The 511th Tactical Fighter Squadron is an inactive

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 Si ...

unit. It was last assigned to the 10th Tactical Fighter Wing, stationed at

RAF Alconbury Royal Air Force Alconbury or more simply RAF Alconbury is an active Royal Air Force station near Huntingdon, England. The airfield is in the civil parish of The Stukeleys, close to the villages of Great Stukeley, Little Stukeley, and Alconbur ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It was inactivated on 30 December 1992. The squadron was first activated as the 626th Bombardment Squadron in 1943, changing to the 511th Fighter-Bomber Squadron a few months later. After training in the United States, it moved to England in March 1944, helping prepare for

Operation Overlord 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 ...

by attacking targets in France. Following

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

, the squadron moved to the continent, providing

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 movemen ...

for Allied forces. The squadron earned a

Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...

and was cited in the Order of the Day by the

Belgian Army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...

. 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, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easte ...

The squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated at the port of embarkation. The squadron was activated again in 1952, when it replaced an

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

squadron that had been

mobilized Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories and t ...

for the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. It trained for

fighter bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

operations until inactivating in 1958. In 1970, it was activated at

Myrtle Beach Air Force Base Myrtle Beach Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Early history On 16 October 1939, Myrtle Beach Town Council resolved that the community "is in dire need of a modern municipal airport". The ...

, when the regular Air Force replaced the Air National Guard units that had been there since the

Pueblo Crisis USS ''Pueblo'' (AGER-2) is a , attached to Navy intelligence as a spy ship, which was attacked and captured by North Korean forces on 23 January 1968, in what was later known as the "''Pueblo'' incident" or alternatively, as the "''Pueblo'' cri ...

. It was inactivated the following year. The squadron was activated with

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 Republic ...

s in 1978 as the

81st Fighter Wing The 81st Training Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force and the host wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. The 81st Training Wing has the Air Force's largest Technical Training Group and trains more than 40,000 students annually. ...

doubled its tactical strength. It participated in

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-Ma ...

before inactivating the following year.

History

World War II

The squadron was originally activated at

Drew Field Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective December 30, 2021. The ...

, Florida on 1 March 1943 as the 626th Bombardment Squadron, one of the four original squadrons of the

405th Bombardment Group 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest ...

. It was initially equipped with

Douglas A-24 Banshee The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/di ...

s and

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by t ...

s. Although retaining the same mission and equipment, in August the squadron was renamed the 511th Fighter-Bomber Squadron. The following month, it moved to Walterboro Army Air Field, South Carolina, where it began to fly the Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, with which it would be equipped for the rest of

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 opposing ...

. On 14 February 1944, the 509th left its training base for the European Theater of Operations.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp.290–291 P-47D 509FS 405FG 1944-45

The squadron arrived at its first station in the theater, RAF Christchurch, England in early March 1944 and flew its first combat mission the following month. It dropped the "bomber" portion of its designation in May, but retained the

mission. The 509th helped prepare for

, the invasion of Normandy, by striking

military airfield An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

s, and

lines of communication A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicati ...

, particularly bridges and railroad marshalling yards. On

, it flew combat patrols in the vicinity of

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French m ...

, and in the following days flew

armed reconnaissance Armed (May, 1941–1964) was an American Thoroughbred gelding race horse who was the American Horse of the Year in 1947 and Champion Older Male Horse in both 1946 and 1947. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in ...

missions over Normandy. Toward the end of June, the squadron moved to Picauville Airfield, France, and for the rest of the war concentrated on providing

for ground forces. It supported

Operation Cobra Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the United States First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy campaign of World War II. The intention was to take adv ...

, the breakout at

Saint Lo In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

in July with attacks on military vehicles and artillery positions. The squadron engaged and destroyed a German armored column near Avranches, France, on 29 July 1944. After immobilizing leading and trailing elements of the 3-mile (4.8 km) long column, the rest of the tanks and trucks were systematically destroyed with multiple sorties. Its operations from D-Day through September 1944 supporting the liberation of Belgium earned the squadron a citation in the Order of the Day of the

. The squadron received a

for action on 24 September 1944 when the 4th Armored Division experienced a

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...

by enemy forces and urgently needed air support. Elements of the 405th Group attacked the enemy

armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

despite an 800-foot ceiling that forced attacks to be made from low level in the face of intense

flak Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

. A second

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

element was unable to locate the tank battle because of the adverse weather, but located a reinforcing column of armor and trucks, causing major damage. A third element attacked warehouses and other buildings in the vicinity that were being used by the enemy.Both Maurer and Rust identify the 405th Group's three attacks as being made by one of the group's three squadrons. However, neither identifies which squadron was involved in which action. All three of the group's squadrons were awarded a DUC for the day's attacks. Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 290–291; Rust, p. 122. The squadron flew its last combat mission of the war on 8 May 1945. It briefly served in the

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

forces at AAF Station Straubing, but by 8 July was mostly a paper unit. Its remaining personnel returned to the United States in October and the squadron was inactivated upon arrival at the port of embarkation.

Reactivation as a fighter bomber unit

511th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron - North American F-100D-90-NA Super Sabre - 56-3275

The squadron returned to its designation as the 511th Fighter-Bomber Squadron and was activated at

Godman Air Force Base Godman Army Airfield is a military airport located on the Fort Knox United States Army post in Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. It has four runways and is used entirely by the United States Army Aviation Branch. UFOs: Mantell Incident ...

, Kentucky on 1 December 1952, when it assumed the mission, personnel and F-47 Thunderbolt aircraft of the 153d Fighter-Bomber Squadron, a Mississippi Air National Guard unit that had been called to active duty for the

. However, Godman was not suitable for jet fighter operations, and in April 1953, the squadron moved to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia as the Air Force prepared to transfer Godman to the Army. After arriving at Langley, the squadron was able to upgrade to

Republic F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thun ...

s, later upgrading to

North American F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...

s. The squadron was inactivated with the rest of the 405th Wing in July 1958.Ravenstein, pp. 217–219 Following the

of 1968, the

354th Tactical Fighter Wing The 354th Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force wing that is part of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is the host wing at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, and is assigned to the Eleventh Air Force (11 AF). The wing replaced the 343d Fighter Wi ...

moved to Korea to reinforce United States forces there. The

113th Tactical Fighter Wing The 113th Wing, known as the "Capital Guardians", is a unit of the District of Columbia Air National Guard, stationed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. If activated to federal service, the fighter portion of the Wing is gained by the United Stat ...

of the

District of Columbia Air National Guard The District of Columbia Air National Guard (DC ANG) is the aerial militia and Air Force reserve organization of the District of Columbia, United States of America. It is, along with the District of Columbia Army National Guard, an element of the ...

was called to active duty and took the 354th Wing's place at

, South Carolina. In April 1970, the 113th Wing was returned to the Guard, and Tactical Air Command activated the 4554th Tactical Fighter Wing in its place. The squadron, now named the 511th Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated along with it. In June, the 354th Wing returned on paper to Myrtle Beach from Korea and the squadron became one of its components, although it did not become operational until 8 September.Ravenstein, p. 187 The squadron flew

LTV A-7 Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

aircraft until June 1971, when it was inactivated and replaced by the 353d Tactical Fighter Squadron, which simultaneously moved to Myrtle Beach from Torrejon Air Base, Spain without personnel or equipment.

A-10 "Warthog" operations

The squadron was activated at

RAF Bentwaters Royal Air Force Bentwaters or more simply RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about northeast of London and east-northeast of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England. Its name was taken fro ...

, England in October 1978 as the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing changed its mission to close air support and

air interdiction Air interdiction (AI), also known as deep air support (DAS), is the use of preventive tactical bombing and strafing by combat aircraft against enemy targets that are not an immediate threat, to delay, disrupt or hinder later enemy engagement of ...

, equipped with

s, and expanded from three to six operational squadrons. The squadron participated in joint and combined exercises with American and British ground forces and periodically deployed to designated wartime operating bases, including

Sembach Air Base Sembach Kaserne is a United States Army post in Donnersbergkreis, Germany, near Kaiserslautern, and is about 19 miles (30 km) east of Ramstein Air Base. Prior to 2010, the installation was a United States Air Force installation and prior to ...

, Germany. The squadron was reassigned to the 10th Tactical Fighter Wing at

in June 1988 in a

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 f ...

(USAFE) dispersal of its Warthogs. The squadron was one of the first USAFE units to deploy to defend Saudi Arabia after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, deploying to Saudi Arabia along with supporting elements of the 10th Wing. The squadron engaged in combat operations from January to February 1991 destroying numbers of Iraqi tanks and other armor as part of

. One 511th pilot was responsible for an extremely rare air-to-air kill of a Mil Mi-8 "Hip" helicopter (one of only two air-to-air A-10 kills of the war). Aircraft contributed significantly to destruction of hundreds of enemy vehicles and many of their occupants on the "

Highway of Death The Highway of Death ( ''ṭarīq al-mawt'') is a six-lane highway between Kuwait and Iraq, officially known as Highway 80. It runs from Kuwait City to the border town of Safwan in Iraq and then on to the Iraqi city of Basra. The road was used ...

, leading to President George H. W. Bush's decision to declare a cessation of hostilities on the next day. The squadron returned to England in June 1991, but was drawn down as part of previously planned inactivation at the end of 1992.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 626th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) on 4 February 1943 : Activated on 1 March 1943 : Redesignated 511th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 10 August 1943 : Redesignated 511th Fighter Squadron on 30 May 1944 : Inactivated on 15 October 1945 * Redesignated 511th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 15 October 1952 : Activated on 1 December 1952 : Inactivated on July 1958Lineage information, including assignments and stations, through March 1963 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 614–615 * Redesignated 511th Tactical Fighter Squadron : Activated on 1 April 1970 : Inactivated on 15 July 1971 * Activated on 1 January 1980 : inactivated on 39 December 1992

Assignments

(later 405th Fighter-Bomber Group, 405th Fighter Group), 1 March 1943 – 15 October 1945 * 405th Fighter-Bomber Group, 1 December 1952 *

405th Fighter-Bomber Wing 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, 8 October 1957 – 1 July 1958 * 4554th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 April 1970 * 354th Tactical Fighter Wing] 1 June 1970 – 15 July 1971 * 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 January 1980 * 10th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 September 1988 – 30 December 1992. (attached to 354th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional), 15 August 1990 – 25 March 1991)

Stations

, Florida, 1 March 1943 * Walterboro Army Air Field, South Carolina, 14 September 1943 – 14 February 1944 * RAF Christchurch (AAF-416),Station number in Anderson. England, 6 March–22 June 1944 * Picauville Airfield (A-8),Station number in Johnson. France, 29 June 1944 * St-Dizier Airfield (A-64), France, 14 September 1944 *

Ophoven Airfield Ophoven Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield which is located west of Opglabbeek (Limburg); approximately northeast of Brussels. History The airfield was built by the United States Army Air Forces IX Engineer Command, 820th E ...

(Y-32), Belgium, 9 February 1945 * Kitzingen Airfield (R-6), Germany, 23 April 1945 * AAF Station Straubing (R-68), Germany, c. 13 May–2 July 1945 *

Camp Shanks Camp Shanks was a United States Army installation in the Orangetown, New York area. Named after Major General David C. Shanks, it was situated near the juncture of the Erie Railroad and the Hudson River. The camp was the largest U.S. Army embarka ...

, New York, 19 October 1945 * Godman Air Force Base, Kentucky, 1 December 1952 * Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, 17 April 1953 – 1 July 1958 * Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, South Carolina, 1 April 1970 – 15 July 1971 * RAF Bentwaters, England, 1 January 1980 * RAF Alconbury, England, 1 September 1988 – 30 December 1992 (deployed to King Fahd International Airport, Saudi Arabia, 22 December 1990 – 16 June 1991)

Aircraft

* Douglas A-24 Banshee, 1943 * Bell P-39 Airacobra, 1943 * Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1943–1945, 1952 * Republic F-84 Thunderjet, 1953–1956 * North American F-100 Super Sabre, 1956–1958 * LTV A-7 Corsair II, 1970–1971 * Republic Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II, 1980–1992

Awards and campaigns

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{cite book, last=Rust, first=Kenn C., title=The 9th Air Force in World War II, year=1967, publisher=Aero Publishers, Inc., location=Fallbrook, CA, lccn= 67-16454 Fighter squadrons of the United States Air Force