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The 166th was upgraded with new [[F-84F Thunderstreak]]s in November 1957, the gaining command of the squadron became [[Tactical Air Command]] (TAC), however, it remained attached to Air Defense Command in a secondary role. In 1959, the need for active duty Air Defense Command bases and regular Air Force fighter-interceptor operations were diminishing and the intent to scale back operations at Youngstown AFB was announced on 28 October 1959. The Ohio Air National Guard moved the 121st FBG back to Lockbourne Air Force Base on 1 March 1960.
The 166th was upgraded with new [[F-84F Thunderstreak]]s in November 1957, the gaining command of the squadron became [[Tactical Air Command]] (TAC), however, it remained attached to Air Defense Command in a secondary role. In 1959, the need for active duty Air Defense Command bases and regular Air Force fighter-interceptor operations were diminishing and the intent to scale back operations at Youngstown AFB was announced on 28 October 1959. The Ohio Air National Guard moved the 121st FBG back to Lockbourne Air Force Base on 1 March 1960.

====1961 Berlin Crisis====
The 121st Tactical Fighter Wing were called to active duty for a period of twelve months on 1 October. When activated, the Federalized wing consisted of three operational units, the 162d TFS at Springfield, the 164th TFS at Mansfield, and the 166th at Lockbourne. The 112th TFS at Toledo and the 145th ATS at Akron were temporally attached directly to Ohio ANG Headquarters at Columbus for the period of Federalization. The mission of the activated 121st TFW was to reinforce the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), and deploy to [[Étain-Rouvres Air Base]], France, a standby USAFE base. However, due to funding shortages, only 26 F-84F Thunderstreaks of 166th TFS was deployed to France, although several ground support units from the 162nd and 164th were also deployed.

On 4 November the first ANG T-33 aircraft arrived at Etain, with the F-84's arriving on 16 November. In July 1962 the deployed Air National Guardsmen were no longer needed in Europe and the 7121st began to redeploy its personnel to Ohio. All the aircraft and support equipment, however, remained at Etain to equip a new wing being formed there, the '''[[366th Tactical Fighter Wing]]'''. The last of the ANG personnel departed on 9 August 1962.

====1962 reorganization====


===Lineage===
===Lineage===

Revision as of 06:37, 15 November 2012

121st Air Refueling Wing
A pair of specially painted F-117 Nighthawks fly off from their last refueling by the Ohio National Guard's 121st Air Refueling Wing.
Active1942-Present
Country United States
Branch  Air National Guard
TypeWing
RoleAir Refueling
Part ofOhio Air National Guard
Garrison/HQRickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Columbus, Ohio
Tail Code"Ohio" Blue/Red Tail Stripe
Insignia
121st Air Refueling Wing emblem

The 121st Air Refueling Wing (121 ARW) is a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard, stationed at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Columbus, Ohio. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command.

Overview

The 121st Air Refueling Wing's KC-135 Stratotanker mission is to provide the core aerial refueling capability for the U.S. Air Force and the Air National Guard. This unique aircraft enhances the Air Force's capability to accomplish its primary missions of Global Reach and Global Power. It also provides aerial refueling support to Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and allied nation aircraft. The KC-135 is capable of transporting litter and ambulatory patients using patient support pallets during aeromedical evacuations.

Units

The 121st Air Refueling Wing consists of the following units:

  • 121st Operations Group
166th Air Refueling Squadron
145th Air Refueling Squadron
  • 121st Maintenance Group
  • 121st Mission Support Group
  • 121st Medical Group

History

World War II

See 357th Fighter Group for extended World War II history
File:Oldcrow.jpg
Capt. Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson, 363d FS. Capt Anderson flew three P-51s (2 B and 1 D) which he named "Old Crow" (B6-S), this aircraft being P-51D 44-14450.

Used P-39 Aircobras in preparing for duty overseas. Moved to England in November 1943 and became part of VIII Fighter Command. Trained with P-51 Mustangs and began combat operations on 11 February 1944 by making a fighter sweep over Rouen. Served primarily as a bomber escort organization, providing penetration (target) and withdrawal support for bombers that attacked strategic objectives on the Continent. Participated in the assault against the German Air Force and aircraft industry during Big Week, 20-25 February 1944.

Received a Distinguished Unit Citation for two escort missions in which heavy opposition was encountered from enemy fighters: on 6 March 1944 provided target and withdrawal support during the first attack that heavy bombers of Eighth Air Force made on Berlin; on 29 Jun 1944 protected bombers that struck targets at Leipzig. Received second DUC for operations on 14 January 1945 when the group, covering bombers on a raid to Derben, broke up an attack by a large force Of interceptors and in the ensuing aerial battle destroyed a number of the enemy planes. In addition to escort the group conducted counter-air patrols, made fighter sweeps, and flew strafing and dive-bombing missions in which it attacked airdromes, marshalling yards, locomotives, bridges, barges, tugboats, highways, vehicles, fuel dumps, and other targets. Participated in the invasion of Normandy in Jun 1944; the breakthrough at St Lo in July; the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945; and the airborne assault across the Rhine in Mar 1945. Flew its last mission, an escort operation, on 25 April 1945.

Moved to Germany in Jul and assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe for duty with the army of occupation. Inactivated in Germany on 20 August 1946.

Ohio Air National Guard

The wartime 357th Fighter Group was re-designated as the 121st Fighter Group, and was allotted to the Ohio Air National Guard, on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Lockbourne Army Airfield, Columbus, Ohio, and was extended federal recognition on 20 June 1948 by the National Guard Bureau. The 121st Fighter Group was bestowed the lineage, history, honors, and colors of the 357th Fighter Group.

Assigned to the Ohio ANG 55th Fighter Wing, the 121st Fighter Group consisted of the following operational squadrons:

The squadrons was equipped with F-51D Mustangs with a mission of air defense of the State of Ohio. On 31 October 1950 the 121st Fighter Wing was established, and the 55th Fighter Wing was disbanded, its personnel and mission assumed by the new 121st Fighter Wing. The 121st Fighter Groups and its assigned squadrons were assigned to the new 121st FW.

With the assumption of the 55th Fighter Wing, the 112th Bombardment Squadron (Light) at Cleveland Municipal Airport was transferred from the 55th Fighter Wing to the 121st Fighter Wing, the squadron being assigned directly to the wing. The 112th flew the RB-26C Invader.

Korean War Federalization

With the surprise invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1960, and the regular military's complete lack of readiness, most of the Air National Guard was federalized placed on active duty.

  • The 112th Bombardment Squadron was federalized on 10 October 1950. It was re-designated as the 112th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and assigned to the federalized Alabama ANG 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Group. It deployed to West Germany and later France to reinforce the United States Air Forces in Europe. It was released from active duty on 9 July 1952 and returned to Ohio without aircraft or equipment, which was transferred to USAFE.
  • The 162d Fighter Squadron was not federalized and remained at Cox-Dayton Municipal Airport and continued its air defense mission.
  • The 164th Fighter Squadron was federalized on 10 February 1951. The 164th however was selected to remain at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport and continue the air defense mission, being operationally gained by the Eastern Air Defense Force, Air Defense Command. With the end of the federalization of the Air National Guard in 1952, the 164th again was assigned to the 121st Tactical Fighter Group at Columbus.
  • The 166th Fighter Squadron was federalized on 10 February 1951 and assigned to the Federalized Indiana ANG 122d Fighter-Interceptor Group with an Air Defense Command commitment. The squadron initially remained at Lockbourne and flew air defense training missions. On 20 September, the 166th was reassigned to the Federalized Oregon ANG 142d Fighter-Interceptor Group which was headquartered at Chicago O'Hare International Airport with no change of mission. However, Strategic Air Command (SAC) had taken over Lockbourne AFB on 1 April 1951 it was decided to move the 166th FIS to Youngstown Municipal Airport, Ohio, which was accomplished on 31 October 1952. The squadron was released from Federal Service and returned to Ohio State Control on 1 November, remaining in Youngstown.

Early Cold War era

The 112th was reformed at Akron-Canton Airport and re-designated as the 112th Fighter-Bomber Squadron. It was re-equipped with F-51H Mustangs, and were one of the last two Air National Guard squadrons to fly this version of the Mustang.

At its new base at Youngstown, the 166th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was re-equipped with F-51H Mustangs which the squadron flew until 1954 when the 166th received refurbished F-80A Shooting Stars that had been modified and upgraded to F-80C standards. With the F-80s, the squadron began standing daytime air defense alert at Youngstown, placing two aircraft at the end of the runway with pilots in the cockpit from one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset. The squadron only operated the Shooting Star until January 1955 when the 166th received F-84E Thunderjets that had returned from wartime duty in Korea.

In September 1953 the 164th, now designated as a Fighter-Bomber Squadron, received its first jet aircraft, refurbished F-80A Shooting Stars that had been modified and upgraded to F-80C standards. The squadron only operated the Shooting Star for a year when in October 1954 the equipment was changed to F-84E Thunderjets that had returned from wartime duty in Korea. In August 1954, the 164th began standing daytime air defense alert at Mansfield, placing two aircraft at the end of the runway with pilots in the cockpit from one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset. This ADC alert lasted each and every day until 30 June 1956.

In September 1955 Air Defense Command wanted to re-equip the 162d Fighter Interceptor Squadron from F-51H Mustangs to jet-powered F-84E Thunderjets in accordance with the USAF directive to phase out propeller-driven fighter-interceptor aircraft from the inventory. However, because the runways at the Cox-Dayton Municipal Airport were too short at that time to support jet fighter operations, the National Guard Bureau approved the relocation request by the Ohio ANG to move the squadron to Springfield Municipal Airport, just east of Dayton.

With new facilities under construction at Springfield, the 162d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron conducted their transition training from temporary facilities at Wright-Patterson AFB. The F-84E Thunderjets were Korean War veteran aircraft and the squadron received training in the equipment from the Ohio ANG 164th and 166th Tactical Fighter Squadrons.

In October 1955, the 112th FBS were informed that they were to receive F-84E Thunderjets, but since the runways at Akron-Canton Municipal Airport were deemed inadequate for jet operations, it was decided to construct an entirely new facility for them at the new Toledo Express Airport at Toledo. The 112th FBS left Akron-Canton for the Toledo Municipal Airport on 1 April 1956 and retired their F-51H Mustangs for T-28A Trojans, and operated F-84Es until the summer of 1958. In January 1959, the 112th's facility at the Toledo Express Airport and moved to the new facility. The T-28s were replaced with new F-84F Thunderstreaks the the squadron was designated as a Tactical Fighter Squadron.

In early 1956, a fifth squadron was gained by the 121st. The 145th Air Transport Squadron was allotted to the Ohio Air National Guard by the National Guard Bureau to replace the 112th Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Akron-Canton Airport. The 145th ATS, gained by the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) received federal recognition on 17 March 1956. Initially assigned C-46D Commando twin-engine propeller transports, the squadron was upgraded in 1958 to C-119J Flying Boxcar transports, fitted for aeromedical transport of personnel to medical facilities.

In early 1957, the 164th FBS sent their war-weary F-84C Thunderjets to storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona and received new F-84F Thunderstreak swept-wing interceptors. Later in 1957, the 164th Fighter-Bomber Squadron received the 1st Air Force Flying Safety Award for three consecutive years of accident-free flying, an impressive accomplishment as in the previous three years the squadron had flown three different types of aircraft.

The 166th was upgraded with new F-84F Thunderstreaks in November 1957, the gaining command of the squadron became Tactical Air Command (TAC), however, it remained attached to Air Defense Command in a secondary role. In 1959, the need for active duty Air Defense Command bases and regular Air Force fighter-interceptor operations were diminishing and the intent to scale back operations at Youngstown AFB was announced on 28 October 1959. The Ohio Air National Guard moved the 121st FBG back to Lockbourne Air Force Base on 1 March 1960.

1961 Berlin Crisis

The 121st Tactical Fighter Wing were called to active duty for a period of twelve months on 1 October. When activated, the Federalized wing consisted of three operational units, the 162d TFS at Springfield, the 164th TFS at Mansfield, and the 166th at Lockbourne. The 112th TFS at Toledo and the 145th ATS at Akron were temporally attached directly to Ohio ANG Headquarters at Columbus for the period of Federalization. The mission of the activated 121st TFW was to reinforce the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), and deploy to Étain-Rouvres Air Base, France, a standby USAFE base. However, due to funding shortages, only 26 F-84F Thunderstreaks of 166th TFS was deployed to France, although several ground support units from the 162nd and 164th were also deployed.

On 4 November the first ANG T-33 aircraft arrived at Etain, with the F-84's arriving on 16 November. In July 1962 the deployed Air National Guardsmen were no longer needed in Europe and the 7121st began to redeploy its personnel to Ohio. All the aircraft and support equipment, however, remained at Etain to equip a new wing being formed there, the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing. The last of the ANG personnel departed on 9 August 1962.

1962 reorganization

Lineage

  • Constituted as 357th Fighter Group on 1 December 1942 and activated the same day
Inactivated in Germany on 20 August 1946
  • Re-designated: 121st Fighter Group, and allotted to Ohio ANG, on 21 August 1946
Extended federal recognition on 26 June 1948
  • Established as 121st Fighter Wing, 1 November 1951
Re-designated: 121st Fighter-Bomber Wing, 16 October 1952
Re-designated: 121st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 1 November 1952
Re-designated: 121st Fighter-Bomber Wing, 1 November 1957
Re-designated: 121st Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 September 1961
Federalized and ordered to active service on: 1 October 1961
Elements operated as: 7121st Tactical Wing, 4 November 1961-9 August 1962
Released from active duty and returned to Ohio state control, 20 August 1952
Re-designated: 121st Air Refueling Wing, 16 January 1993

Assignments

Gained by: Eastern Air Defense Force, Air Defense Command
Gained by: Tactical Air Command, 1 November 1957
Elements attached to: Seventeenth Air Force, United States Air Forces in Europe, 4 November 1961-9 August 1962
Gained by: Tactical Air Command
Gained by: Air Combat Command, 1 June 1992
Gained by: Air Mobility Command, 16 January 1993-Present

Components

  • 121st Fighter (later Fighter-Bomber, Fighter-Interceptor, Tactical Fighter) Group, 1 November 1951-30 June 1974


Re-designated: 162d Fighter Squadron, 26 June 1948-15 October 1962
  • 363d Fighter Squadron (B6): 1 December 1942-20 August 1946
Re-designated: 164th Fighter Squadron, 26 June 1948-15 October 1962
  • 364th Fighter Squadron (C5): 1 December 1942-20 August 1946
Re-designated: 166th Fighter (later Fighter-Interceptor, Fighter-Bomber, Tactical Fighter, Fighter, Air Refueling) Squadron, 26 June 1948-26 January 1968; 18 June 1969-Present

Stations

Aircraft

References

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

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