965th Airborne Air Control Squadron

The 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron provides worldwide response with the Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft. The

squadron provides mission-ready aircrews to support the E-3's all-altitude "deep look" surveillance, early warning, control and airborne management roles in a variety of tactical, strategic and special missions.{{cite web|url= http://www.552acw.acc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=8678 |author=No byline|title=Library: Factsheet 552nd Operations Group|date=1 June 2007|publisher=552nd Air Control Wing Public Affairs|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130217003708/http://www.552acw.acc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=8678 |archive-date=February 17, 2013|access-date=May 2, 2023}}

File:Color Photographed B-17E in Flight.jpg

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.Maurer, Combat Units, p. 283 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 was patterned after the unit training system of the Royal Air Force. The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups". It assumed responsibility for their training and oversaw their expansion with graduates of Army Air Forces Training Command schools to become effective combat units.Craven & Cate, Introduction, p. xxxviGoss, p. 74Greer, p. 601 Phase I training concentrated on individual training in crewmember specialties. Phase II training emphasized the coordination for the crew to act as a team. The final phase concentrated on operation as a unit.Greer, p. 606

In August 1943, the unit's mission changed to being a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). By This time most combat units had been activated and many of them had deployed overseas. With the exception of special programs, like forming Boeing B-29 Superfortress units, training "fillers" (individual pilots or aircrews) for existing units became more important than unit training.Goss, pp. 74-75 Like OTUs, RTUs were oversized units. Their mission, however was to train individual pilots or aircrews.

In November 1943, the 595th moved to Drew Field, Florida, where it would remain for the duration of its active service. 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.Goss, p. 75 The 592d was inactivated on 1 May 1944 at Drew Field, Florida. Its personnel and equipment became part of the 326th AAF Base Unit.See Mueller, p. 351 (simultaneous inactivation of 396th Bombardment Group units and organization of 326th Base Unit).

File:Noorduyn UC-64 Norseman 43-5116 (15518169114).jpg

File:L-5 Sentinel Wings Over Wine Country 2007.JPG

The 165th Liaison Squadron was activated at Asansol, India as part of the 1st Air Commando Group in September 1944. It was manned almost entirely by enlisted pilots.{{cite web |url= https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196643/liaison-pilots/ |author=No byline|title=Liaison Pilots|date=|publisher=National Museum of the United States Air Force|access-date=May 1, 2023}} The following month it moved to Burma, where, along with other airlift elements of the 1st Air Commando Group, it operated under Eastern Air Command's Combat Cargo Task Force.Taylor, p.97 It flew evacuation missions and provided light transport services for ground forces in Burma from various locations until 23 April 1945. Following the fall of Rangoon, It returned to Asansol, where it came under the control of Northern Combat Area Command, and remained there until October, when it returned to the United States. It was inactivated two days after its arrival at the New York Port of Embarkation on 1 November 1945.

File:Lockheed EC-121D Thailand 1972.jpg

The 965th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron was activated in August 1955 at McClellan Air Force Base, California as the third Lockheed RC-121 Warning Star{{efn|In 1963, the Department of Defense standardized aircraft designations and the Air Force's RC-121s and the Navy' WVs both became EC-121s.}} squadron of the 552d Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing. Squadron operations were mostly devoted to training with the new systems, with the unit becoming an active part of Air Defense Command (ADC)'s radar network in March 1956.LaFayette & Newberry, p. 1 The squadron flew patrols off the Pacific coast that extended the air defense radar coverage beyond the range of ground-based radar sites. late in 1958, the squadron also began flying gap filler missions when ground radar sites were inoperative. After 1957, it deployed to remote parts of the Pacific to track impact points of test launches of ballistic missiles over the Pacific ranges.Ravenstein, pp. 286-287

At the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis, ADC had a single air defense orbit established in Florida, supported by the six RC-121s of the 966th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron.LaFayette & Newberry, p. 2 On 17 October 1962, the Joint Chiefs of Staff directed ADC to increase its presence at McCoy Air Force Base, Florida to twelve EC-121s.NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis p. 6 Crews and planes from the squadron were included in this augmentation of air defense forces, with the first plane arriving at McCoy from McClellan on 19 October. This augmentation permitted the establishment of two additional orbits to detect potential air action by Cuba.NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis p. 11{{efn|Four United States Navy radar-equipped destroyers were also added to the air defense network. NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis p. 11.}} The additional aircraft at McCoy were released from their commitment on 3 December 1962, and returned to their home station by 5 December.NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis p. 29

Starting in April 1965, the squadron began operating in Southeast Asia as part of the Big Eye Task Force (later renamed College Eye). College Eye operations continued until the squadron was inactivated. Initially, two orbits were maintained over the Gulf of Tonkin to support Operation Rolling Thunder from Tan Son Nhut Airport, near Saigon. From these orbits, Task Force aircraft could alert strike aircraft when enemy MiGs were launched. Squadron members rotated to the College Eye Task force on four month long temporary duty assignments. Operations later continued from bases in Thailand. A third orbit over Laos was added in October 1966, followed by reduction of the Gulf of Tonkin flights to a single orbit. This station also controlled strikes during Operation Barrel Roll.{{cite web |url= https://www.westin553.net/batcatPDF/CHECO_CollegeEyes.pdf |author=Pacific Air Forces Directorate of Tactical Evaluation|title=College Eye Extract from Project CHECO (Contemporary Historical Evaluation of Combat Operations) Report|date=|publisher=|access-date=May 2, 2023}} (Secret, Declassified) Although the squadron did not deploy as a unit to Southeast Asia, its support of these actions earned it an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device and a Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm

The airborne radar mission in the United States began to be reduced at the end of 1969,Ravenstein, pp. 283-284 (inactivation of 551st Wing) and the 552nd Wing's squadrons assumed the remaining Atlantic coastal and Iceland missions. The squadron was inactivated on 30 June 1971 as these reductions continued.

The 965th was redesignated the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron and reactivated at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma on 1 July 1978 to fly the Boeing E-3 Sentry. The squadron became non-operational in September 1979, although it remained on the active list. It resumed operations at the start of 1984. Upon resumption of operations, it supported deployments to ELF One in Southwest Asia, to monitor the war between Iraq and Iran until April 1989.LaFayette & Newberry, p. 5 In September 1985, the 595th Bombardment Squadron and the 165th Liaison Squadron were consolidated with the squadron. In August 1989, the squadron began patrolling the southern border of the United States in the war against drugs. In 1990, counter drug operations expanded to include regular fights from Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico.LaFayette & Newberry, p. 6

It flew combat support missions for Operation Just Cause over Panama from 20 December 1989 to 24 January 1990. These missions included providing command and control for tanker aircraft refueling transports transporting troops to Panama. Since the refueling area was near Cuban airspace, it also included control of F-15 aircraft providing cover for the transports.Allen, p. 174

Elements of the 552nd Wing began to deploy in support of Operation Desert Shield as early as 10 August 1990. They also provided airborne control of the initial strikes in Iraq on 17 January and continued support of Operation Proven Force until 6 March 1991. In late May 1992, the 522nd Wing reorganized under the Objective Wing plan.LaFayette & Newberry, p. 7 The 965th and other operational elements of the wing were reassigned to the newly-formed 552nd Operations Group. In July 1994, the squadron name was shortened to the 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron.

The squadron supported Operations Provide Comfort and Operation Southern Watch with deployed crews and aircraft. It has been the major force provider for deployments and exercises, with its personnel and planes forming the 965th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron. Among others, these expeditionary units have served in 1999 at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey; at RAF Waddington, England in 2003; and at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska (Exercise Cope Thunder 06-1)Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, October 2005, Maxwell AFB, AL

; 595th Bombardment Squadron

• Constituted as the 595th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 29 January 1943

: Activated on 16 February 1943

: Inactivated on 1 May 1944

: Consolidated with the 165th Liaison Squadron and the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron as the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron on 19 September 1985

; 165th Liaison Squadron

• Constituted as the 165th Liaison Squadron (Commando) on 9 August 1944

: Activated on 3 September 1944

: Inactivated on 3 Nov 1945

: Consolidated with the 595th Bombardment Squadron and the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron as the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron on 19 September 1985

; 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron

• Constituted as the 965th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron on 28 April 1955

: Activated on 8 August 1955

: Inactivated on 30 June 1971

• Redesignated 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron on 28 February 1978

: Activated on 1 July 1978

: Consolidated with the 595th Bombardment Squadron and the 165th Liaison Squadron on 19 September 1985

: Redesignated 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron on 1 July 1994

• 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 552d Airborne Warning and Control Division, 552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing, 552d Air Control Wing), 1 July 1978
• 552d Operations Group, 29 May 1992 – present

{{col-begin}}

{{col-break}}

• Mountain Home Army Air Field, Idaho, 16 February 1943
• Moses Lake Army Air Base, Washington, 10 April 1943
• Drew Field, Florida, 5 Nov 1943 – 1 May 1944
• Asansol, India, 3 September 1944
• Tamu, Burma, 14 October 1944
• Yazagyo, Burma, 6 November 1944
• Asansol, India, 27 November 1944
• Kawlin, Burma, 28 December 1944 (detachment operated from Inbaung, Burma, 3–22 January 1945)

{{col-break}}

• Ye-U, Burma, 10 January 1945
• Asansol, India, 21 February 1945
• Shwebo, Burma, 22 January 1945
• Sinthe, Burma, 14 March 1945
• Asansol, India, 25 April–6 October 1945
• Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, 1–3 November 1945
• McClellan Air Force Base, California, 8 August 1955 – 30 June 1971
• Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, 1 Jul 1978 – present)

{{col-end}}

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (1943–1944)
• Noorduyn C-64 Norseman (1944–1945)
• Stinson L-5 Sentinel (1944–1945)
• Lockheed RC-121 (later EC-121) Constellation (1955–1971)
• Boeing E-3 Sentry (1978–1979, 1984–present)

{{unit awards table

|award_image1=AF OUA w/ v

|award_name1=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device

|award_date1=1 July 1969–30 June 1970

|award_notes1=965th Airborne Early Warning & Control Squadron

|award_image2=AF OUA w/ v

|award_name2=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device

|award_date2=1 June 2002–31 May 2003

|award_notes2=965th Airborne Air Control Squadron

|award_image3=AF MUA

|award_name3=Air Force Meritorious Unit Award

|award_date3=1 June 2006–31 May 2007

|award_notes3=965th Airborne Air Control Squadron

|award_image4=AF OUA

|award_name4=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

|award_date4=1 July 1961–30 June 1963

|award_notes4=965th Airborne Early Warning & Control Squadron

|award_image5=AF OUA

|award_name5=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

|award_date5=15 Apr 1965–1 Jul 1966

|award_notes5=965th Airborne Early Warning & Control Squadron

|award_image6=AF OUA

|award_name6=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

|award_date6=2 July 1966–1 July 1968

|award_notes6=965th Airborne Early Warning & Control Squadron

|award_image7=AF OUA

|award_name7=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

|award_date7=1 July 1970–30 June 1971

|award_image8=AF OUA

|award_name8=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

|award_date8=1 January 1984–30 June 1984

|award_notes8=965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron

|award_image9=AF OUA

|award_name9=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

|award_date9=1 May 1987–30 April 1989

|award_notes9=965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron

|award_image10=AF OUA

|award_name10=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

|award_date10=1 December 1989–1 December 1991

|award_notes10=965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron

|award_image11=AF OUA

|award_name11=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

|award_date11=1 June 2003-31 May 2004

|award_notes11=965th Airborne Air Control Squadron

|award_image12=AF OUA

|award_name12=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

|award_date12=1 June 2007-31 May 2008

|award_notes12=965th Airborne Air Control Squadron

|award_image13=AF OUA

|award_name13=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

|award_date13=1 June 2011-31 May 2012

|award_notes13=965th Airborne Air Control Squadron

|award_image14=AF OUA

|award_name14=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

|award_date14=1 June 2012-31 May 2013

|award_notes14=965th Airborne Air Control Squadron

|award_image15=AF OUA

|award_name15=Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

|award_date15=1 June 2013-31 May 2014

|award_notes15=965th Airborne Air Control Squadron

|award_image16= VGC

|award_name16=Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm

|award_date16=1 April 1966–28 June 1971

|award_notes16=965th Airborne Early Warning & Control Squadron

}}

; Explanatory notes

{{Notelist}}

; Citations

{{Reflist}}

{{AFHRA}}

• {{cite book|last=Allen|first=William J.|editor=Warnock, A. Timothy|title=Short of War: Major USAF Contingency Operations 1947-1997|url= https://media.defense.gov/2010/Oct/27/2001330212/-1/-1/0/AFD-101027-044.pdf |access-date=December 17, 2015|year=2000|publisher=Air University Press|location=Maxwell AFB, AL|isbn=978-0-16050411-2|chapter=Intervention in Panama: Operation Just Cause}}
• {{cite book|editor=Craven, Wesley F |editor2=Cate, James L|url=http://media.defense.gov/2010/Nov/05/2001329891/-1/-1/0/AFD-101105-019.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220184358/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Nov/05/2001329891/-1/-1/0/AFD-101105-019.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 December 2016|access-date=17 December 2016 |title=The Army Air Forces in World War II|volume=VI, Men & Planes|year=1955|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, IL|oclc=704158| lccn=48003657}}
• : {{cite book|last=Goss|first=William A.|editor=Craven, Wesley F. |editor2=Cate, James L. |url= https://media.defense.gov/2010/Nov/05/2001329890/-1/-1/0/AFD-101105-012.pdf|access-date=17 December 2016 |title=The Army Air Forces in World War II|volume=VI, Men & Planes|year=1955|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, IL|oclc=704158| lccn=48003657|chapter=The Organization and its Responsibilities, Chapter 2 The AAF}}
• {{cite book|last=Endicott|first=Judy G.|title=Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995 and USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995|url= http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/virtual_disk_library/index.cgi/4908883/FID1533/wings_cd.pdf |access-date=2 July 2014|year=1998 |series= Air Force History and Museums Program|publisher= Office of Air Force History|location= Washington, DC |asin= B000113MB2}}
• {{cite web |url= https://www.552acw.acc.af.mil/Portals/109/Docs/AFD-070517-087.pdf |last1=LaFayette|first1=MSG Kenneth K.|last2=Newberry|first2=J. Scott|title=Operational History of the 552d Air Control Wing 1955-2000|date=|publisher=552d Air Control Wing History Office|access-date=May 2, 2023}}
• {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Air Force Combat Units of World War II|orig-year= 1961|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180735/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf|url-status= dead|archive-date= 20 December 2016|access-date= 17 December 2016|edition=reprint|year=1983|publisher= Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-912799-02-1|lccn=61060979}}
• {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II|orig-year=1969|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf |archive-url= https://archive.today/20230820144531/https://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 20 August 2023 |edition= reprint|access-date= 17 December 2016|year=1982|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-405-12194-6|oclc=72556|lccn=70605402}}
• {{cite book|last=Mueller|first=Robert|title=Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982|url= https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330255/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-026.pdf |access-date=17 December 2016|year=1989|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-912799-53-6}}
• {{cite book|last=Ravenstein|first=Charles A.|title=Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977|url=https://archive.org/details/airforcecombatwi0000rave|access-date=17 December 2016|year=1984|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-912799-12-9|url-access=registration}}
• {{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Studies/51-100/AFD-090601-072.pdf |last1=Taylor|first1=Joe G.|title=Air Supply in the Burma Campaigns, USAF Historical Study No. 75|date=April 1957|publisher=Research Studies Institute, USAF Historical Division, Air University |access-date=May 1, 2023}}
• NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Historical Reference Paper No. 8, Directorate of Command History Continental Air Defense Command, Ent AFB, CO , 1 Feb 63 (Top Secret NOFORN declassified 9 March 1996)

• {{cite web |url= https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196406/1941-1945-world-war-ii-sergeant-pilots/ |author=No byline|title=1941-1945: World War II Sergeant Pilots|date=|publisher=National Museum of the United States Air Force|access-date=May 1, 2023}}

{{USAF Air Combat Command}}

{{Aerospace Defense Command|state=collapsed}}

{{USAAF 10th Air Force World War II}}

{{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II}}

{{US Air Force navbox}}

Category:Military units and formations in Oklahoma

965

Category:1955 establishments in Oklahoma