131st Fighter Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 131st Fighter Squadron flies the F-15C Eagle. It is a unit of the Massachusetts Air National Guard
. Its parent unit is the 104th Fighter Wing
.
Air National Guard fighter squadron since 1947.
Massachusetts Air National Guard
The Massachusetts Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is, along with the Massachusetts Army National Guard, an element of the Massachusetts National Guard...
. Its parent unit is the 104th Fighter Wing
104th Fighter Wing
The United States Air Force's 104th Fighter Wing is an Air National Guard fighter unit located at Barnes Airport, Massachusetts.-Mission:To maintain highly trained, well equipped, and motivated military forces in order to provide combat ready F-15C Eagles aircraft and support elements in response...
.
History
Patrols over the Pacific, September 1942-July 1943. Replacement training, July 1943-June 1944. Combat in Western Pacific, 20 July 1944-14 August 1945.Air National Guard fighter squadron since 1947.
Lineage
- Constituted 333d Fighter Squadron on 18 August 1942
- Activated on 23 August 1942
- Inactivated on 12 January 1946
- Redesignated 131st Fighter Squadron, and allotted to Massachusetts ANG, on 24 May 1946
- Redesignated 131st Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24 May 1946
- Redesignated 131st Fighter Squadron, 1 June 1992
Assignments
- 18th Fighter Group, 23 August 1942
- 318th Fighter Group318th Fighter GroupThe 318th Fighter Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. It served primarily in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II.-History:...
, 11 January 1943-12 January 1946 - 104th Tactical Fighter Group (later Group), 14 May 1946
Stations
- Bellows Army Airfield, Hawaii Territory, 23 August 1942
- Canton Army Airfield, Phoenix IslandsPhoenix IslandsThe Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs, lying in the central Pacific Ocean east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. They are a part of the Republic of Kiribati. During the late 1930s they became the site of the last attempted colonial...
, 11 September 1942 - Hilo Army Airfield, Hawaii Territory, 6 April 1943
- Bellows Army Airfield, Hawaii Territory, 28 July 1943
- East FieldEast Field (Saipan)East Field is a former World War II airfield on Saipan in the Mariana Islands.-History:Saipan had been occupied by the Japanese since World War I, and by mid-1944, the Americans had advanced inside the Japanese ring of defense in the Pacific Theater...
, SaipanSaipanSaipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, Mariana IslandsMariana IslandsThe Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, 6 July 1944 - Ie Shima AirfieldIe Shima Airfieldis a gunnery and training facility, managed by the United States Marine Corps and a former World War II airfield complex on Ie Shima, an island located off the northwest coast of Okinawa Island in the East China Sea...
, Ryukyu IslandsRyukyu IslandsThe , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
, 30 April 1945
- Naha Airfield, Okinawa, November-December 1945
- Fort LewisFort LewisJoint Base Lewis-McChord is a United States military facility located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Joint Base Garrison, Joint Base Lewis-McChord....
, Washington, 11–12 January 1946. - Barnes Municipal AirportBarnes Municipal AirportBarnes Municipal Airport , also known as Westfield-Barnes Airport, is a tower-controlled joint civil-military public airport located three miles north of the central business district of Westfield, a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. This airport is owned by City of Westfield...
, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, 14 May 1946–present
- Deployed to: Phalsbourg-Bourscheid Air BasePhalsbourg-Bourscheid Air BasePhalsbourg-Bourscheid Air Base is a former United States Air Force base in France. It is located in the Moselle département, about 2 miles west of the town of Phalsbourg, on the north side of the Route nationale 4 Highway adjacent to the village Saint-Jean-Kourtzerode; 29 miles northwest of...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, 1 October 1961-20 August 1962
Deployments
- Operation Iraqi Freedom (Unknown location), various locations in Southwest Asia (2003)
- Al Jaber Air Base, KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, Locations in Southwest Asia (2000) - Aviano Air BaseAviano Air BaseAviano Air Base is a NATO Air Base under U.S. Air Force administration in northeastern Italy, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. It is located in Aviano municipality, at the foot of the Carnic Pre-Alps, or Southern Carnic Alps, about 15 kilometers from Pordenone.-Units:Aviano is hosted by the...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(1995) - Barnes Municipal AirportBarnes Municipal AirportBarnes Municipal Airport , also known as Westfield-Barnes Airport, is a tower-controlled joint civil-military public airport located three miles north of the central business district of Westfield, a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. This airport is owned by City of Westfield...
, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
(1982–1995) - Yenisehir AirbaseYenisehir AirportYenişehir Airport is an airport in the city of Yenişehir in the Bursa Province of Turkey.-Airlines and destinations:...
, TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
(1982)
Aircraft
- P-39 Aircobra, 1942–1944
- P-47 ThunderboltP-47 ThunderboltRepublic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
, 1944–1945 - P-38 LightningP-38 LightningThe Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
, 1944–1945 - P/F-47D Thunderbolt, 1947–1951
- F-51D Mustang, 1951–1954
- F-94A Starfire, 1954–1957
- F-86H Sabre, 1957–1965
- F-84F ThunderstreakF-84F ThunderstreakThe Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American-built swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version....
, 1965–1971 - F-100D Super Sabre, 1971–1979
- A-10 Thunderbolt IIA-10 Thunderbolt IIThe Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
, 1979–2007 - F-15C Eagle, 2007–present