36th Fighter Squadron

Map of Cazaux AIC showing 36th Aero Squadron location

The 36th Aero Squadron came into existence at Kelly Field, Texas in June 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. Later that year, First Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt, the son of President Theodore Roosevelt, briefly commanded the squadron. After a brief training period, the squadron moved overseas on the RMS Baltic. Landing in France in September 1917, the squadron shortly stopped at the Étampes aerodrome before settling at the 3rd Aviation Instruction Center on Issoudun Aerodrome, where it helped building the new center before being declared operational some time at the end of year. On 21 February 1918, the 36th Aero Sqn (Repair) arrived at the Cazaux aerodrome, home of the French Aerial Gunnery School, where it helped maintaining the aircraft of the American detachment. On 5 November, it moved to the newly created American Aerial Gunnery School, in St. Jean de Monts, France. On 16 February 1919, the squadron reached the harbor of St. Nazaire, France, from where it sailed back to the United States on 14 March, on the USS Manchuria and was demobilized in the spring of 1919 at Garden City, New York[3][4]

Berliner Joyce P-16

Squadron Consolidated P-30

The squadron was reconstituted in 1923 as the 36th Pursuit Squadron. Although inactive, it was originally allotted to the Sixth Corps Area. In 1929 the squadron was designated as a "Regular Army Inactive" unit. Although remaining inactive as a regular unit, officers of the Organized Reserves were assigned to the unit and performed summer training with the squadron at Kelly Field for the next few years.[5]

In October 1930 the squadron was once again activated at Selfridge Field, Michigan,[note 5] where it was attached to the 1st Pursuit Group and equipped with various models of the Curtiss Hawk series of single engine biplane pursuit aircraft.[1] By 1932, the squadron's primary aircraft became the Boeing P-12, although the squadron continued to fly the P-6 model of the Hawk. As part of its mission to develop pursuit tactics, the squadron continued to fly a variety of other aircraft, notably including the Berliner-Joyce P-16 and Consolidated P-30 two-seat fighters. Training of fighter pilots and testing of tactics continued after 1932 when the squadron moved to Langley Field, Virginia, where it was assigned to the 8th Pursuit Group.[1][4]

In 1934, following a Congressional investigation of how air mail contracts had been awarded by the United States Postal Service, President Franklin D. Roosevelt cancelled all existing air mail contracts and assigned the duty of flying the mail to the Air Corps. The squadron began flying its P-12s on air mail routes, but they proved unsuitable for the work, lacking instruments to fly at night or in adverse weather. Moreover, they could only carry about 50 lbs of mail, and with the mail load, the planes were tail heavy and difficult to fly. The P-12s were withdrawn from the project within a week, although the larger observation aircraft continued to fly mail until May, when new air mail contracts were awarded.[6]

Curtiss YP-37

The P-30, along with the arrival of Curtiss YP-37s in 1938 marked a significant change in the squadron's equipment, the transition from fabric-covered biplanes to all metal monoplanes. By 1939, the squadron was flying Curtiss P-36 Hawks, which were quickly replaced by the more powerful Curtiss P-40 Warhawks. As the Air Corps expanded in 1940, the squadron moved to Mitchel Field, New York, and was located there when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred in December 1941.[1]

During World War II, the squadron flew P-40 Warhawk, P-39 Airacobra, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-38 Lightning fighters in a number of Pacific Theater campaigns. These included the defense of New Guinea and the battle for the Philippines. They moved to Fukuoka, Japan at the end of the war.[4]

F-86F-30-NA Sabre 52-4408 Itazuke Air Base, Japan. 1954

Lockheed F-80C-10-LO Shooting Star 49-689, Suwon Air Base, South Korea, 1950

When the communist forces attacked the Republic of Korea in June 1950, the 36th found itself in the fight from the beginning of the conflict. Flying F-80 Shooting Stars, the squadron attacked advancing North Korean tanks, trucks, artillery, and troops. The unit later converted back to the piston-engined F-51 Mustang, considered more suitable for operations in Korea. The 36th ended the war equipped with F-86 Sabres, flying bombing and strafing missions against enemy air fields. The 36th returned to Japan after the Korean War, operating out of Itazuke Air Base for the next 10 years.[4]

During the Vietnam War, the 36th flew combat missions into Southeast Asia from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base. 36th pilots flew F-105 Thunderchiefs, escorting rescue aircraft and suppressing anti-aircraft fire. The squadron was re-equipped with F-4 Phantom II fighters in December 1967 and stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan, with regular deployments to Kunsan Air Base beginning in March 1971. The 36th moved to Kunsan in May 1971, establishing a forward operating location at Osan Air Base. The squadron permanently moved to Osan and was assigned to the 51st Composite Wing (Tactical) in September 1974.[4]

The 36th ushered in the era of the "Fighting Falcon" on 10 August 1988, when squadron commander Lieutenant Colonel Al Spitzer landed the first F-16 Fighting Falcon at Osan. The squadron's combat capabilities were transformed in 1990 when the squadron converted to the Block 40 Low Altitude Navigational and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) F-16C/D. The addition of LANTIRN gave the Fiends the current ability to fly at low levels and deliver precision guided munitions during nighttime conditions. Upgrades to the Block 40 in recent years have included GBU-31 JDAM capability for all weather precision engagement. The 36th FS, more recently, have begun training with the AIM-9X Sidewinder and the AN/AAQ-33 Sniper XR Advanced Targeting Pod. Additionally, in the Spring of 2012 the Fiends acquired the AN/ASQ-213 HARM Targeting System, becoming the first Block 40 SEAD squadron in the United States Air Force.[4]

• Unknown, 12 June – c. 24 September 1917
• Third Aviation Instruction Center, c. 24 September 1917
• École de Tirage Aérienne, c. 21 February 1918
• Aerial Gunnery School, c. 5 November 1918 – c. 16 February 1919
• Unknown, – 7 February April 1919
• 2d Bombardment Wing, 2 October 1930 (attached to 1st Pursuit Group)
• 8th Pursuit Group, 1 April 1931 (attached to 1st Pursuit Group)
• 18th Pursuit Group, 30 June 1931 (attached to 1st Pursuit Group)
• 8th Pursuit Group (later 8th Fighter Group, 8th Fighter-Bomber Group), 15 June 1932 (attached to 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing after 1 February 1957)
• 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing (later 8th Tactical Fighter Wing), 1 October 1957 (attached to 41st Air Division after 13 May 1964)[note 6]
• 41st Air Division, 18 June 1964 (attached to 2d Air Division, 9 August – 5 October 1964, 6 March – 4 May 1965)
• 6441st Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 April 1965 (attached to 2d Air Division, 26 August – 28 October 1965)
• 41st Air Division, 15 November 1966
• 347th Tactical Fighter Wing, 15 January 1968
• 3d Tactical Fighter Wing, 15 May 1971
• 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, 16 September 1974
• 51st Composite Wing (later 51st Tactical Fighter Wing), 30 September 1974
• 51st Fighter Group (later 51st Operations Group), 1 October 1990 – present[1]

[1]

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

• Clay, Steven E. (2011). US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 (PDF). Vol. 3 The Services: Air Service, Engineers, and Special Troops 1919–1941. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-98419-014-0. LCCN 2010022326. OCLC 637712205. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
• Correll, John T. (2008). "The Air Mail Fiasco" (PDF). Air Force Magazine. Vol. 91, no. 3. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
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• 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. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
• 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.