The 111th Attack Wing (111 ATKW) is a unit of the

Pennsylvania Air National Guard The Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) is the aerial militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America. It is, along with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, an element of the Pennsylvania National Guard. As commonwe ...

, headquartered at Biddle Air National Guard Base in Horsham, Pennsylvania. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...

. It provides protection of life, property, and the preservation of peace and order when tasked to do so by state or federal authorities. The Wing also provides operational and support units, as well as qualified personnel, to support wartime tasking and contingency commitments of any nature. The

103d Attack Squadron The 103rd Attack Squadron (103 ATKS) is an active unit of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard previously known as the 103rd Fighter Squadron (103 FS). It is assigned to the 111th Attack Wing, stationed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Wi ...

is a descendant organization of the 103d Observation Squadron, formed on 27 June 1924. It was one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Overview

Currently the wing uses

General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Unit ...

s to directly support combatant commanders across the globe providing; surveillance, reconnaissance gathering capabilities, combat search and rescue, and weapons employment when called upon. The wing hosts several new tenant organizations at Horsham ANGB including units of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve, among others.

Units

111th Attack Wing's main units: *111th Attack Wing Staff *111th Operations Group * 103rd Attack Squadron -

MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Unit ...

*111th Medical Group *111th Mission Support Group

History

World War II

Constituted as 391st Bombardment Group (Medium) on 15 January 1943 and activated on 21 January Trained with B-26's for duty in Europe with Ninth Air Force. Assigned to RAF Matching, England on 26 January 1944. The group marking was a yellow triangle painted on the tail fin of their B-26s. The first mission was flown on 15 February and 150 more were completed before the group moved into France in late September 1944. During the ensuing weeks the 391st bombed targets such as airfields, marshalling yards, bridges, and V-weapon sites in France and the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

to help prepare for the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

. The group attacked enemy defenses along the invasion beaches on 6 and 7 June 1944. From June through September, the group continued cross-Channel operations, which included attacks on fuel dumps and troop concentrations in support of Allied forces during the breakthrough at

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; br, Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.Douglas B-26B/C Invaders and was assigned to the PA ANG

53d Fighter Wing The 53d Fighter Wing (53 FW) is a disbanded unit of the United States Air Force, last stationed at Philadelphia International Airport, Pennsylvania. It was withdrawn from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) and inactivated on 31 October ...

Korean War Activation

The 103d was federalized on 10 October 1950 along with its parent 111th Composite Wing due to the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Many of the pilots and maintenance personnel were split off and sent for duty overseas as individuals assigned to other combat units there. Eventually the B-26 bombers were sent as reinforcement aircraft to Far East Air Force for use in Korea. On 10 April 1951 the squadron and Wing were moved to Fairchild AFB, Washington and re-equipped with RB-29 Superfortress reconnaissance aircraft. Based on the World War II B-29 Bomber, the RB-29s were instead configured with multiple aerial cameras for mapping and reconnaissance missions. These RB-29s were used like the reconnaissance satellites of today, except they required actual over flight of the countries to be photographed. The 111th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (ANG) was composed of the 129th Bomb Squadron (formerly the

3d Bombardment Squadron The 3rd Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 111th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, based at Travis Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 January 1953. History World War ...

), the 130th Bomb Squadron (formerly the 29th Bombardment Squadron) were joined by the 103d Bomb Squadron (Light) from the Pennsylvania ANG which was redesignated as the 103d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (Medium). On 13 June 1952, two 111th pilots were flying an RB-29 over the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

when they were shot down by a pair of

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

s. The RB-29 was never recovered, having crashed in the waters off of

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

, Russia. The Pennsylvanian families of the Air Guard pilots were told they had simply "vanished" in a weather-reconnaissance flight near Japan. It wasn't until the fall of the Soviet Union and the opening of communist archives that the relatives found out the truth in 1993. It is unknown as to whether any of the pilots or crew of this aircraft were captured by the Soviets at that time. When inactivated the ANG personnel were released to their parent units. The equipment and active duty personnel remained at Fairchild and were gained by the newly formed

99th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing The 99th Infantry Division was formed in 1942 and deployed overseas in 1944. The "Checkerboard" or "Battle Babies" division landed at the French port of Le Havre and proceeded northeast to Belgium. During the heavy fighting in the Battle of the ...

Cold War Air Defense

103d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Republic F-84F-5-RE Thunderstreak 51-1356

103d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Lockheed F-94C-1-LO Starfire 51-3562

The 103d and the 111th were returned to control of the

in late November 1952, and the units were re-formed at

Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The airport served 19.6 million passengers annually in 2021, making it the 21st busiest airport in the United States. The airport is located from t ...

by 1 January 1953. The 103d was re-equipped with the

North American F-51D Mustang Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts. Allison-engined Mustangs NA ...

fighter because of a lack of available jets at the time due to the Korean War. It was re-designated as the 103d Fighter Bomber Squadron and assumed an air defense mission. In 1955,

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...

upgraded the group to the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak, and it received new aircraft. In July 1956, the 103d FIS switched to F-94A and B Starfigher interceptors; to F-94Cs in 1958 and the Northrop F-89H Scorpion in 1959.

Airlift mission

In 1962, the unit transitioned from the F-89J jet interceptor to a large, heavy transport, the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter, a double-decked, four-engine airplane. The new mission moved the wing into the

Military Air Transport Service The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) and the United States Air Force's ...

(MATS), and its successor Military Airlift Command (MAC) in 1966. In 1963, the 111th ended its 39-year history at Philadelphia airport and moved to brand new facilities on the north end of the Willow Grove Naval Air Station. From Willow Grove, the C-97 was used to transport troops and cargo all over the world. The unit's flying personnel were used heavily during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and over two hundred members earned Vietnam Service Medals for their flights into that war zone.

Airborne Forward Air Control

103d Tactical Air Support Squadron U-3A Blue Canoe 60-6052

103d Tactical Air Support Squadron Cessna A-37B Dragonfly 73-1062

103d Tactical Air Support Squadron OA-10A Thunderbolt II

In 1969, the unit changed mission yet again, returning to its original roots as an observation unit. The new 111th Tactical Air Support Group initially flew the U-3A Blue Canoe, a Cessna 310, as an intermediate aircraft until it received the aircraft it needed for Airborne

Forward Air Control Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support (CAS) aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller (FAC). ...

(AFAC): the Cessna O-2A Skymaster. The O-2 was a two propeller aircraft used early in the

for coordination between ground forces and fighter aircraft (the "O" stands for observation). The Forward Air Control mission was sustained with the unit's switch to the OA-37 Dragonfly in 1981. The OA-37, was a heavier derivative of the T-37 trainer, and had been developed specifically for the

. The unit made several deployments to

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

in the 1980s to fly with US allies there, who had been sold the A-37 as part of the US Foreign Military Sales program. The A-37s were retired in 1988, and the 111th received the A-10A Thunderbolt II ground support aircraft. It was also used as a FAC aircraft (OA-10). Pilots continued their previous mission of providing AFAC and Combat Search and Rescue, although in a much more combat-worthy fighter. The A-10 allowed the wing to take part in the new deployments to Southwest Asia following

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 ...

. The unit was re-designated as the 111th Fighter Group in 1992 and then as the 111th Fighter Wing in 1995. Participating in Operation Southern Watch, the wing took advantage of this aircraft upgrade by volunteering for a 90-day deployment to

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

in 1995, to support joint combat flight operations for Operation Southern Watch over Iraq. Twelve aircraft were deployed to Al Jaber AB – a joint-use base by U.S. and Kuwait Air Forces. The base was fairly austere as it had suffered considerable war-damage from Desert Storm. Missions included Combat Search and Rescue alert, Kill Box flights over Iraq, Airborne Forward Air Control and joint training missions over Kuwait. About 40% of the wing participated in the deployment Another interesting element was a small side deployment to

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

. The 111th was the first Air Guard fighter unit deployed to Al Jaber and also the first ANG Wing to volunteer for a solo 3-month Operation Southern Watch deployment. The combat flight missions over Iraq were to enforce United Nations resolutions and occurred during the 1990s

post Cold War era Post or POST commonly refers to: *Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries ** An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal service ** Iraqi Post, I ...

Ground Support

In 1996, the 111th FW pilots transitioned from the OA-10 AFAC mission to the universal A-10 "attack" mission. Now the pilots' primary task was to provide

Close Air Support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...

(CAS) for joint service ground forces, as well as performing AFAC and CSAR duties as before. This change to the normal A-10 role aligned the wing with all the other A-10 units in the active duty and Air Reserve Component (ARC). The second 111th FW deployment to Al Jaber AB occurred in 1999, again to support joint combat flight operations for Operation Southern Watch over Iraq. Missions included Combat Search and Rescue alert, Kill Box flights over Iraq, Airborne Forward Air Control and joint training missions over Kuwait. Use of the A-10 was more limited than before, due to the aircraft's relative lack of a precision weapon capability xcept the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground tactical missile">AGM-65_Maverick.html" ;"title="xcept the AGM-65 Maverick">xcept the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground tactical missile

Global War on Terrorism

Immediately following the 9/11 attacks on NYC and Washington, DC, the 111th FW voluntarily deployed on very short notice back to Al Jaber AB to support joint combat flight operations for Operation Southern Watch over Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan. Missions included Combat Search and Rescue alert and joint training missions over Kuwait. 111th Weapons personnel assisted in the loading of combat ordnance for the first sorties into Afghanistan in November 2001. From October 2002 – January 2003, the wing was the lead unit for a short notice, voluntary, out-of-cycle AEF deployment to

Bagram AB Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient Bagram at an elevation of above sea leve ...

, Afghanistan. Bagram had been a massive Soviet base during the decade when they occupied Afghanistan (1979–89), but was almost completely destroyed in that period and civil war afterwards. The 111th aircraft supported joint combat flight operations with US Army, Special Forces, and coalition ground forces in Afghanistan. The A-10s were flown and maintained in the most primitive conditions, yet the 111th personnel flew 100% of the assigned tasking for their entire deployment – at four times the normal sortie rate of home. Other unique aspects of the operation were total 'blacked out' night-time operations (no lights on the field or camp – everything was done by night vision goggles); an extensive number of mines/UXOs around and on the air field; extreme weather conditions and enemy shelling using BM-12 107mm rockets.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Upon returning to the U.S. in January 2003, the 111th FW again volunteered to participate in another SWA deployment to Al Jaber AB, Kuwait ourth visitfrom February 2003 – May 2003. The wing deployed for joint combat flight operations, in support of US Army, Marine and British ground forces as part of the initial phase of

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. Wing personnel were initially stationed at Al Jaber before transferring to Tallil AB, Iraq, midway through the initial campaign. Tallil was a former Iraqi air force base, which had not been used in a decade. During this campaign, which included direct support for coalition armor forces during the entire invasion from the Kuwait border, through

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

and

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, the wing pilots and maintainers successfully operated at a very high sortie rate. Tallil AB operations set another milestone due to its austere nature and forward location (which was essential to support the armor's thrust toward the capital). The 111th Fighter Wing's achievement of voluntarily deploying to austere bases in two separate combat operations within a five-month period

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...

was part of the reason the unit was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, with Valor, in 2005. It also was awarded the Reserve Family Readiness Award in 2003 and the ANG Distinguished Flying Unit Award in 2004. In 2009, the 111th Security Forces Squadron was voted best Security Forces Squadron in the entire Air Force. TSgt Marc Berger was voted top cop in the entire Air Force also in 2009, the first member of the 111th SFS to receive such an illustrious award. TSgt Berger indicated he owed this great accomplishment to CMSgt Jimmy Finn, who was his mentor and his teacher.

BRAC 2005 103d Fighter Squadron inactivation

In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD recommended the 111th Fighter Wing be inactivated its assigned A-10 aircraft relocated to the

124th Wing 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

(ANG),

Boise Air Terminal Air Guard Station Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...

, Boise, ID (three primary aircraft);

175th Wing The 175th Wing (175 WG) is a unit of the Maryland Air National Guard, stationed at Warfield Air National Guard Base, Middle River, Maryland. If activated to federal service, components of the Wing are gained by the two separate major commands ...

(ANG),

Warfield Air National Guard Base Martin State Airport is a joint civil-military public use airport located nine nautical miles (10 mi, 17 km) east of the central business district of Baltimore, in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The facility is located wit ...

, Baltimore, MD, (three primary aircraft);

127th Wing The 127th Wing is a composite wing of the United States Air Force and Michigan National Guard. It is composed of approximately 1,700 Citizen-Airmen and provides highly trained personnel, aircraft, and support resources to serve the Michigan comm ...

(ANG), Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mount Clemens, MI (three primary aircraft) and retire the remaining aircraft (six primary aircraft). This recommendation was part of a larger recommendation that would close NAS JRB Willow Grove, PA. DoD claimed that this recommendation would enable Air Force Future Total Force transformation by consolidating the A-10 fleet at installations of higher military value. Despite appeals from Ed Rendell, the

Governor of Pennsylvania A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, the recommendations were upheld and the A-10s departed during 2010. The 103d Fighter Squadron inactivated on 31 March 2011. On 19 March 2013, it was announced that the 111th Fighter Wing would be re-equipped to take over ground control of the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).Horsham Air Guard Base to operate unmanned drones.
/ref>

Lineage

103d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron - Emblem

103d Fighter Squadron Operation Southern Watch Emblem

* 111th Operations Group : Constituted as 391st Bombardment Group (Medium) on 15 January 1943 : Activated on 21 January 1943 : Inactivated on 25 October 1945 : Redesignated 111th Bombardment Group (Light), and allotted to Pennsylvania ANG on 24 May 1946 : Extended federal recognition on 20 December 1948 : Redesignated 111th Composite Group on 1 November 1950 and assigned as subordinate unit to 111th Air Defense Wing: Redesignated 111th Bombardment Group, 1 February 1951 : Ordered to active federal service on 1 April 1951 : Redesignated 111th Strategic Reconnaissance Group, 1 August 1951 : Relieved from active federal service and returned to Pennsylvania Commonwealth control on 15 November 1952 : Redesignated 111th Fighter-Bomber Group, 1 January 1953 : Redesignated 111th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 1 July 1955 : Redesignated 111th Air Transport Group, 1 April 1962 : Redesignated 111th Military Airlift Group, 8 January 1966 : Redesignated 111th Tactical Air Support Group, 27 May 1969 : Inactivated on 30 June 1974 : Reactivated and redesignated 111th Operations Group, 1 October 1995 : Inactivated on 31 March 2011 : Reactivated in 2016 * 111th Fighter Wing: Established as 111th Air Defense Wing, and allotted to Pennsylvania ANG, 31 October 1950 : Organized and received federal recognition, 1 November 1950, assuming personnel and equipment of

(Inactivated) : Redesignated 111th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 1 July 1955 : Redesignated 111th Air Transport Wing, 1 April 1962 : Redesignated 111th Military Airlift Wing, 8 January 1966 : Redesignated 111th Tactical Air Support Wing, 27 May 1969 : Redesignated 111th Fighter Wing, 15 March 1992 : Redesignated 111th Attack Wing, 1 April 2011

Assignments

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a 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.S. air forces in E ...

, 21 January 1943 * 99th Bombardment Wing, 25 January 1944 – 27 July 1945 *

Army Service Forces The Army Service Forces was one of the three autonomous components of the United States Army during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces, created on 9 March 1942. By dividing the Army into three large comman ...

(for inactivation), 24–25 October 1945 *

, 20 December 1948 *

, 1 November 1951 : Gained by: Eastern Air Defense Force,

: Gained by:

New York Air Defense Sector The Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) is a United States Air Force unit of Air Combat Command (ACC), permanently assigned to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). A joint, bi-national military organization, EADS is composed of US ...

, 1 October 1956 : Gained by:

Eastern Transport Air Force Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

, (EASTAF),

, 1 April 1962 : Gained by: Twenty-First Air Force, Military Airlift Command, 8 January 1966 : Gained by:

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

, 27 May 1969 : Gained by:

, 1 June 1992–Present

Components

World War II

572d Bombardment Squadron The 572nd Tactical Air Support Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was formed by the consolidation of two earlier units bearing the number 572, but has not been active since the consolidation. The first predecessor of the s ...

(P2), 21 January 1943 – 25 October 1945 *

573d Bombardment Squadron The 573d Tactical Air Support Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was formed by the consolidation of two earlier units bearing the number 573, but has not been active since the consolidation. The first predecessor of the s ...

(T6), 21 January 1943 – 25 October 1945 * 574th Bombardment Squadron (4L), 21 January 1943 – 25 October 1945 * 575th Bombardment Squadron (O8), 21 January 1943 – 25 October 1945

Pennsylvania Air National Guard

* 111th Composite (later Bombardment, Strategic Reconnaissance, Fighter-Bomber) Group, 1 November 1951 – 1 July 1955 : Re-designated: 111th Operations Group, 1 October 1995 – 31 Mar 2011 * 103d Bombardment (later Strategic Reconnaissance, Fighter-Bomber, Fighter-Interceptor, Air Transport, Military Airlift, Tactical Air Support, Fighter, Attack) Squadron, 20 December 1948 – 15 November 1952; 1 January 1953 – 31 Mar 2011; ?? – present * 117th Bombardment Squadron, 17 January 1947 – 1 April 1951; 1 January 1953 – 1 July 1956 *

129th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 1 August 1951 – 15 November 1953 * 130th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 1 August 1951 – 15 November 1953 * 142d Fighter (later Fighter-Interceptor, Fighter-Bomber Tactical Fighter) Squadron, 1 November 1950 – 10 February 1951; 1 November 1952 – 7 April 1962 (Delaware ANG)

Stations

MacDill Field MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

, Florida, 21 January 1943 * Myrtle Beach General Bombing and Gunnery Range,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, 24 May 1943 *

Godman Field Godman or God-man may refer to: * Godman (name) * Godman (India), a colloquial term used in India for a charismatic spiritual leader * ''The Godman'', a 1999 Indian Malayalam film * ''God-Man'', a recurring character in the comic '' Tom the Dancin ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, 4 September–31 December 1943 * RAF Matching (AAF-166), England 25 January 1944 *

Roye-Amy Airfield Roye-Amy Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield which is located approximately 5 km south-southeast of Roye, approximately 98 km north-northeast of Paris. Originally a 1930s airport which was seized by the Germans duri ...

(A-73), France 19 September 1944 *

Asch Airfield Zutendaal Air Base is a reserve Belgian Air Component base, located east-southeast of Genk (Limburg), approximately east-northeast of Brussels. Overview The base is in reserve status, its primary use being to store retired Agusta helicopters. ...

(Y-29), Belgium 16 April 1945 *

Vitry-En-Artois Airfield Vitry-en-Artois Airfield is a regional airfield in France, located northeast of Vitry-en-Artois; north-northeast of Paris. It supports general aviation with no commercial airline service scheduled. It was built prior to World War II. Seized ...

, France 27 May – 27 July 1945 * Camp Shanks, New York, 24–25 October 1945 *

, Pennsylvania. 20 December 1948 : Operated from:

Fairchild Air Force Base Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately southwest of Spokane. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigned t ...

, Washington, 1 April 1951 – 15 November 1952 *

Naval Air Station Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove or NASJRB Willow Grove was a Naval Air Station owned by the U.S. Navy and located in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States four miles (6 km) northwest of the cen ...

, Pennsylvania, 1963 : Designated: Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove, 1991–2011 : Re-Designated: Horsham Air Guard Station, 2011-Present

Aircraft

* Martin B-26 Marauder 1943–1945 * Douglas A-26 Invader 1945 * Douglas B-26B Invader 1948–1951 * Douglas B-26C Invader 1948–1951 *

Boeing RB-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a WWII era long range, strategic heavy bomber that was produced in many experimental and production models. XB-29 : ''Section source: Baugher'' The XB-29, Boeing Model 345, was the first accepted prototype or e ...

1951–1952 *

1953–1954 * Republic F-84F Thunderstreak 1954–1956 *

Lockheed F-94A Starfire The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet powered all-weather, day/night interceptor of the United States Air Force. A twin-seat craft, it was developed from the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star trainer in the late 1940s. It reached ope ...

1956–1958 *

Lockheed F-94B Starfire The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet powered all-weather, day/night interceptor of the United States Air Force. A twin-seat craft, it was developed from the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star trainer in the late 1940s. It reached ope ...

1956–1958 *

Lockheed F-94C Starfire The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet powered all-weather, day/night interceptor of the United States Air Force. A twin-seat craft, it was developed from the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star trainer in the late 1940s. It reached ope ...

1958–1959 * Northrop F-89H Scorpion 1959–1962 * Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter 1962–1969 * Cessna U-3A Blue Canoe 1969–1970 * Cessna O-2 Skymaster 1970–1982 *

Cessna OA-37B Dragonfly The Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, or Super Tweet, is an American light attack aircraft developed from the T-37 Tweet basic trainer in the 1960s and 1970s by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. The A-37 was introduced during the Vietnam War and remained in ...

1982–1989 *

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republ ...

1988–2011 *

2011–Present

References

Rape jokes, vindictive culture in ‘old boys club’ at Horsham’s Air National Guard Station by William Bender, Posted: July 29, 2020
* Freeman, Roger A. ''UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994''. After the Battle, 1994. . * Freeman, Roger A. ''The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent–World War Two''. After the Battle, 1996. . * Maurer, Maurer. ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II''. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . * Johnson, David C. (1988), ''U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day''; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
111th Fighter Wing history

* Rogers, B. (2006). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978.
Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W., ''A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946–1980'', Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980).

External links

111th Fighter Wing – Willow Grove JRB

391st Bomb Group Website

391st Bombardment Group Digital Collection at The University of Akron Archival Services

B-26 Memorial in France "Hitch Hiker"
{{Pennsylvania Wings of the United States Air National Guard Military units and formations in Pennsylvania 111 Military units and formations established in 1943 Pennsylvania Air National Guard