The 391st Fighter Squadron is part of the
366th Fighter Wing
("Fortune Favors the Bold")
, colors=
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, battles= World War IIVietnam WarDesert StormOperation Enduring FreedomOperation Iraqi Freedom
, anniversaries=
, decorations= DUC PUC AFOUA w/ V Device RVGC w/ ...
at
Mountain Home Air Force Base
Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in the western United States. Located in southwestern Idaho in Elmore County, the base is southwest of Mountain Home, which is southeast of Boise via Interstate ...
, Idaho. The squadron participated in combat missions in World War II and the Vietnam War, provided air defense in Korea and Japan from 1968 to 1971, and continues to provide tactical air command for the United States Air Force. It currently operates
McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relyi ...
aircraft, conducting close air support missions.
Mission
Perform
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 ...
, interdiction, strategic attack,
suppression of enemy air defense, and defensive counterair missions, employing the full array of U.S. Air Force capabilities including
precision-guided munitions
A precision-guided munition (PGM, smart weapon, smart munition, smart bomb) is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, to minimize collateral damage and increase lethality against intended targets. During the First Gulf ...
, inertially-aided munitions,
night vision goggles
A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...
, fighter data link, and
Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night
LANTIRN (Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night) is a combined navigation and targeting pod system for use on the United States Air Force fighter aircraft—the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon (Block 40/42 C & D mod ...
(LANTIRN).
History
World War II
The 391st flew combat missions in the
European Theater of Operations
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 For ...
from 14 March 1944 to 3 May 1945.
[
]
Tactical Air Command
Vietnam War
The squadron flew in combat in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
from 2 February 1966 to 21 July 1968.[
]
Pacific air defense
It provided air defense in Korea and Japan from 22 July 1968 to 14 February 1971.[
]
2013 sequestration
Air Combat Command officials announced a stand down and reallocation of flying hours for the rest of the fiscal year 2013 due to mandatory budget cuts. The across-the-board spending cuts, called sequestration, took effect 1 March when Congress failed to agree on a deficit-reduction plan.
Squadrons either stood down on a rotating basis or kept combat ready or at a reduced readiness level called "basic mission capable" for part or all of the remaining months in fiscal 2013. This affected the 391st Fighter Squadron with a stand-down grounding from 9 April-30 September 2013.
Lineage
* Constituted as the 391st Fighter Squadron (Single-Engine) on 24 May 1943
: Activated on 1 June 1943
: Redesignated 391st Fighter Squadron, Single-Engine on 20 August 1943
: Inactivated on 20 August 1946
* Redesignated 391st Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 15 November 1952
: Activated on 1 January 1953
: Redesignated 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 July 1958
: Inactivated on 1 April 1959
* Activated on 30 April 1962 (not organized)
: Organized on 8 May 1962
: Inactivated on 28 February 1971
* Activated on 1 July 1971
: Inactivated on 1 July 1990
* Redesignated 391st Fighter Squadron on 1 March 1992
: Activated on 11 March 1992[
]
Assignments
* 366th Fighter Group 366th may refer to:
*366th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit
*366th Division (IDF), also known as the "Path of Fire" Division, a reserve armored division of the IDF
*366th Fighter Squadron, inactive United States Air Force ...
: 1 June 1943 – 20 August 1946
* 366th Fighter-Bomber Group: 1 January 1953 (attached to 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing
The 21st Space Wing (21 SW) was the United States Space Force's ground–based missile warning and space control wing. The 21st Space Wing was assigned to Space Operations Command and headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. The 21st ...
6 December 1956 – 11 June 1957)
* 366th Fighter-Bomber Wing (later 366th Tactical Fighter Wing
("Fortune Favors the Bold")
, colors=
, colors_label=
, march=
, mascot=
, battles= World War IIVietnam WarDesert StormOperation Enduring FreedomOperation Iraqi Freedom
, anniversaries=
, decorations= DUC PUC AFOUA w/ V Device RVGC w/ ...
): 25 September 1957 – 1 April 1959
* United States Air Forces in Europe
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
: 30 April 1962 (not organized)
* 366th Tactical Fighter Wing: 8 May 1962
* 2d Air Division
The 2nd Air Division (2nd AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Military Airlift Command, assigned to Twenty-Third Air Force, being stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It started operations on 7 N ...
, 26 January 1966 (attached to 12th Tactical Fighter Wing
The 12th Flying Training Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. The wing is the parent organization for the 479th Flyin ...
)
* Seventh Air Force, 1 April 1966 (remained attached to 12 Tactical Fighter Wing)
* 12th Tactical Fighter Wing
The 12th Flying Training Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. The wing is the parent organization for the 479th Flyin ...
, 23 June 1966
* 475th Tactical Fighter Wing
The 475th Air Base Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last duty station was at Yokota Air Base, Japan, where it was inactivated on 1 April 1992.
A non-flying wing, the wing's mission at Yokota was to perform host unit missi ...
, 22 July 1968 – 28 February 1971
* 347th Tactical Fighter Wing
The 347th Rescue Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. It was inactivated on 1 October 2006.
History
: ''For additional ...
, 1 July 1972
* 366th Tactical Fighter Wing (later 366th Fighter Wing: 31 October 1972 – 1 July 1990
* 366th Operations Group, 11 March 1992 – present[
]
Stations
* Richmond Army Air Base
Richmond International Airport is a joint civil-military airport in Sandston, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community (in Henrico County, Virginia, Henrico County). The airport is about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of downtown ...
, Virginia, 1 June 1943
* Bluethenthal Field
Wilmington International Airport is a public airport located just north of Wilmington, North Carolina, in unincorporated Wrightsboro, Cape Fear Township, New Hanover County. ILM covers 1,800 acres (728 ha).
During the calendar year 2018 ILM ...
, North Carolina, 9 August 1943
* Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia, 6 November 1943 – 17 December 1943
* RAF Membury, England, 12 January 1944
* RAF Thruxton, England, 1 March 1944
* Saint-Pierre-du-Mont Airfield
Saint-Pierre-du-Mont Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield which is located in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northern France. It was one of the many instrumental airfields used to defeat Adolf Hitler's Axis p ...
, France, 20 June 1944
* Dreux - Vernouillet Airport, France, 24 August 1944
* Laon-Couvron Air Base, France, 7 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. ...
, Belgium, 26 November 1944
* Münster-Handorf Airfield
Münster-Handorf Airfield is a former military airfield located in Germany about 5 miles east-northeast of Münster (Nordrhein-Westfalen); approximately 250 miles west of Berlin.
Fliegerhorst Münster-Handorf was one of the first Luftwaffe airfi ...
, Germany, 21 April 1945
* Bayreuth-Bindlach Airfield
Bayreuth Airport , also called ''Verkehrslandeplatz Bayreuth'' in German, is a general-aviation non-towered airport serving the city of Bayreuth, Germany. It was formerly known as ''Bindlacher Berg Airport.''
Location
The airfield is located ...
, Germany, c. 25 June 1945
* Fritzlar Air Base
Fritzlar Air Base (German: ''Heeresflugplatz Fritzlar'', IATA: FRZ, ICAO: ETHF) is a military air field of the German Army Aviation Corps. It is located near the town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse, Germany. The airfield is part of the Georg-Fr ...
, Germany, 11 September 1945 – 20 August 1946
* Alexandria Air Force Base (later England Air Force Base), Louisiana, 1 January 1953 – 1 April 1959
: Deployed to Aviano Air Base
Aviano Air Base ( it, Base aerea di Aviano) is a base in northeastern Italy, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. It is located in the Aviano municipality, at the foot of the Carnic Pre-Alps or Southern Carnic Alps, about from Pordenone.
Th ...
, Italy, 6 December 1956 – 11 June 1957
* Etain-Rouvres Air Base, France, 30 April 1962
* Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, 12 June 1963
* Cam Ranh Air Base, South Vietnam, 29 January 1966
* Misawa Air Base, Japan, 22 July 1968 – 28 February1971
: Deployed to:
:: Taegu Air Base
Daegu International Airport (Hangul: ; Hanja: ; Revised Romanization: ''Daegu Gukje Gonghang''; McCune-Reischauer: ''Taegu Kukche Konghang'') is the international airport serving the city of Daegu and the surrounding area in the southeast of ...
, South Korea, 22 July–7 October 1968, 7 February–5 March 1969, 1 May–2 June 1969, 1–30 August 1969, 1–15 February 1970, 15–29 March 1970)
:: Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, 26 April–10 May 1970, 7–21 June 1970, 30 August–12 September 1970, 4–18 October 1970, 1–15 November 1970, 13–19 December 1970, 1–15 February 1971)
* Mountain Home Air Force Base
Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in the western United States. Located in southwestern Idaho in Elmore County, the base is southwest of Mountain Home, which is southeast of Boise via Interstate ...
, Idaho, 1 July 1971 – 1 July 1990
* Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, 11March 1992 – present[
]
Aircraft
* Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
(1943–1946)
* North American P-51 Mustang (1953)
* North American F-86 Sabre (1953–1955)
* Republic F-84 Thunderjet (1954–1958)
* Republic F-84F Thunderstreak (1962–1965)
* North American F-100 Super Sabre (1957–1959)
* McDonnell F-4 Phantom II (1965–1971)
* General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark (1971–1990)
* McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relyi ...
(1992–present)[
]
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
{{US Air Force navbox
391
__NOTOC__
Year 391 ( CCCXCI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tatianus and Symmachus (or, less frequently, year 114 ...
Military units and formations established in 1943
Military units and formations in Idaho
Fighter squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces