Military unit From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 541st Bombardment Squadron is the former name of the 541st Special Operations Squadron, an inactive United States Air Force (USAF) unit. During World War II the 541st served as a heavy bomber training unit until inactivated in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces training units. The squadron was redesignated in 1985, when it was consolidated with two other units.
Quick Facts 541st Bombardment Squadron (later 541st Special Operations Squadron), Active ...
541st Bombardment Squadron (later 541st Special Operations Squadron)
AC-119 Stinger as flown by the 1st Tactical Airlift Training Squadron
The first of these was the 161st Liaison Squadron which served as a light aerial reconnaissance and support unit in the United States and Panama from 1944 through 1949. The second was the 1st Tactical Airlift Training Squadron, a reserve unit that trained USAF and allied countries on the Fairchild AC-119 Stinger gunship from 1968 through 1973. The squadron has not been active since consolidation.
In October 1943, the squadron moved to Peterson Field, Colorado, where it flew Consolidated B-24 Liberator and changed its mission to become a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). Like OTUs, RTUs were oversized units, but their mission was to train individual aircrews.[3] However, the AAF was finding that standard military units like the 541st, which were 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, which was manned and equipped for the specific training mission.[4] As a result, the 383d Group, its elements and supporting units were inactivated or disbanded[1][2] and replaced by the 214th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training School, Heavy), which was simultaneously organized at Peterson.
Liaison operations
The second predecessor of the squadron was the 161st Liaison Squadron, which was activated at Statesboro Army Air Field, Georgia on 15 May 1944. The squadron served at a number of stations, mostly in the southern United States until it moved to the Panama Canal Zone in September 1946. It served in Panama until inactivating in June 1949, as President Truman’s reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force,[5][6]
AC-119 training
The third predecessor of the squadron was formed as the 1st Combat Crew Training Squadron at Clinton County Air Force Base, Ohio on 1 July 1968, when it absorbed the personnel and equipment of the Combat Crew Training Squadron, Provisional, 302d, which had been organized on 1 April 1968 to provide aircrew training on the Fairchild AC-119 Stinger gunship. The provisional squadron remained active until 1 August, but only as a paper unit.[7] Although a reserve unit, the squadron provided training for regular Air Force crews, as well as for members of the military of South Vietnam, Ethiopia, Jordan, and Morocco. The squadron was renamed the 1st Tactical Airlift Training Squadron in 1970 and continued the training mission until inactivated in March 1973.[8]
541st Bombardment Squadron
Constituted as 541st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 October 1942
Consolidated with 161st Liaison Squadron and 541st Bombardment Squadron as 541st Special Operations Squadron on 19 September 1985[9]
541st Special Operations Squadron
1st Tactical Airlift Training Squadron, 161st Liaison Squadron and 541st Bombardment Squadron consolidated as 541st Special Operations Squadron on 19 September 1985 (not active)[9]
Assignments
383d Bombardment Group, 3 November 1942 – 1 April 1944
Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 September 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons
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. LCCN48003657. OCLC704158. Retrieved 17 December 2016.