6 January 1946. The squadron was reactivated as a
Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the Bo ...
unit in the reserves in 1947, but lack of funding and personnel led to rapid inactivation. Transferred to
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 ...
in the mid-1950s and activated first with
North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...
s, then
North American F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United ...
s in 1958. Inactivated in 1959 when its parent 312th Tactical Fighter Wing was inactivated and replaced by the
27th Tactical Fighter Wing The 27th Special Operations Wing, also known as "The Steadfast Line", is a wing of the United States Air Force stationed at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. It is assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The wing mission ...
. Personnel and equipment of the squadron were transferred to the 524th Tactical Fighter Squadron. Reactivated in 1977 as a
General Dynamics F-111A Aardvark A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Mar ...
training squadron; inactivated 1979. Reactivated in 1981 as an EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft; inactivated 1982. Reactivated in 2004 flying Naval
Grumman EA-6B Prowler The Northrop Grumman (formerly Grumman) EA-6B Prowler is a twin-engine, four-seat, mid-wing electronic-warfare aircraft. Operated by both the United States Marine Corps and United States Navy between 1971 and 2019, it was derived from the A-6 I ...
electronic warfare aircraft. It was inactivated in 2010, being replaced by the
390th Electronic Combat Squadron The 390th Electronic Combat Squadron (390 ECS) is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho and stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. The 390th was cons ...
. The squadron was redesignated the 388th Electronic Warfare Squadron and activated in May 2024 at
Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test ...
, Florida.


Lineage

* Constituted as the 388th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 28 January 1942 : Activated on 15 March 1942 : Redesignated 388th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) on 27 July 1942 : Redesignated 388th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 6 December 1943 : Redesignated 388th Bombardment Squadron, Light c. 28 March 1944 : Redesignated 388th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 19 July 1945 : Inactivated on 4 January 1946 * Redesignated 388th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 14 July 1947 : Activated in the reserve on 30 July 1947 : Inactivated on 27 June 1949 * Redesignated 388th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 29 July 1954 : Activated on 1 October 1954 : Redesignated 388th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 July 1958 : Inactivated on 18 February 1959 * Redesignated 388th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 7 February 1977 : Activated on 1 July 1977 : Inactivated on 30 September 1979 * Redesignated 388th Electronic Combat Squadron on 29 January 1981 : Activated on 1 July 1981 : Inactivated on 15 December 1982 : Activated on 15 December 2004Lineage.including assignments, through 2004 in Warnock. : Inactivated on 27 September 2010 * Redesignated 388th Electronic Warfare Squadron : Activated c. 1 May 2024


Assignments

*
312th Bombardment Group 31 may refer to: * 31 (number) Years * 31 BC * AD 31 * 1931 * 2031 Music * ''Thirty One'' (Jana Kramer album), 2015 * ''Thirty One'' (Jarryd James album), 2015 * "Thirty One", a song by Karma to Burn from the album ''Wild, Wonderful Purgatory ...
, 15 March 1942 – 4 January 1946 *
Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswel ...
, 30 July 1947 *
312th Bombardment Group 31 may refer to: * 31 (number) Years * 31 BC * AD 31 * 1931 * 2031 Music * ''Thirty One'' (Jana Kramer album), 2015 * ''Thirty One'' (Jarryd James album), 2015 * "Thirty One", a song by Karma to Burn from the album ''Wild, Wonderful Purgatory ...
, 13 August 1947 – 27 June 1949 *
312th Fighter-Bomber Group The 312th Aeronautical Systems Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last active in June 2010 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where it was a component of Air Force Materiel Command. During World War II, as the 312t ...
, 1 October 1954 *
312th Fighter-Bomber Wing The 312th Aeronautical Systems Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last active in June 2010 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where it managed attack and fighter aircraft systems development as part of the Aeronauti ...
(later 312th Tactical Fighter Wing), 8 October 1957 – 18 February 1959 (attached to Air Task Force 13 (Provisional), 4 September–3 December 1958) *
366th Tactical Fighter Wing The 366th Fighter Wing (366 FW) is a fighter wing of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Units The wing comprises four groups: the 366th Operations Group, 366th Maintenance Group, 3 ...
, 1 July 1977 – 30 September 1979 * 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 July 1981 – 15 December 1982 * 366th Operations Group, 15 December 2004 – 27 September 2010 * 350th Spectrum Warfare Group, c. 1 May 2024 – present


Stations

* Bowman Field, Kentucky, 15 March 1942 *
Will Rogers Airport OKC Will Rogers International Airport , also known as Will Rogers Airport or simply Will Rogers, is a passenger airport located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, about 6 miles (10 km) southwest of the city's downtown area. It is ...
, Oklahoma, 12 June 1942 *
Hunter Field Hunter Army Airfield , located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart located in Hinesville, Georgia. Hunter features a runway that is long and an Airport ramp, aircraft par ...
, Georgia, 18 August 1942 *
DeRidder Army Air Base Beauregard Regional Airport is a public use airport in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is owned by Beauregard Parish and is located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of DeRidder, Louisian ...
, Louisiana, 18 February 1943 *
Rice Army Airfield Rice Army Air Field (also known as Rice Air Base or Rice AAF) is an abandoned World War II airfield in Rice Valley of the southern Mojave Desert, located east-southeast of the community of Rice. The airfield is located in Riverside County jus ...
, California, 13 April 1943 * Salinas Army Air Base, California, 13 August – 24 October 1943 * Jackson Airfield (7 Mile Drome),
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
, New Guinea, 30 November 1943 *
Gusap Airfield Gusap Airport is a general aviation airport in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. located at the base of the Finisterre Range. It has no scheduled commercial airline service. It is currently in use, and maintained by Ramu Agri Industries Ltd. ( ...
, New Guinea,3 January 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, 11 June 1944 *
Hollandia Airfield Complex Dortheys Hiyo Eluay International Airport — also known as Sentani International Airport — is an airport serving Jayapura, from DAFIF (effective October 2006) the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is ...
, Netherlands East Indies, 4 July 1944 *
Tanauan Airfield Tanauan Airfield is a World War II airfield located near Tanauan in the province of Leyte, Philippines. It was closed after the war. History The airfield was built by the Americans shortly after landing on Leyte in November 1944. It was used b ...
, Leyte, Philippines Commonwealth, 19 November 1944 * McGuire Field,
San Jose, Occidental Mindoro San Jose, officially the Municipality of San Jose (), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 153,267, re ...
, Philippines, 27 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, Philippines, c. 11 February 1945 *
Floridablanca Airfield Cesar Basa Air Base, or simply Basa Air Base (formerly known as Floridablanca Airfield) , is an airbase currently operated by the Philippine Air Force. It is located at Floridablanca, Pampanga about northwest of Metro Manila in the Philippines. ...
, Luzon, Philippines, 20 April 1945 *
Yontan Airfield Yontan Airfield (also known as Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield) is a former military airfield located near Yomitan Village on the west coast of Okinawa. It was closed in July 1996 and turned over to the Japanese government in December 2006. Today it i ...
, Okinawa, c. 12 August – 13 December 1945 *
Fort Lawton Fort Lawton was a United States Army Military base, post located in the Magnolia, Seattle, Washington, Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington overlooking Puget Sound. In 1973 a large majority of the property, 534 acre ...
, Washington, 1–4 January 1946 *
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 ...
(later Ellington Air Force Base), Texas, 30 July 1947 – 27 June 1949 *
Clovis 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 jurisdict ...
(later Cannon Air Force Base), New Mexico, 1 October 1954 – 18 February 1959 : Deployed at Chia Yi AB, Formosa, 4 September-3 December 1958 *
Mountain Home Air Force Base Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in the Western United States, western United States. Located in Southwestern Idaho, southwestern Idaho in Elmore County, Idaho, Elmore County, the base is southwest ...
, Idaho, 1 July 1977 – 30 September 1979; 1 July 1981 – 15 December 1982 *
Whidbey Island Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) is a naval air station of the United States Navy located on two pieces of land near Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington. The main portion of the base, Ault Field, is about t ...
, Washington, 15 December 2004 – 27 September 2010 * Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, c. 1 May 2024 – present


Aircraft

* Vultee A-31 Vengeance, 1942–1943 * Douglas A-24 Banshee, 1942–1943 * North American A-36 Apache, 1943 * Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1943–1944 * Douglas A-20 Havoc, 1944–1945 * North American F-86 Sabre, 1955–1956 * North American F-100 Super Sabre, 1956–1959. * General Dynamics F-111A Aardvark, 1977–1979. * General Dynamics EF-111A Raven, 1981–1982. * Grumman EA-6B Prowler, 2004–2010


References


Notes


Bibliography

* (subscription required for web access) * * * {{USAAF 5th Air Force World War II Electronic warfare squadrons of the United States Air Force