391st Fighter Squadron

391st Fighter Squadron
	F-15E Strike Eagle from the 391st flying over Afghanistan
Active	1943–1946; 1953–1959; 1962–1971; 1971–1990; 1992–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Fighter
Part of	Air Combat Command
Garrison/HQ	Mountain Home Air Force Base
Nickname(s)	Bold Tigers[1]
Motto(s)	Fortune Favors the Bold...Tigers
Engagements	European Theater of Operations; Vietnam War; Global War on Terrorism[1]
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation; Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device; Belgian Fourragère; Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm[1]
Commanders
Current; commander	Lt Col Travis Stephens
Insignia
391st Fighter Squadron emblem (approved 8 June 1995)[1]
Patch with 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron emblem (approved 21 March 1978)[1]
391st Fighter-Bomber Squadron emblem (approved 24 September 1954)[2]

The 391st Fighter Squadron is part of the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, 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 aircraft, conducting close air support missions.

Mission

Perform close air support, 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, inertially-aided munitions, night vision goggles, fighter data link, and Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN).[3]

History

World War II

The 391st flew combat missions in the European Theater of Operations from 14 March 1944 to 3 May 1945.[1]

Vietnam War

The squadron flew in combat in Southeast Asia from 2 February 1966 to 21 July 1968.[1]

Pacific air defense

It provided air defense in Korea and Japan from 22 July 1968 to 14 February 1971.[1]

2013 sequestration

Squadron F-111F[note 1]

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.[4]

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.[4] This affected the 391st Fighter Squadron with a stand-down grounding from 9 April-30 September 2013.[4]

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[1]

Assignments

366th Fighter Group: 1 June 1943 – 20 August 1946
366th Fighter-Bomber Group: 1 January 1953 (attached to 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing 6 December 1956 – 11 June 1957)
366th Fighter-Bomber Wing (later 366th Tactical Fighter Wing): 25 September 1957 – 1 April 1959
United States Air Forces in Europe: 30 April 1962 (not organized)
366th Tactical Fighter Wing: 8 May 1962
2d Air Division, 26 January 1966 (attached to 12th Tactical Fighter Wing)
Seventh Air Force, 1 April 1966 (remained attached to 12 Tactical Fighter Wing)
12th Tactical Fighter Wing, 23 June 1966
475th Tactical Fighter Wing, 22 July 1968 – 28 February 1971
347th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 July 1972
366th Tactical Fighter Wing (later 366th Fighter Wing: 31 October 1972 – 1 July 1990
366th Operations Group, 11 March 1992 – present[1]

Stations

Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia, 1 June 1943
Bluethenthal Field, 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, France, 20 June 1944
Dreux - Vernouillet Airport, France, 24 August 1944
Laon-Couvron Air Base, France, 7 September 1944
Asch Airfield, Belgium, 26 November 1944
Münster-Handorf Airfield, Germany, 21 April 1945
Bayreuth-Bindlach Airfield, Germany, c. 25 June 1945
Fritzlar Air Base, 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, 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, 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, Idaho, 1 July 1971 – 1 July 1990
Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, 11March 1992 – present[1]

Aircraft

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (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 (1992–present)[1]

References

Notes

Aircraft is General Dynamics F-111F Aardvark, serial 70-2394, taken on 16 September 1972.

Citations

Dollman, TSG Davis (16 October 2016). "Factsheet 391 Fighter Squadron (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 480–481
No byline. "Library: Factsheet 366th Operations Group". 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs. Archived from the original on 15 November 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
Everstein, Brian; Weisgerber, Marcus (8 April 2013). "Reduced flying hours forces grounding of 17 USAF combat air squadrons". Military Times. Retrieved 4 October 2016.

Bibliography

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.

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[4] Aircraft is General Dynamics F-111F Aardvark, serial 70-2394, taken on 16 September 1972.

[391FSfacts-1] Dollman, TSG Davis (16 October 2016). "Factsheet 391 Fighter Squadron (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 20 July 2017.

[Maurer391FS-2] Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 480–481

[366_OG_Fact_Sheet-3] No byline. "Library: Factsheet 366th Operations Group". 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs. Archived from the original on 15 November 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2019.

[AFT-5] Everstein, Brian; Weisgerber, Marcus (8 April 2013). "Reduced flying hours forces grounding of 17 USAF combat air squadrons". Military Times. Retrieved 4 October 2016.