511th Tactical Fighter Squadron

The squadron was originally activated at Drew Field, Florida on 1 March 1943 as the 626th Bombardment Squadron, one of the four original squadrons of the 405th Bombardment Group. It was initially equipped with Douglas A-24 Banshees and Bell P-39 Airacobras. 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. On 14 February 1944, the 509th left its training base for the European Theater of Operations.[1][3]

405th Fighter Group P-47D

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 fighter bomber mission. The 509th helped prepare for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, by striking military airfields, and lines of communication, particularly bridges and railroad marshalling yards. On D-Day, it flew combat patrols in the vicinity of Brest, France, and in the following days flew armed reconnaissance missions over Normandy.[3]

Toward the end of June, the squadron moved to Picauville Airfield, France, and for the rest of the war concentrated on providing close air support for ground forces. It supported Operation Cobra, the breakout at Saint Lo 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.[4] 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 Belgian Army. The squadron received a Distinguished Unit Citation for action on 24 September 1944 when the 4th Armored Division experienced a counterattack by enemy forces and urgently needed air support. Elements of the 405th Group attacked the enemy armor despite an 800-foot ceiling that forced attacks to be made from low level in the face of intense flak. A second group 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.[3][note 2]

The squadron flew its last combat mission of the war on 8 May 1945. It briefly served in the occupation 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.[1][3]

511th FDS F-100D Super Sabre 56-3275 about 1957

The squadron returned to its designation as the 511th Fighter-Bomber Squadron and was activated at Godman Air Force Base, 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 Korean War. However, Godman was not suitable for jet fighter operations, and in April 1953, the squadron moved to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia[1] 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 Thunderjets, later upgrading to North American F-100 Super Sabres. The squadron was inactivated with the rest of the 405th Wing in July 1958.[1][5]

Following the Pueblo Crisis of 1968, the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing moved to Korea to reinforce United States forces there. The 113th Tactical Fighter Wing of the District of Columbia Air National Guard was called to active duty and took the 354th Wing's place at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, 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.[6] The squadron flew LTV A-7 Corsair II 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.[7]

The squadron was activated at RAF Bentwaters, England in October 1978 as the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing changed its mission to close air support and air interdiction, equipped with Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, and expanded from three to six operational squadrons.[8] The squadron participated in joint and combined exercises with American and British ground forces and periodically deployed to designated wartime operating bases,[8] including Sembach Air Base, Germany.

The squadron was reassigned to the 10th Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Alconbury in June 1988 in a United States Air Forces in Europe (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.[9]

The squadron engaged in combat operations from January to February 1991 destroying numbers of Iraqi tanks and other armor as part of Operation Desert Storm. 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, 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.

• 405th Bombardment Group (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, 8 October 1957 – 1 July 1958[10]
• 4554th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 April 1970
• 354th Tactical Fighter Wing] 1 June 1970 – 15 July 1971[6]
• 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 January 1980[8]
• 10th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 September 1988 – 30 December 1992.[9] (attached to 354th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional), 15 August 1990 – 25 March 1991)

• 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[10]
• LTV A-7 Corsair II, 1970–1971
• Republic Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II, 1980–1992

Explanatory notes

Citations

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

• Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
• Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988). U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015.
• 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.
• Newton, Wesely P., Jr.; Senning, Calvin F. (1963). "USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II, USAF Historical Study No. 85" (PDF). Research Studies Institute, USAF Historical Division, Air University. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
• 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.
• Rust, Kenn C. (1967). The 9th Air Force in World War II. Fallbrook, CA: Aero Publishers, Inc. LCCN 67-16454.