The 47th Liaison Squadron is an inactive

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. Its last assignment was with

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 ...

Langley Air Force Base Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the entry of the United States into World War I in April 1 ...

, Virginia, where it was inactivated on 25 August 1948. The squadron was activated in July 1943. It trained in the United States until the spring of 1944, then deployed to the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater (warfare), theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It command ...

. It served as a courier and communication unit for various headquarters. After

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

, it remained in Germany as part of the occupation force until 1947, when it returned to the United States as a paper unit. It remained in that status until inactivating.

History

The 47th Liaison Squadron was activated at

Gainesville Army Air Field Gainesville Municipal Airport is three miles west of Gainesville, in Cooke County, Texas. History The airport opened in August 1941 as Gainesville Army Airfield and was used by the United States Army Air Forces Third Air Force as a training b ...

, Texas on 1 July 1943 as one of the four

squadrons Squadron(s) may refer to: Military * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 ...

of the

426th Reconnaissance Group The 426th Tactical Intelligence Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was active as the 426th Reconnaissance Group in 1943, but was disbanded before becoming fully organized. It was reconstituted as a military intelligence unit ...

. The following month the squadron was reassigned to

II Air Support Command The II Air Support Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Third Air Force at Biggs Field, Texas, as the II Tactical Air Division, where it was inactivated on 22 December 1945. The command was organized in ...

, as the 426th Group was inactivated without fully equipping or being brought up to strength. The squadron was equipped with a variety of light aircraft, primarily

Stinson L-5 Sentinel The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Division of the Vulte ...

s and

Piper L-4 Grasshopper The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

s, but it also flew a few

Stinson L-1 Vigilant The Stinson L-1 Vigilant (company designation Model 74) is an American liaison aircraft designed by the Stinson Aircraft Company of Wayne, Michigan and manufactured at the Vultee-Stinson factory in Nashville, Tennessee (in August 1940 Stinson be ...

s and

Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper The Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper is an American observation and liaison aircraft built by Taylorcraft for the United States Army Air Forces in World War II. Design and development In 1941 the United States Army Air Forces ordered four Tayl ...

s. The 47th trained at bases in Texas and Louisiana until late March 1944, when it departed for the

. Squadron training was informal and extended due to the absence of a formal training program until January 1944, and the absence of a definition of the squadron's mission. Because the squadron was nearing its overseas deployment, it received little benefit from the formal training program.Gray (unpaginated) After its arrival at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, England in early April 1944, the squadron moved to

RAF Heston Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford, London, Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British ...

, west of London. From late May, six aircraft were detached to Oatlands Hill, near

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...

in Wiltshire. The squadron provided courier service for Headquarters Command, European Theater of Operations,

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

until after

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, primarily with L-5 Sentinels. Other squadron missions included transport of personnel,

aeromedical evacuation Aeromedical evacuation (AE) is the use of military transport aircraft to carry wounded personnel. The first recorded British ambulance flight took place in 1917 in the Sinai Peninsula some 30 miles south of El Arish when a Royal Aircraft ...

, visual reconnaissance, providing commanders with information to control advancing columns and checking passive air defense measures. In late July, one flight moved to the European continent, flying from Colombieres Airfield, France to support First Army Group. The squadron followed in August, when it moved to

Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Saint-Sauveur-Villages.Twelfth Army Group. Just before

, the squadron moved to

Wiesbaden Air Base Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden forms a conurbation with a population of aro ...

, Germany where it became part of the

occupation forces Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling powe ...

. After August 1945, it was attached to attached to Headquarters Command, European Command and supported that headquarters until May 1947. The squadron became non-operational and was moved to

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Langley Wakeman Collyer (1885–1947), one ...

, Virginia in June 1947. The squadron was not manned or equipped at Langley, and was finally inactivated on 25 August 1948.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 47th Liaison Squadron on 25 June 1943 : Activated on 1 July 1943 : Inactivated on 25 August 1948

Assignments

* 426th Reconnaissance Group, 1 July 1943 * II Air Support Command (later II Tactical Air Division), 11 August 1943 *

United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe The United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF) was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. It became the overall command and control authority of the United States Army Air Forces in the European theatre of World War II, Eu ...

, 4 April 1944 (attached to Headquarters Command,

European Theater of Operations, United States Army The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground Forc ...

, until 17 April 1944; then First Army Group until 9 August 1944; then to Twelfth Army Group) *

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

, 25 April 1944 (attached to Twelfth Army Group, until 1 August 1945; then to Headquarters Command, US Forces, European Theater) *

XII Tactical Air Command The XII Tactical Air Command was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe at Bad Kissingen, Germany, where it was inactivated on 10 November 1947. History The 12th Gr ...

, 23 November 1945 (attached to Headquarters Command, US Forces, European Theater (later Headquarters Command,

United States European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven Unified Combatant Command, unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territori ...

)) *

70th Fighter Wing The 70th Fighter Wing (70th FW) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, based at Neubiberg Air Base, Germany. It was inactivated on 25 September 1947. History Established ...

, 1 February 1946 (attached to Headquarters Command, European Command) *

64th Fighter Wing The 64th Fighter Wing was a World War II tactical air control wing of the Twelfth Air Force, operating in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II, Mediterranean and European theatre of World War II, European theaters. From its ...

, 4 March 1946 (attached to Headquarters Command, European Command) * XII Tactical Air Command, 1 May 1947 (attached to Headquarters Command, European Command until 31 May 1947) *

, 25 June 1947 – 25 August 1948

Stations

* Gainesville Army Air Field, Texas, 1 July 1943 *

Brownwood Army Air Field Brownwood Regional Airport is six miles north of Brownwood, in Brown County, Texas. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''general aviation'' facility. The 21st Cavalry Brigade of the III Corps, ...

, Texas, 25 September 1943 * Pollock Army Air Field, Louisiana, 24 November 1943 – 21 March 1944 * Cheltenham, England, 9 April 1944 * RAF Heston (Sta 510), England, 25 April 1944 : Flight at Colombieres Airfield, France, c. 24 July – c. 18 August 1944 * Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin, France, 18 August 1944 * Laval Airfield (A-57),Station number in Johnson. France, 21 August 1944 * Buc Airfield (Y-4), France, September 2, 1944 * Verdun-Charney Airfield (Y-28), France, September 17, 1944 * Wiesbaden Air Base (Y-80), Germany, 5 May 1945 : Flights operated from several points in Germany and Austria during period 21 July 1945 – 20 June 1947 *

Frankfurt-Rebstock Airfield Frankfurt-Rebstock Airfield was a German Luftwaffe airport located in the city of Frankfurt, Germany. It was built in 1912 and closed in 1945. History Established in 1912, the airfield’s origins trace back to the 1909 Internationale Luftsch ...

, Germany, 24 June 1946 * Langley Field (later Langley Air Force Base), Virginia, 25 June 1947 – 25 August 1948Station information in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 207, except as noted.

Aircraft

* Stinson L-5 Sentinel, 1943-1947 * Piper L-4 Grasshopper, 1943-1944 * Stinson L-1 Vigilant, 1943-1944 * Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper, 1943-1944

Campaigns

References

Notes

Bibliography

*
Gray, Jim, ''The Army Air Forces Liaison Squadrons of World War II'', Stinson Owners & Pilots Association
* * * {{USAAF 9th Air Force UK 047 Military units and formations established in 1943