The 21st Airship Group was a unit of the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

. It was last assigned to the

3d Wing The 3rd Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Eleventh Air Force. It is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The Wing is the largest and principal unit within 11th Air Forc ...

at Scott Field, Illinois. It was originally activated under a different name in 1921, and disbanded on 27 May 1939. A predecessor of the group served on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

in France during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. For most of the period between the two World Wars, the group was the only active lighter-than-air headquarters in the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

and, later, the

History

The 2d Balloon Squadron, a predecessor of the group was activated during

and deployed to

in France. The squadron was credited with participating in the Meuse-Argonne offensive (8–17 October 1918).Browne, Waldo (1921), The American Army in the World War, A Divisional Record, Overseas Books, Manchester, NH The unit was demobilized as the I Corps Balloon Group in December 1918. Scott field LTA hangar

The 1st Balloon Group was organized in the fall of 1921 to support the Air Service Balloon and Airship School at Brooks Field, San Antonio, Texas. However, a series of mishaps in operating the hydrogen-filled craft led to the transfer of the school from Brooks to Scott Field, Illinois, on 26 June 1922.USAF History Office, Brooks City-Base
/ref> Lighter-than-air ships were used at Scott Field to research the capabilities of aerial photography, meteorology and conduct altitude experiments. In the late 1920s, the emphasis shifted from airships to balloons. Airplanes began to dominate activities at Scott Field, and in the late 1930s, the lighter-than-air activities there came to an end.

Lineage

I Corps Balloon Group * Organized as the 2d Balloon Squadron on 25 September 1917 : Redesignated Company A, Balloon Wing, First Army on 19 June 1918 : Redesignated I Corps Balloon Group on 8 October 1918 * Demobilized in December 1918. * Reconstituted on 20 November 1936 and consolidated with the 21st Airship Group as the 21st Airship Group 21st Balloon Group * Constituted in the Regular Army as the 1st Balloon Group on 13 September 1921 : Redesignated 1st Airship Group on 3 January 1922. : Redesignated 21st Airship Group on 1 January 1923 * Consolidated on 20 November 1936 with the I Corps Balloon Group : Redesignated as 21st Balloon Group on 1 June 1937. : Disbanded on 27 May 1939

Assignments

* Undetermined, 15 September 1917 * 1st Air Depot, AEF, 3 January 1918 * Balloon Wing, First Army, 19 June 1918 * I Corps, 8 October-8 December 1918 * Zone of the Interior, 13 September 1921 * Air Service Balloon and Airship School (later Air Corps Balloon and Airship School). 3 January 1922 * General Headquarters Reserve, 8 May 1929 * General Headquarters Air Force, 1 October 1933 * Sixth Corps Area, 12 August 1936 *

, 19 February – 1 June 1939

Components

* 8th Airship Company 1921–1933 * 9th Airship Company 1921–1933 * 9th Airship Squadron 1933–1937 * 12th Airship Company 1921–1933 * 16th Airship Company 1921–1933 * 19th Airship Squadron 1933–1937 * 1st Balloon Company, 1918 * 2d Balloon Company, 1918 * 3d Balloon Company, 1918 * 1st Balloon Squadron 1937–1939 * 2d Balloon Squadron 1937–1939 * 3d Balloon Squadron 1937–1939 * 24th Airship Service Company 1921–1933 * 24th Airship Service Squadron 1933–1937 * 24th Service Squadron 1937–1939 * 21st Photo Section 1922-1937

Stations

* Fort Omaha, Nebraska, 25 September 1917 * Garden City, Long Island New York, September 1917 * Camp de Souge, Orléanaise, France, 3 January 1918 – 5 April 1918 * Brouville, Lorraine, France, 15 April 1918 *

La Ferté-sous-Jouarre La Ferté-sous-Jouarre () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne département in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located at a crossing point over the river Marne between Meaux and Château-Thierry. History This area of Fra ...

, Lorraine, France, 19 June 1918 through August 1918 * Toul, Lorraine, France, by September 1918 *

Saizerais Saizerais is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department * Parc naturel régional de Lorraine Lorraine Regional Natural Park ( French: ''Parc naturel région ...

, Lorraine, France, 19 September 1918 * Colombey-les-Belles Airdrome, Meuse-Argonne Sector, France, c 8 October–December 1918 * Brooks Field, Texas, 13 September 1921 * Scott Field, Illinois, 1 July 1922 – 1 June 1939

References

Bibliography

* {{cite book, last=Clay, first=Steven E., title=US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941, url=http://www.cgsc.edu/carl/download/csipubs/OrderOfBattle/OrderofBattle3.pdf, accessdate=16 October 2012, volume=3 The Services: Air Service, Engineers, and Special Troops 1919–1941, year=2011, publisher=Combat Studies Institute Press, location=Fort Leavenworth, KS, isbn=978-0-98419-014-0, oclc=637712205, lccn=2010022326, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927135817/http://www.cgsc.edu/carl/download/csipubs/OrderOfBattle/OrderofBattle3.pdf, archive-date=27 September 2013, url-status=dead Military units and formations of the United States Army Air Corps Military units and formations established in 1917