The 73rd Special Operations Squadron is a unit of the

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 ...

, assigned to the

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 ...

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. The squadron operates the AC-130J Ghostrider ground-attack aircraft in support of

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 ...

. The 73rd is one of the oldest in the Air Force, its origins dating to the formation of the 73rd Aero Squadron in February 1918. It served on the Western Front in France 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 ...

, and took part in the

Aleutian Campaign The Aleutian Islands campaign () was a military campaign fought between 3 June 1942 and 15 August 1943 on and around the Aleutian Islands in the American theater (World War II), American Theater of World War II during the Pacific War. It was t ...

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 ...

. It was part of

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

during 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 73rd was inactivated and its personnel and equipment transferred to the

16th Special Operations Squadron The 16th Special Operations Squadron is part of the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. It operates the AC-130W Stinger II aircraft in support of special operations. Mission Train and maintain its combat-read ...

in 2015. The squadron was reactivated on 23 February 2018 to fly the new AC-130J "Ghostrider" gunship assigned to the 1st Special Operations Group at Hulburt Field, Florida.

History

World War I

The 73rd dates to the formation of the 73rd Aero Squadron at

Rich Field Rich Field is a former World War I military airfield, located in Waco, Texas, near what is now the intersection of Bosque Boulevard and 41st Street. It operated as a training field for the Air Service, United States Army from 1917 until 1919. The ...

, Waco, Texas on 22 February 1918. The first personnel were 150 privates under the command of 1st Lieutenant Loren W. De Motte, which arrived at the Aviation Camp. Once organized into a unit, the 73rd was transferred to

Call Field Call Field is a former World War I military airfield, located southwest of Wichita Falls, Texas. It operated as a training field for the United States Army Air Service between 1917 until 1919. The airfield was List of airfields of the Training ...

, Wichita Falls, Texas, where it underwent basic indoctrination training. The men were also trained in aviation mechanic work.Gorrell, p. 26 73d Aero Squadron - Group Photograph

On 8 July, orders were received for the unit to proceed to the

Aviation Concentration Center Camp Albert L. Mills (Camp Mills) was a military installation on Long Island, New York. It was located about ten miles from the eastern boundary of New York City on the Hempstead Plains within what is now the village of Garden City. In September ...

, Garden City, Long Island, for preparation to serve overseas. An observation balloon detachment of 30 men was assigned to the squadron at Garden City, and the unit moved to the Port of Embarkation at Hoboken, New Jersey on 29 July where it boarded a ship bound for France. After an uneventful crossing of the Atlantic, it arrived at the port of

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 ...

on 26 August. At Brest, the balloon detachment was detached from the squadron, and the squadron was ordered to proceed to the

St. Maixent Replacement Barracks The Air Service Replacement Concentration Barracks is a former military facility in the vicinity of Saint-Maixent-l'École, Poitou-Charentes, France. It was used by the Air Service, United States Army as the Air Service Replacement Concentration ...

for assignment. Initially assigned as a support unit to the

1st Day Bombardment Group First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

at Delouze Aerodrome on c. 20 September, the squadron maintained

Dayton-Wright 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 designe ...

s of the group. On 4 October, it was ordered to

Colombey-les-Belles Airdrome : ''see also: Organization of the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force'' When the United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917, the Air Service of the United States Army existed only as a branch of the Signal Corps, and was kno ...

, where it was reassigned to the Second Army. At Colombey, the squadron operated the 6th Air Park; a maintenance and supply organization as part of the 1st Air Depot. It moved to

Ourches Aerodrome Ourches Aerodrome, was a temporary World War I airfield in France, used by the Air Service, United States Army. It was west of the commune of Toul, in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. Overview The airfield was buil ...

about 15 November It remained in France after the Armistice in November, returning to the United States in June 1919 where it was demobilized at

Hazelhurst Field Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located in the East Garden City section of Uniondale, on Long Island, New York, United States. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aer ...

, New York on 4 July.

Inter-war period

A new unit, the 73rd Headquarters Squadron was constituted in the Regular Army Reserve on 18 October 1927 at San Antonio, Texas. Army reserve officers assigned to the unit participated in summer training at Kelly Field, Texas, 1928–30 with the 3rd Attack Group. On 8 May 1929, it was redesignated as the

73rd Pursuit Squadron The 73rd Special Operations Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The squadron operates the Lockheed AC-130, AC-130J Ghostrider ground-attack aircraft in supp ...

, and became an associate unit of the 18th Pursuit Group at Dodd Field, Texas.Clay, p. 1424 The unit was activated on 15 July 1931 by the Army Air Corps as an active-duty squadron. It was assigned without reserve personnel to the 17th Pursuit Group at

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 m ...

, California and equipped with

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 ...

fighters. In 1934 it received new

Boeing P-26 Peashooter The Boeing P-26 "Peashooter" is the first American production all-metal fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane to enter squadron service with the United States Army Air Corps. Designed and built by Boeing, the prototype first flew in 1 ...

s but retained the P-12s. It was reorganized and redesignated as the 73rd Attack Squadron on 1 March 1935. The squadron was awarded the Frank Luke Trophy for 1935, having the highest gunnery score in the U.S. Army Air Corps. On 5 June 1936 the squadron was consolidated with its World War I predecessor unit, the 73rd Aero Squadron. It received

Northrop A-17 The Northrop A-17, also known as the Northrop Model 8, a development of the Northrop Gamma 2F model, is a two-seat, single-engine, monoplane, attack bomber built in 1935 by the Northrop Corporation for the United States Army Air Corps. When in ...

attack aircraft, replacing the Boeing fighters. The squadron flew reconnaissance flights in support of flood relief in southern California from 2 to 5 March 1938. Reorganized and redesignated as the 3rd Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 17 October 1939, being re-equipped with

Douglas B-18 Bolo The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American twin-engined medium bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was developed by the Douglas Airc ...

s. It moved to

McChord Field McChord Field (formerly and still commonly known as McChord Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord AFB is the home of the 62nd Airlift Wing, ...

, Washington, 26 June 1940. The 73rd was relieved from assignment to the 17th Bombardment Group on 3 May 1941 and assigned to the

28th Composite Group Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

World War II

The squadron moved to the new

Elmendorf Field Elmendorf may refer to: People with the surname * Dave Elmendorf, former NFL player *Douglas Elmendorf, former director of the Congressional Budget Office * Lucas Conrad Elmendorf, United States Representative from New York * Steven Elmendorf, lobb ...

, near Anchorage, Alaska on 14 March 1941. It was one of the first Air Corps units assigned to the Alaska Territory. After the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

, the squadron flew

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapon ...

patrols over the Gulf of Alaska.Cloe & Monaghan, When the Japanese invaded the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

in June 1942 the squadron was reassigned to

Fort Glenn Army Air Base Cape Air Force Base also known as Fort Glenn Army Air Base, is a site significant for its role in World War II fighting, operating alongside Naval Air Facility Otter Point. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and declared ...

Adak Island Adak Island (, ; ) or Father Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost city, Adak, is located on the island. The island has a land area of , measuring lo ...

. It and began flying combat missions over the captured islands of

Kiska Kiska (, ) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required to visit it. The island has ...

and

Attu Island Attu (, ) is an island in the Near Islands (part of the Aleutian Islands chain). It is one of the westernmost points of the U.S. state of Alaska. The island became uninhabited in 2010, making it the largest uninhabited island that is part of th ...

s. The squadron flew combat missions with

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 ...

s and later with

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allies of World War ...

medium bombers during the Aleutian Campaign and returned to the United States in August 1943. The squadron was transferred to Pyote Army Air Field, Texas, on 6 October, and was disbanded there on 1 November. Its personnel retrained as replacement crews for

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

es and its aircraft redeployed as replacement aircraft to overseas combat units.

Postwar

In its early years, along with its own fighter wings for escorting its bombers,

(SAC) formed a limited air transport capability to supplement that of 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 ...

, which provided SAC with the majority of its airlift support. (some pages missing, all pages after 1948 missing) The 3rd Strategic Support Squadron was activated on 16 November 1950 at

Hunter Air Force Base Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn ...

, Georgia and assigned to the SAC

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

. During the 1950s the squadron carried much classified equipment and personnel to various locations around the world. On 5 January 1953, it moved to

Barksdale Air Force Base Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, in northwest Louisiana. Much of the base is within the city limits of Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwest ...

, Louisiana, and reassigned to the

4238th Strategic Wing The 2nd Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command and the Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The wing is also the host unit at Barksdale. The wing was ...

on 1 July 1959. The squadron was inactivated on 1 June 1961 when SAC got out of the transport business. The 73rd Bombardment Squadron and the 3rd Strategic Support Squadron were consolidated as the 73rd Special Operations Squadron in 1985, but were not activated.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 September 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons It was activated in 2006 to operate the new MC-130W Combat Spear aircraft. The 73rd was the first flying special operations squadron to move to

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 ...

after the fighter squadrons left. As of April 2012, the MC-130W was re-designated as the AC-130W Stinger II due to the change on missions with the Dragon Spear conversion program. On 12 June 2015, the squadron was inactivated and its mission, personnel and aircraft were combined with those of the

. The squadron was reactivated on 23 February 2018, it was assigned to the 1st Special Operations Group. The 73rd became the first AC-130J operational unit to fly the aircraft in 2018. The AC-130J Ghostrider gunship flew its first combat mission in Afghanistan in late June 2019 with the squadron.

Lineage

; 73rd Aero Squadron * Organized as 73rd Aero Squadron on 26 February 1918 : Demobilized on 4 July 1919 : Reconstituted and consolidated with the 73rd Attack Squadron as the 73rd Attack Squadron on 16 October 1936 ; 73rd Bombardment Squadron * Constituted as the 73rd Headquarters Squadron on 18 October 1927 * Redesignated 73rd Pursuit Squadron on 8 May 1929 : Activated on 15 July 1931 : Redesignated 73rd Attack Squadron on 1 March 1935 : Consolidated with the 73rd Aero Squadron on 16 October 1936 : Redesignated: 73rd Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 17 October 1939 : Disbanded on 1 November 1943 : Reconstituted and consolidated with the 3rd Strategic Support Squadron as the 73rd Special Operations Squadron on 19 September 1985 ; 3rd Strategic Support Squadron * Constituted as the 3rd Strategic Support Squadron on 26 October 1950 : Activated on 16 November 1950 : Inactivated on 15 June 1961 : Consolidated with the 73rd Bombardment Squadron as the 73rd Special Operations Squadron on 19 September 1985 ; 73rd Special Operations Squadron * Formed by consolidation of the 73rd Bombardment Squadron and the 3rd Strategis Support Squadron on 19 September 1985 : Activated on 1 October 2006 : Inactivated c. 12 June 2015 : Reactivated on 23 February 2018

Assignments

; 73rd Aero Squadron : Post Headquarters, Rich Field, 26 February 1918 : Post Headquarters, Call Field, 1 March 1918 : 2nd Day Bombardment Group, November 1918 – 1919 : Eastern Department, 1919-4 July 1919 ; 73rd Bombardment Squadron : 17th Pursuit Group (later 17th Attack Group, 17th Bombardment Group), 15 July 1931 : 28th Composite Group, 3 May 1941 : Second Air Force, 6 October – 1 November 1943 ; 3rd Strategic Support Squadron : Second Air Force, 15 November 1950 : 4238th Strategic Wing, 1 July 1959 – 15 June 1961 ; 73rd Special Operations Squadron : 16th Operations Group, 1 October 2006 – c. 12 June 2015 : 1st Special Operations Group, 23 February 2018 - present

Stations

; 73rd Aero Squadron * Rich Field, Texas, 26 February 1918 * Call Field, Texas, 1 March 1918 * Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City, New York, 16 July – 13 August 1918 *

, France, c. 5 September 1918 * Delouze Aerodrome, France, c. 20 September 1918 *

, France, c. 5 October 1918 *

, France, c. 15 November 1918 – 1919 * Hazelhurst Field, New York, 19 June – 4 July 1919 ; 73rd Bombardment Squadron * March Field, California, 15 July 1931 * McChord Field, Washington, 26 June 1940 – 10 March 1941 * Elmendorf Field, Alaska, 14 March 1941 : Detachments operated from Fort Randall Army Air Field, Fort Glenn Army Air Base,

Adak Army Airfield Adak may refer to: Places *Adak Island, one of the Aleutian Islands **Adak, Alaska, a town on the above island **Adak Airport, airport serving the town *** Adak Army Airfield, original name of the airport (1942–c.1943) ***Davis Army Airfield, a ...

, and

Amchitka Army Air Field Amchitka Air Force Base is an abandoned Air Force Base located on Amchitka, in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. History Aleutians campaign The Aleutian Islands Campaign was not considered a priority by the Joint ...

, Alaska, 1942–1943 * Fort Glenn Army Air Base, Alaska, April 1943 * Amchitka Army Air Field, Alaska, June – 30 August 1943 *

Paine Field Seattle Paine Field International Airport — also known as Paine Field and Snohomish County Airport — is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in uni ...

, Washington, 14 September 1943 * Pyote Army Air Base, Texas, 6 October – 1 November 1943 ; 3rd Strategic Support Squadron * Hunter Air Force Base, Georgia, 16 November 1950 * Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, 5 January 1953 – 15 June 1961 ; 73rd Special Operations Squadron *

, New Mexico, 1 October 2006 – c. 12 June 2015 *

, Florida, 26 February 2018 – present

Aircraft

; 73rd Bombardment Squadron (Medium) * Boeing P-12, 1931–1934; 1935–1936 * Boeing P-26 Peashooter, 1934–1935 * Northrop A-17, 1936–1940 * Douglas B-18 Bolo, 1939–1942 * Martin B-26 Marauder, 1942–1943 * North American B-25 Mitchell, 1942–1943 ; 3rd Strategic Support Squadron *

C-124 Globemaster II The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is a retired American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Forc ...

, 1950–1961 ; 73rd Special Operations Squadron * MC-130W Combat Spear/Dragon Spear 2006–2012 * AC-130W Stinger II 2012–2015 * AC-130J Ghostrider 2018–present

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{USAF Special Operations Command Military units and formations in New Mexico 073