301st Fighter Squadron

301st Fighter Squadron
Emblem of the 301st Fighter Squadron (AETC)
Active	13 October 1942 - 19 October 1945 1 July 1947 - 1 July 1949 1 August 1958 - 2 July 1969 1 January 2000 - Present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Fighter
Part of	Air Force Reserve Command Tenth Air Force 944th Fighter Wing 944th Operations Group
Garrison/HQ	Luke Air Force Base
Decorations	DUC AFOUA

World War II squadron emblem

Emblem of the SAC 901st Air Refueling Squadron

The 301st Fighter Squadron (301 FS) is part of the 944th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. It operates the F-16 Fighting Falcon conducting advanced fighter training.

History

World War II

The 301st was one of four African-American fighter squadrons to enter combat during World War II.

One of the famous all-black squadrons of the 332nd Fighter Group, activated on 19 February 1942 at Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama, but which remained largely unmanned until it arrived at Selfridge Field, Michigan, late in March 1943. There it received sufficient personnel and the squadron began operational training with the P-39 and P-40 aircraft. The 100th completed training in December 1943 and prepared to move overseas.

The squadron sailed in early January 1944 aboard the USS William Few and arrived in Italy in early February 1944, becoming part of the Twelfth Air Force, Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). The 301st flew its first combat mission on 19 February 1944. The squadron became engaged in various missions—harbor protection, point-to-point patrol, convoy escort, and armed reconnaissance. It also performed air rescue and strafing missions. In May 1944, the 301st was reassigned to the Fifteenth Air Force and thereafter the squadron’s primary duty was providing escort for bombers striking enemy oil and industrial targets in central Europe and the Balkans. While initially equipped with P-39 and P-47 aircraft, in June 1944 the squadron received P-51 aircraft which they retained throughout the remainder of the war.

In August 1944, the unit attacked enemy positions on the French coast in preparation for the invasion of southern France. They escorted bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force in attacks on the assault beaches on 15 August 1944. After this they returned to escorting heavy bombers to targets in Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Romania. They also attacked targets of opportunity—enemy airdromes, troop concentrations, communications lines, and enemy aircraft—when the opportunity arose. The unit received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its performance during an escort to Berlin on 23 March 1945. The squadron, along with other squadrons of the 332nd Group, fought off a large enemy force, including jets, allowing the bomber formation to complete their mission. The 301st flew its last mission in Europe on 30 April 1945. On 30 September 1945, the 301st sailed for the United States aboard the Levi Woodbury and arrived at Camp Kilmer, NJ, on 17 October 1945. The squadron was inactivated on 19 October 1945.

It trained in P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft between 1947 and 1949 at Lockbourne AFB, Ohio. until the squadron was inactivated on 1 July 1949.

Reactivated by Strategic Air Command in 1959 as a KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling squadron; Inactivated in 1969 with the inactivation of Columbus AFB by SAC and its parent 454th Bombardment Wing. Squadron had deployed numerous times to Kadena AB, Okinawa to support air refueling orations over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

Reactivated by Air Force Reserve Command as an AETC F-16 Flight Training squadron at Luke AFB, Arizona.

Lineage

• Constituted 301st Fighter Squadron on 4 Jul 1942

Activated on 13 Oct 1942

Redesignated 301st Fighter Squadron, Single Engine, c. 21 Aug 1944

Inactivated on 19 Oct 1945

• Activated on 1 Jul 1947

Inactivated on 1 Jul 1949

• Consolidated (19 Sep 1985) with the 901st Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy

Constituted on 7 Apr 1958

Activated on 1 Aug 1958

Inactivated on 2 Jul 1969

• Redesignated 301st Fighter Squadron on 1 Dec 1999

Activated in the Reserve on 1 Jan 2000.

Assignments

• 332d Fighter Group, 13 Oct 1942-19 Oct 1945; 1 Jul 1947-1 Jul 1949
• 4228th Strategic Wing, 1 Aug 1958
• 454th Bombardment Wing, 1 Feb 1963-2 Jul 1969

Attached to 4252d Strategic Wing, Dec 1965-Mar 1966 and Jul-Dec 1967

• 944th Operations Group, 1 Jan 2000-Present

Stations

• Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama, 13 Oct 1942
• Selfridge Field, Michigan, 29 Mar 1943
• Oscoda Army Air Field, Michigan, 9 Nov 1943
• Selfridge Field, Michigan, 19 Nov 1943-23 Dec 1943
• Torretto Airfield, Italy, 29 Jan 1944
• Montecorvino Airfield, Italy, 8 Feb 1944
• Capodichino Airfield, Italy, 15 Apr 1944

• Ramitelli Airfield, Italy, 30 May 1944
• Cattolica Airfield, Italy, c. 4 May 1945
• Lucera Airfield, Italy, c. 18 Jul-30 Sep 1945
• Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, 17-19 Oct 1945
• Lockbourne AAB (later, AFB), Ohio, 1 Jul 1947-1 Jul 1949
• Columbus AFB, Mississippi, 1 Aug 1958-2 Jul 1969
• Luke AFB, Arizona, 1 Jan 2000-Present

Aircraft

• P-39 Airacobra (1943–1944)
• P-40 Warhawk (1943–1944)
• P-47 Thunderbolt (1944, 1947–1949)
• F-51 Mustang (1944–1945)
• KC-135 Stratotanker (1958–1969)
• F-16 Fighting Falcon (2000–Present)

Operations

• World War II

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0892010975
• AFHRA 301st Fighter Squadron History

See also

• Tuskegee Airmen