The 966th Airborne Air Control Squadron is an active

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 ...

unit is assigned to the 552d Training Group, 552d Air Control Wing at

Tinker Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, surrounded by Del City, Oklahoma City, and Midwest City. The base, origina ...

, Oklahoma. It operates the

E-3 Sentry The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-weath ...

(AWACS) aircraft conducting airborne command and control missions. The squadron is the

formal training unit (FTU) for all Airborne Warning and Control System aircrew and currently falls under the authority of Air Combat Command and

Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...

Mission

The 966th Airborne Air Control Squadron is

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 ...

's largest flying training unit, providing training for all active and reserve

pilots and mission crew. Training approximately 500 students every year. Provide the Combat Air Force with airborne systems and personnel for

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

, warning and control of

strategic Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

tactical Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tacti ...

, and special mission forces.

History

World War II

The squadron conducted replacement training from August 1942 – November 1943 and flew evacuation missions and light transport services for ground forces in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

from 13 November 1944 – 10 May 1945.

Airborne warning and control

It provided airborne

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

surveillance from 1962 to 1969 and rotated aircrews to

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 c. 4 April 1965 – c. December 1969. The 966th has trained aircrews since 1977.

Lineage

; 466th Bombardment Squadron * Constituted as the 466th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 9 July 1942 : Activated on 15 July 1942 : Inactivated on 1 April 1944 : Consolidated with the 166th Liaison Squadron and the 966th Airborne Warning and Control Training Squadron as the 966th Airborne Warning and Control Training Squadron on 19 September 1985 ; 166th Liaison Squadron * Constituted as the 166th Liaison Squadron (Commando) on 9 August 1944 : Activated on 3 September 1944 : Inactivated on 3 November 1945 : Consolidated with the 466th Bombardment Squadron and the 966th Airborne Warning and Control Training Squadron as the 966th Airborne Warning and Control Training Squadron on 19 September 1985 : 966th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron * Constituted as the 966th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron and activated on 18 December 1961 (not organized) : Organized on 1 February 1962 : Inactivated on 31 December 1969 : Redesignated 966th Airborne Warning and Control Training Squadron on 5 May 1976 : Activated on 1 July 1976 966th Airborne Air Control Squadron *Consolidated with the 166th Liaison Squadron and the 466th Bombardment Squadron on 19 September 1985 : Redesignated 966th Airborne Air Control Squadron on 1 July 1994

Assignments

* 333d Bombardment Group, 15 July 1942 – 1 April 1944 * 1st Air Commando Group, 3 September 1944 – 3 November 1945 *

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 ...

, 18 December 1961 (not organized) * 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing, 1 February 1962 * 552d Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing, 1 May 1963 * 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing, 1 July 1969 * 552d Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing, 15 November-31 December 1969 * 552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing (later 552d Airborne Warning and Control Division; 552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing; 552d Air Control Wing), 1 July 1976 * 552d Operations Group, 29 May 1992 – present

Stations

Topeka Army Air Base Topeka Regional Airport , formerly known as Forbes Field, is a joint civil-military public airport owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority in Shawnee County, Kansas, seven miles south of downtown Topeka, the capital city of Kansas. The ...

, Kansas, 15 July 1942 *

Dalhart Army Air Field Dalhart Army Air Base is a former World War II military airfield complex near the city of Dalhart, Texas. It operated three training sites for the United States Army Air Forces from 1943 until 1945. The majority of the namesake city of Dalhart, ...

, Texas, 22 February 1943 – 1 April 1944 *

Burnpur Airfield Burnpur Airport is located at Burnpur in Asansol, India. It is a private airport owned by IISCO Steel Plant IISCO Steel Plant of Steel Authority of India Limited is an integrated steel plant located at Burnpur, a neighbourhood in Asa ...

, India, 3 September 1944 * Yazagyo Airfield, Burma, 13 November 1944 * Inbaung Airfield, Burma, 12 December 1944 *

, India, 19 December 1944 (detachment operated from Arakan Airfield, Burma, c. 29 December 1944 – 23 January 1945) * Sinthe Airfield, Burma, 4 February 1945 *

, India, 14 March 1945 * Ondaw Airfield, Burma, 29 March 1945 * Meiktila Airfield, Burma, 5 April 1945 * Toungoo Airfield, Burma, 27 April 1945 *

, India, 14 May – 6 October 1945 *

Camp Kilmer Located in Central New Jersey, Camp Kilmer is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service ...

, New Jersey, 1–3 November 1945 *

McCoy Air Force Base McCoy AFB (1940–1947, 1951–1975) is a former U.S. Air Force installation located 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Orlando, Florida. It was a training base during World War II. From 1951 to 1975, it was a front line Strategic Air Command ...

, Florida, 1 February 1962 – 31 December 1969 *

, Oklahoma, 1 July 1976 – present

Aircraft

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

(1942) *

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

(1942–1943) * Stinson L-5 Sentinel (1944–1945) * Noorduyn C-64 Norseman (1944–1945) * Lockheed RC-121 Constellation (1962–1963) * Lockheed TC-121 Constellation (1962–1963) *

Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star was an American airborne early warning and control radar surveillance aircraft operational in the 1950s in both the United States Navy (USN) and United States Air Force (USAF). The military version of the Lock ...

(1963–1969) *

Boeing WC-135 Constant Phoenix The WC-135 Constant Phoenix is a special-purpose aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter and used by the United States Air Force. Its mission is to collect samples from the atmosphere for the purpose of detecting and identifying nuc ...

(1977–1979) *

Boeing E-3 Sentry The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-wea ...

(1977–present)

Operations

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 ...

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 ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * {{US Air Force navbox Military units and formations in Oklahoma

966 Year 966 (Roman numerals, CMLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * 23 June - Arab-Byzantine Wars, Byzantine-Arab War: Arab-Byzantine ...

1942 establishments in Kansas