16th Airborne Command and Control Squadron

October 2019 April 2018 December 2012 April 2018 16th Airborne Command and Control Squadron E8C J-STARS - RIAT 2004 (2912898158).jpg 300 E-8C Joint STARS aircraft of the 461st Air Control Wing 1943–1949; 1950–1989; 1996–2023 United States 23px USA Airborne Command and Control Air Combat Command Robins Air Force Base, Georgia Light the Way European Theater of OperationsVietnam WarGlobal War on Terrorism https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/432142/16-airborne-command-and-control-squadron-acc/ Dollman TSG David Factsheet 16 Airborne Command and Control Squadron (ACC) 7 August 2017 Air Force Historical Research Agency 27 April 2018 Presidential Unit CitationAir Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" DeviceAir Force Meritorious Unit AwardAir Force Outstanding Unit AwardBelgian FourragèreVietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm 150px 16th Airborne Command and Control Squadron emblem (approved 20 October 2016) 150px 16th Airborne Command and Control Squadron emblem https://www.116acw.ang.af.mil/News/Art/ 116th Air Control Wing: News: Art 116th Air Control Wing Public Affairs 27 April 2018This emblem appears on the webpage of the 116th Air Control Wing, which was the squadron's headquarters while it was allotted to the Air National Guard. However, the Air Force Historical Research Agency indicates the 1952 emblem continues as the unit emblem, with a new rendition deleting the aerial camera and flash bomb being made in October 2016. Dollman. 150px 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron emblem (approved 31 July 1952)Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 359–360 The 16th Airborne Command and Control Squadron was a United States Air Force squadron assigned to Air Combat Command's 461st Air Control Wing, 461st Operations Group, stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. The squadron previously flew the Northrop Grumman E-8C JSTARS, providing airborne battle management, command and control, surveillance, and target acquisition with the last E-8C flight on September 8, 2022. History World War II The squadron was first activated as the 380th Fighter Squadron, part of IV Fighter Command in early 1943. It engaged in the air defense of the San Francisco area as well as acting as a Replacement Training Unit until the end of 1943. It trained as a North American P-51 Mustang operational squadron before deploying to the European Theater of Operations. In Europe it became part of IX Fighter Command in England. Operated both as a tactical fighter squadron, providing air support to Allied ground forces in France as well as an air defense squadron, attacking enemy aircraft in air-to-air combat over Europe. thumb|left|380th Fighter Squadron P-51 at Azeville Airfield The squadron was converted to a tactical reconnaissance squadron in August 1944, when it was redesignated the 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. It engaged in hazardous reconnaissance flights over enemy-controlled territory unarmed, gathering intelligence for Allied commanders until the end of combat in Europe, May 1945. The unit advanced eastward across France using advanced landing grounds, then into the Low Countries and Occupied Germany. The squadron remained in Germany as part of the occupation forces, returning to Langley Field, Virginia in June 1947. The unit remained assigned to Tactical Air Command as a reconnaissance squadron. The squadron was inactivated in 1949. Cold War In 1950 the squadron was activated once again at Langley, now designated the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron.The renumbering was required because the numbers 101–300 were reserved for Air National Guard units (now 101–299). AF Instruction 38-101, para. 5.3.4. When the squadron was allotted to the Air National Guard in 2002, it retained its number outside this block of numbers. It moved to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina in 1958 where it re-equipped with McDonnell RF-101C Voodoo reconnaissance aircraft. The squadron deployed to south Florida in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, flying hazardous overflights over Cuba gathering intelligence photos.http://usafunithistory.com/PDF/10-19/16%20AIRBORNE%20COMMAND%20AND%20CONTROL%20SQ.pdf 10 March 2020 16th AIRBORNE COMMAND AND CONTROL SQUADRON The unit upgraded to the McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II in 1965. It also operated a flight of Martin EB-57E Canberra electronic warfare aircraft. It added Douglas EB-66 Destroyer jamming aircraft beginning in 1971 as part of the phaseout of the Destroyer at Shaw. It was the last USAF active duty B-57 squadron, retiring the aircraft in 1976 when F-4G Phantom IIs took over its mission. thumb|left|RF-4C Phantom II of the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance SquadronAircraft is McDonnell RF-4C-34-MC Phantom II, serial 67-436. Note the NATO European camouflage schema, "SW" tail code and low visibility USAF markings. This was one of the last RF-4Cs flown by the 363d Wing before their retirement in 1989. Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System The squadron was reactivated as the 16th Airborne Command and Control Squadron in 1996 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia as an E-8 JSTARS squadron. In 2002, the JSTARS mission was transferred to the Georgia Air National Guard and the 116th Air Control Wing and the squadron became a Guard unit. Ten years later the mission returned to the regular Air Force, with Georgia Air National Guard associate units joining the mission. As a JSTARS squadron, the 16th flew over 5,030 combat sorties, totalling 51,138 combat hours, and earned 9 Headquarters Air Force Battle Management Aircrew of the Year awards.Speech by Lt Col Joseph Maruska, 16 ACCS commander, at inactivation ceremony, 16 Feb 2023. The squadron was inactivated on February 16, 2023.AirForces Monthly May 2023 Key Publishing Ltd Stamford, Lincolnshire, England 16 Lineage Constituted as the 380th Fighter Squadron (Single Engine) on 11 February 1943 Activated in March 1943 Redesignated 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on 25 August 1944 Redesignated 160th Reconnaissance Squadron, Photographic on 29 Ju1y 1946 Redesignated 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Photographic on 14 June 1948 Inactivated on 26 April 1949 Redesignated 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Night Photographic on 8 August 1950 Activated on 1 September 1950 Redesignated 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Night Photographic on 10 October 1950 Redesignated 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Night Photographic-Jet on 8 November 1955 Redesignated 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Photographic-Jet on 1 March 1965 Redesignated 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on 8 October 1966 Redesignated 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Training Squadron on 1 October 1979 Redesignated 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on 1 July 1982 Inactivated on 15 December 1989 Redesignated 16th Airborne Command and Control Squadron on 15 January 1996 Activated on 1 October 1996 Allotted to the Air National Guard on 1 October 2002 Withdrawn from the Air National Guard on 1 October 2012 (remained active) Inactivated on 16 February 202316th Airborne Command and Control Squadron flies final local sortie https://www.acc.af.mil/News/Article/3153972/16th-airborne-command-and-control-squadron-flies-final-local-sortie/https://www.acc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3153972/16th-airborne-command-and-control-squadron-flies-final-local-sortie/ 2023-02-20 Air Combat Command en-USMarch 2025 medicmedic Assignments 363d Fighter Group (later 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group), 1 March 1943 Air echelon attached to 10th Photographic Group, 24 December 1944 – 6 February 1945 10th Reconnaissance Group, 15 November 1945 Tactical Air Command, 25 June 1947 363d Reconnaissance Group (later 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group), 24 July 1947 – 26 April 1949 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 1 September 1950 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (later 363d Tactical Fighter) Wing), 8 February 1958 – 13 December 1989 93d Operations Group, 1 October 1996 116th Operations Group, 1 October 2002 461st Operations Group, 1 October 2012 – 16 February 2023 Stations 50% Hamilton Field, California, March 1943 Santa Rosa Army Air Field, California, 23 August 1943 Oakland Municipal Airport, California, 8 October-2 December 1943 RAF Keevil (AAF-471),Station number in Anderson. England, 23 December 1943 RAF Rivenhall (AAF-168), England, c. 3 February 1944 RAF Staplehurst (AAF-413), England, 14 April 1944 Maupertu Airfield (A-15),Station number in Johnson. France, c. 5 July 1944 Azeville Airfield (A-7), France, c. 22 August 1944 Montreuil Airfield (A-38), France, 9 September 1944 Sandweiler Airfield (A-97), Luxembourg, 11 October 1944 Le Culot Airfield (A-89), Belgium, 29 October 1944 Operated from Conflans Airfield (A-94), France, 24 December 1944 – 6 February 1945 Venlo Airfield (Y-55), Netherlands, 11 March 1945 50% Gutersloh Airfield (R-85), Germany, 16 April 1945 Brunswick/Waggum Airfield (R-37), Germany, 26 April 1945 AAF Station Wiesbaden, Germany, 20 May 1945 AAF Station Eschwege, Germany, 12 July 1945 AAF Station Darmstadt/Griesheim, Germany, 22 September 1945 AAF Station Fürth, Germany, 24 November 1945 Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany, 2 March 1947 Bad Kissingen Air Base, Germany, 14 June 1947 Langley Field (later Langley Air Force Base), Virginia, 25 June 1947 – 26 April 1949 Langley Ai Force Base, Virginia, 1 September 1950 Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, 8 February 1958 – 31 December 1989 Operated from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, 22 October-30 November 1962Station information in Dollman, except as noted. Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, 1 October 1996 – 16 February 2023 Aircraft 22em Bell P-39 Airacobra, 1943 North American P-51 Mustang, 1944–1945, 1946–1947 North American F-6 Mustang, 1944–1945, 1946–1947 Lockheed FP-80 Shooting Star (later Lockheed RF-80 Shooting Star), 1947–1949 Douglas RB-26 Invader, 1950–1955 Martin RB-57 Canberra, 1954–1956 Douglas RB-66 Destroyer, 1956–1965 McDonnell RF-101C Voodoo, 1958–1965 McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II, 1965–1989 Martin EB-57E Canberra, 1971–1976 Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint STARS (1996–September 2022)AirForces Monthly November 2022 Key Publishing Ltd Stamford, Lincolnshire, England 20 References Notes Explanatory notes note Citations Bibliography Anderson Capt. Barry 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 http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-081010-027.pdf 1985 Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center Maxwell AFB, AL yes https://web.archive.org/web/20160123155923/http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-081010-027.pdf 23 January 2016 28 June 2017 Johnson 1st Lt. David C. U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-081010-026.pdf 1988 Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center Maxwell AFB, AL dead https://web.archive.org/web/20150929064443/http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-081010-026.pdf 29 September 2015 26 June 2017 Maurer, Maurer Air Force Combat Units of World War II 1961 http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180735/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf dead 20 December 2016 17 December 2016 reprint 1983 Office of Air Force History Washington, DC 0-912799-02-1 61060979 Maurer, Maurer Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II 1969 http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf https://archive.today/20230820144531/https://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf dead 20 August 2023 reprint 17 December 2016 1982 Office of Air Force History Washington, DC 0-405-12194-6 72556 70605402 Ravenstein Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977 https://archive.org/details/airforcecombatwi0000rave 17 December 2016 1984 Office of Air Force History Washington, DC 0-912799-12-9 registration Rogers Brian. United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978 2005 Midland Publications Hinkley, UK 1-85780-197-0 World Airpower Journal. (1992). US Air Force Air Power Directory. Aerospace Publishing: London, UK. 1-880588-01-3 https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/publication/afi38-101/afi38-101.pdf Air Force instruction 38–101, Manpower and Organization: Air Force Organization 31 January 2017 Hq United States Air Force 28 April 2018 13 December 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20221213013919/https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/publication/afi38-101/afi38-101.pdf dead Category:Military units and formations in Georgia (U.S. state) 016 Category:Squadrons of the United States Air National Guard Category:Command and control squadrons of the United States Air Force