965th Airborne Air Control Squadron

B-17 Flying Fortress

The 595th Bombardment Squadron was first activated at Mountain Home Army Air Field, Idaho on 16 February 1943 as one of the four original squadrons of the 396th Bombardment Group.[1][4] After initial organization and equipping with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, the squadron moved to Moses Lake Army Air Base, Washington. There the squadron acted as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) for B-17 units. The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups"[5] In August 1943, the unit's mission changed to being a Replacement Training Unit (RTU).[1] Like OTUs, RTUs were an oversized units. Their mission, however was to train individual pilots or aircrews.[5]

In November 1943, the 595th moved to Drew Field, Florida, where it would remain for the duration of its active service.[1] However, the Army Air Forces was finding that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were not well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[6] The 592d was inactivated on 1 May 1944 at Drew Field, Florida.[1] Its personnel and equipment became part of the 326th AAF Base Unit.[7]

UC–64 Norseman

L-5 Sentinel

The 165th Liaison Squadron was activated at Asansol, India as part of the 1st Air Commando Group in September 1944. It flew evacuation missions and provided light transport services for ground forces in Burma from 6 October 1944 until 23 April 1945. It returned to Asansol that month and remained there until October, when it returned to the United States and was inactivated at the Port of Embarkation.[1]

EC-121 Warning Star

The 965th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron was activated in August 1955 as part of the at McClellan Air Force Base, California. It flew long range surveillance, beginning in the late 1950s and rotated aircrews to Southeast Asia from, after about 4 April 1965 until it was inactivated in June 1971.[1]

The 965th was reactivated at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma in 1978 to fly the Boeing E-3 Sentry. The squadron became non-operational the following year, although it remained on the active list. It resumed operations in 1984. The following year, the lineage of the 595th Bombardment Squadron and 165th Liaison Squadron were consolidated with the squadron. It flew combat support missions over Panama from, 20 December 1989 – 24 January 1990 and in Southwest Asia from, 17 January – 6 March 1991.[1]

• World War II
• Vietnam War
• Operation Just Cause
• Operation Desert Storm
• Operation Iraqi Freedom
• Operation Enduring Freedom[1]

• 396th Bombardment Group, 16 February 1943 – 1 May 1944
• 1st Air Commando Group, 3 September 1944 – 3 November 1945
• 552d Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing, 8 August 1955 – 30 June 1971
• 552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing (later 552 Airborne Warning and Control Division, 552 Airborne Warning and Control Wing, 552 Air Control Wing), 1 July 1978
• 552d Operations Group, 29 May 1992 – present[1]

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (1943–1944)
• Norduyn C-64 Norseman (1944–1945)
• Stinson L-5 Sentinel (1944–1945)
• Lockheed RC-121 Constellation (1955–1963)
• Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star (1963–1971)
• Boeing E-3 Sentry (1978–1979, 1984–present)[1]

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

• Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). The Army Air Forces in World War II (PDF). Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN 48003657. OCLC 704158. Retrieved 17 December 2016.

  Goss, William A. (1955). "The Organization and its Responsibilities, Chapter 2 The AAF". In Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L. (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II (PDF). Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN 48003657. OCLC 704158. Retrieved 17 December 2016.

• Endicott, Judy G. (1998). Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995 and USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ASIN B000113MB2. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
• 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.
• Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6. 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.