12th Special Operations Squadron

The 12th Special Operations Squadron was first activated at Selfridge Field, Michigan as the 12th Pursuit Squadron, one of the original squadrons of the 50th Pursuit Group. in January 1941 when the United States expanded its military forces on the eve of World War II. After training with Seversky P-35s and Curtiss P-36 Hawks, the squadron moved with its parent 50th Pursuit Group to Key Field, Mississippi in October, where it began to equip with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks. It was located there when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 8 December.[2]

Responding to the critical need for fighters in the Pacific, in February 1942 the squadron deployed to Christmas Island. The 12th flew patrols over the Indian Ocean from Christmas Island between February and October 1942. During this time the squadron was equipped with P-39 and P-400 aircraft. It began combat operations from Fighter Strip No.2 on Guadalcanal on 19 November 1942, moving to Guadalcanal in February. The squadron was subsequently equipped with P-38 Lightning aircraft at this time. The squadron participated in Operation Vengeance, the successful operation to kill Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy on 18 April 1943. Operations during this time were frequently split. Although based on Guadalcanal until August 1944, flight operations were conducted from Mono Airfield on Stirling Island. The 12th moved to Mar Drome, Sansapor, Netherlands East Indies that month although starting on 8 November, a portion of the squadron operated from Morotai. The split operation lasted until 10 January 1945, and three days later the squadron moved to Lingayen Airfield in the Philippines, although the squadron moved to Hill Strip little more than a week later, its rear echelon continued to operate from Lingayen until 24 April 1945, when it leapfrogged forward to become the advanced echelon at Moret Field on 24 April, being joined by the rest of the squadron on 4 May. Combat operations continued until 14 August 1945 from Moret (and from Puerto Princesa Airfield between 26 April and 11 May 1945).[1]

Following the surrender of Japan, the squadron remained in the Philippines.[1]

12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron P-51D[note 4]

When the North Korean People's Army crossed the 38th parallel to invade South Korea in June 1950, Far East Air Forces looked to its resources in the Philippines to reinforce its forces in Korea and the squadron was moved from the Philippines to Taegu Air Base in late July. However, as United Nations forces withdrew into the Pusan Perimeter, the squadron was forced to move to Ashiya Air Base, Japan eleven days after arriving in the theater of war, after flying only a handful of missions from Taegu with North American P-51 Mustangs. The following month it returned to Korea and Pusan East (K-9) Air Base.[1]

After the Inchon Landings, United Nations forces rapidly moved north and the squadron was able to establish a detachment at Pyongyang East Air Base on 5 November 1950, with the entire squadron arriving just over two weeks later. However, Chinese intervention in Korea forced the squadron to withdraw in December, first to Suwon Air Base, then to Chinhae Air Base (although a detachment of the squadron continued to operate from Suwon until 4 January 1951). Part of the squadron resumed Suwon operations again on 24 March 1951, while another part flew out of Pusan West Air Base Suwon operations lasted until 4 May 1951, while those in Pusan lasted only until 23 April.

12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron F-86F at Taegu

Although still stationed at Chinhae, The squadron operated from Seoul Air Base, closer to the front lines, from 8 May to 9 August 1951 and again from 18 August until 30 September, after which it began operations at Hoengseong Air Base. It moved entirely to Hoengseong on 2 June 1952.[1]

It continued to fly combat missions in Korea from until 8 January 1953 and again, after re-equipping with the North American F-86 Sabre, from 25 February to 27 July 1953.[1]

The 12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron Deployed to Tainan Air Base, Taiwan from 27 January – 19 February 1955, 3 September – 30 November 1955, from 18 – 25 April 1961, 18th Tactical Fighter Wing deployed a detachment of 12th Tactical Fighter Squadron aircraft to Kung Kuan Air Base.

An F-105G taking off from Korat, 1972.

The 12th deployed to Vietnam twice in 1965, first from 1 February to March 1965 and 15 June to 25 August 1965.[1] It supported air defense alert capability in Southeast Asia between 1968 and 1972.[1]

The squadron stood alert in South Korea from 23 January to 13 June 1968, after the seizure of the USS Pueblo by North Korea.[1]

The squadron was unmanned and unequipped from May 1972 until November 1975. It remanned and reequipped with McDonnell F-4 Phantom II aircraft in late November 1975. Through 1980, it flew offensive and defensive exercises in support of its wing, the 313th Air Division, and Pacific Air Forces. It converted to McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle aircraft in 1980. In 1981, the 12th earned the Hughes Trophy in recognition as the outstanding fighter squadron in the USAF.

On 5 November 1999, the squadron moved without personnel or equipment to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska where it joined the 3d Wing on 28 April 2000. Between 2000 and 2008, it performed offensive and defensive counter-air missions with current air-to-air weaponry, including night vision goggles (NVG), to achieve air superiority in support of taskings from 3 Wing.[1]

At Elmendorf Air Force Base, the squadron employed the F-15C air superiority fighter in global expeditionary support of war-fighting commands.[5] The squadron was inactivated in September 2006, due to the Base Realignment and Closure of 2005.

The 12th was redesignated the 12th Special Operations Squadron and activated at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico to operate RPVs from forward deployed locations during critical flight maneuvers when operating the craft by transmitting signals through satellites could potentially endanger them due to the delay in signal transmission. It absorbed the personnel and equipment of a small detachment that had been performing the same mission at Cannon since October 2013. The squadron is the first of its kind in the United States Air Force, and was considered as a model for similar units by Air Combat Command.[4] Later, the 414th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron was activated to carry out the same type of mission from Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.

• 50th Pursuit Group (later 50th Fighter Group), 15 January 1941 (attached to 7th Interceptor Command (later VII Fighter Command, 10 February – 17 August 1942
• 15th Fighter Group, 18 August 1942
• US Army Forces in South Pacific, 1 December 1942
• XIII Fighter Command, 13 January 1943
• 18th Fighter Group (later 18th Fighter-Bomber Group), 30 March 1943

Attached to:

Air Task Group 5, Provisional, 27 January – 19 February 1955,

Air Task Force 13, Provisional, c. 3 September – 30 November 1955

49th Fighter-Bomber Group, 7 August 1956 – 14 March 1957

18th Fighter-Bomber Wing, 15 March – 15 August 1957

Thirteenth Air Force, 16 August – 1 September 1957

• Thirteenth Air Force, 2 September 1957
• 18 Fighter-Bomber Wing (later 18th Tactical Fighter Wing), 25 March 1958

Attached to

2d Air Division, 1 February – 15 March 1965, 15 June – 25 August 1965

314th Air Division, 23 – 29 January 1968

• 18th Tactical Fighter Group, 1 May 1978
• 18th Tactical Fighter Wing, 11 February 1981
• 18th Operations Group, 1 October 1991
• 3d Operations Group, 28 April 2000 – October 2007
• 27th Special Operations Group, 12 February 2015 – present[1]

Award streamer	Award	Dates	Notes
	Distinguished Unit Citation	Philippine Islands, 10 November 1944 – 11 November 1944	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	Distinguished Unit Citation	Korea, 3 November 1950 – 24 January 1951	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	Distinguished Unit Citation	Korea, 22 April 1951 – 8 July 1951	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	Presidential Unit Citation	25 June 1965 – 25 August 1965	Southeast Asia, 12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award w/Combat "V" Device	1 August 1964 – 5 June 1965	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 December 1959 – 30 November 1960	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 September 1962 – 31 August 1963	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	6 June 1965 – 31 December 1966	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 September 1978 – 30 September 1979	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 October 1979 – 31 May 1980	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 June 1981 – 31 May 1983	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 June 1983 – 31 May 1984	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 June 1984 – 31 May 1986	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 June 1987 – 31 May 1989	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 June 1989 – 31 May 1991	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 June 1991 – 31 May 1993	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron (later 12th Fighter Squadron)[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 June 1993 – 31 August 1994	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 September 1994 – 31 August 1995	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 September 1995 – 31 August 1997	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 January 2000 – 31 December 2001	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 January 2002 – 30 September 2003	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 October 2003 – 30 September 2005	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation	13 January 1945 – 4 July 1945	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	Korean Presidential Unit Citation	[28] July 1950 – 31 January 1951	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	Korean Presidential Unit Citation	1 February 1951 – 31 March 1953	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm	1 April 1966 – 30 June 1970	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]

• Hughes Trophy: 1981

Campaign Streamer	Campaign	Dates	Notes
	Air Combat, Asiatic-Pacific Theater	10 February 1942 – 2 March 1946	12th Pursuit Squadron (later 12th Fighter Squadron)[1]
	Guadalcanal	7 August 1942 – 21 February 1943	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	Northern Solomons	23 February 1943 – 21 November 1944	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	Bismarck Archipelago	15 December 1943 – 27 November 1944	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	New Guinea	24 January 1943 – 31 December 1944	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	Leyte	17 October 1944 – 1 July 1945	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	Luzon	15 December 1944 – 4 July 1945	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	Southern Philippines	27 February 1945 – 4 July 1945	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	China Defensive	4 July 1942 – 4 May 1945	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	Western Pacific	17 April 1944 – 2 September 1945	12th Fighter Squadron[1]
	UN Defensive	28 July 1950 – 15 September 1950	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	UN Offensive	16 September 1950 – 2 November 1950	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	CCF Intervention	3 November 1950 – 24 January 1951	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	1st UN Counteroffensive	25 January 1951 – 21 April 1951	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	CCF Spring Offensive	22 April 1951 – 9 July 1951	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	UN Summer-Fall Offensive	9 July 1951 – 27 November 1951	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	Second Korean Winter	28 November 1951 – 30 April 1952	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	Korea Summer-Fall 1952	1 May 1952 – 30 November 1952	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	Third Korean Winter	1 December 1952 – 30 April 1953	12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron[1]
	Vietnam Advisory	1 November 1961 – 1 March 1965	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]
	Vietnam Defensive	2 March 1965 – 30 January 1966	12th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1]

Explanatory notes

Citations

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

• 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.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Watkins, Robert A. (2013). Insignia and Aircraft Markings of the U.S. Army Air Force In World War II. Vol. V, Pacific Theater of Operations. Atglen,PA: Shiffer Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-4346-9.