491st Attack Squadron

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491st Attack Squadron
Air Education and Training Command.svg
138th Attack Squadron - General Atomics MQ-9B Reaper 09-4072.jpg
MQ-9 Reaper at Hancock Field ANGB [a]
Active1917–1919; 1925–1937; 1942–1945; 1947–1949; 1958–1961; 2019–present
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
BranchFlag of the United States Air Force.svg  United States Air Force
Role attack training
Part of Air Education and Training Command
Garrison/HQ Hancock Field ANGB
Nickname(s)Bomb Jockeys(1943) [1] Ringers(1944-present) [2]
Engagements World War I
China-Burma-India Theater
Decorations Distinguished Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Commanders
Current
commander		Lt Col Matthew Scardaci [3]
Insignia
491st Attack Squadron emblem [b] [4] 491 Attack Sq emblem.png
First 491st Bombardment Squadron emblem [c] 491 Bombardment Sq emblem.png

The 491st Attack Squadron is an active United States Air Force regular associate unit, stationed at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, where it was activated in April 2019. It is assigned to the 49th Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico and operates General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles.

Contents

The first predecessor of the squadron was organized during World War I as the 79th Aero Squadron. It deployed to France in 1917, where it was redesignated the 491st Aero Squadron. It served as a construction unit before returning to the United States, where it was demobilized in 1919.

The squadron's second predecessor is the 491st Bombardment Squadron, an Organized Reserve. It was activated in 1925 at Sand Point Airport, Washington, but was only nominally manned. The first two predecessor squadrons were consolidated in 1936, but the consolidated unit was inactivated the following year and was disbanded in May 1942.

The third predecessor of the unit is the 491st Bombardment Squadron (Medium), which was constituted and activated in India during World War II. It participated in combat in the China-Burma-India Theater until the end of the war, where it earned a Distinguished Unit Citation. Following V-J Day, it returned to the United States and was inactivated.

This squadron was activated in the reserve in 1947, but was discontinued when Continental Air Command reduced the number of its units due to reduced defense expenditures in 1949. In 1958, it was consolidated with the earlier squadrons and activated at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas when Strategic Air Command expanded its Boeing B-47 Stratojet wings to four squadrons. The squadron was inactivated at Dyess in 1961. In 2019, it was redesignated and activated with its current mission.

Mission

The squadron, in association with the 108th Attack Squadron of the New York Air National Guard, trains aircrew for the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle, including operations, maintenance, support and medical personnel. [2]

History

World War I

Members of the 491st Aero Squadron 491st Aero Squadron - Group Photo 2.jpg
Members of the 491st Aero Squadron

The first predecessor of the squadron was organized as the 79th Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas in August 1917. It deployed to the Aviation Concentration Center in Garden City, New York in November for shipment to France. It arrived in France the following month and moved to Aulnat, near Clermont-Ferrand, where it was redesignated the 491st Aero Squadron (Construction). The 491st constructed and maintained facilities from February until December 1918, when it moved to St. Nazaire to prepare for transfer back to the United States. It arrived in the United States in January 1919 and was demobilized at the end of the month. It was reconstituted in December 1936 and consolidated with the 491st Bombardment Squadron. [4] [5]

Organized Reserves

The first 491st Bombardment Squadron was authorized in the Organized Reserves in March 1924. It was organized at Sand Point Airport, Washington in the Ninth Corps Area the following January and assigned to the 349th Bombardment Group. The squadron was only nominally manned before it was inactivated in the spring of 1937. [5] It was disbanded in May 1942. In August 1958 it was reconstituted and consolidated with the 491st Bombardment Squadron, Medium. [4]

World War II

341st Bombardment Group B-25 Mitchell North American B-25C-15 Mitchell 42-32425 341BG 491 BS.jpg
341st Bombardment Group B-25 Mitchell

The second 491st Bombardment Squadron was activated at Camp Malir, India (now Pakistan) on 15 September 1942. [4] The squadron drew its initial cadre from the 11th Bombardment Squadron. [6] The 11th had been part of the 7th Bombardment Group, which had commanded a mixture of medium and heavy bombers in India. The 7th Group's two medium bomber squadrons were combined with the new 491st and 490th Bombardment Squadrons to form the 341st Bombardment Group, while the heavies remained with the 7th Group. [7]

The squadron took some time to equip with North American B-25 Mitchells and was still without its own planes when India Air Task Force formed in October 1942, [8] operating as an element of the 22nd Bombardment Squadron. [9] The air echelon did not arrive at Chakulia Airfield, until January 1943. [4] The squadron began combat operations at Chakulia, with the 341st Group flying its first mission on 10 January 1943. [10]

The squadron flew missions against Japanese troop facilities throughout Burma and shipping in the Bay of Bengal. The 491st operated from Chakulia and from forward staging bases. In July and August of 1943 a considerable part of the squadron's ground personnel served with a training unit of Air Transport Command at Gaya Airport, India, while the squadron managed to operate through the monsoon season with only a skeleton ground force. [9]

Plans to move the squadron to China late in 1943 caused the 491st to cut back manning to between half and two-thirds of the personnel that a normal medium bomber squadron would have. Aircraft parts, gasoline and ammunition were given priority for space on Air Transport Command transports flying the Hump. Only a minimum number of men could be transported over the Himalayan range. Security and other support services were provided by Republic of China Army personnel once the squadron arrived at Yangkai Airfield, China in January 1944. [9]

From February 1944 until V-J Day the squadron carried out missions over China, French Indochina, Thailand and Burma, flying some missions to targets as distant as New Guinea and the South China Sea. During 1944. squadron detachments also operated from Kweilin Airfield and Liuchow Airfield, China. The squadron also used a technique developed by the 490th Squadron, called "glip" (for glide-skip) bombing to attack bridges, particularly rail bridges in French Indochina. [11] Its last combat mission was an attack on the Vinh, French Indochina (now Vietnam) railyards, although it later dropped leaflets near Liuchow, China. [9]

In July 1945, squadron aircrews and maintenance personnel began transition training to the Douglas A-26 Invader at Fenny Airfield, India (now Bangla Desh). [6] However, the war ended before the unit could convert to the new bomber, and they were ferried to A-26 units in Europe. [11] The squadron remained in China until September 1945. It returned to the United States, where it was inactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, the Port of Embarkation, on 2 November 1945. [4]

Air Force reserve

The squadron was reactivated in June 1947 as a reserve unit at Bradley Field, Connecticut, where it was assigned to the 341st Bombardment Group, located at Westover Field, Massachusetts. [4] [12] It was not equipped with operational aircraft, but flew North American AT-6 Texan and Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan trainer aircraft. [13] Its training was supervised by the 108th AAF Base Unit (later 108th AF Base Unit, 2227th Air Force Reserve Training Center) of Air Defense Command (ADC). [14] In July 1948 Continental Air Command assumed responsibility for managing reserve and Air National Guard units from ADC. [15] President Truman’s reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force, [16] and the 491st was inactivated in June 1949. [4]

Strategic bomber operations

SAC B-47 Stratojets Strategic Air Command B-47 Stratojets - 020903-o-9999r-001.jpg
SAC B-47 Stratojets

Starting in 1958, Strategic Air Command's Boeing B-47 Stratojet wings of began to assume an alert posture at their home bases, reducing the amount of time spent on alert at overseas bases. The SAC alert cycle divided itself into four parts: planning, flying, alert and rest to meet General Thomas S. Power’s initial goal to maintain one third of SAC's planes on fifteen minute ground alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. [17] To implement this new system, B-47 wings reorganized from three to four squadrons. [17] [18]

The World War II squadron was consolidated with the first 491st Bombardment Squadron and activated on 1 November 1958 at Dyess Air Force Base as the fourth B-47 squadron of the 341st Bombardment Wing. The squadron trained in strategic bombardment operations with the B-47 and participated in SAC exercises and operations. [19] In April 1961, the squadron began drawing down in preparation for inactivation and was inactivated on 25 June 1961, [4] transferring its aircraft to other SAC wings. [20] [21]

Unmanned aerial vehicle operation

The squadron was redesignated the 491st Attack Squadron and activated at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, New York in April 2019. Its administrative parent is the 49th Operations Group, located at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, but it operates in association with the Air National Guard's 108th Attack Squadron. [4] Its addition at Hancock permitted an increase in the number of MQ-9 crews trained there from 45 to up to 85 per year. [2] The squadron' location at Hancock Field permits MQ-9 crews to train in harsher weather conditions and at a location where its operations need to be synchronized with civilian flights on the runway it shares with Syracuse Hancock International Airport. [22]

Lineage

491st Aero Squadron

Redesignated 491st Aero Squadron (Construction) on 1 February 1918 [5]

491st Bombardment Squadron

Activated in January 1925
Inactivated on 2 March 1937 [5]

491st Attack Squadron

Activated on 15 September 1942
Inactivated on 2 November 1945
Activated in the reserve on 5 June 1947
Inactivated on 27 June 1949
Activated on 1 November 1958
Discontinued and inactivated on 25 June 1961
Activated on 15 April 2019 [4]

Assignments

Stations

  • Kelly Field, Texas, 15 August 1917
  • Garden City, New York, New York, 3–22 November 1917
  • Aulnat, France, 18 December 1917
  • St. Nazaire, France, c. 30 December 1918 – c. 12 January 1919
  • Garden City, New York, c. 23–31 January 1919
  • Sand Point Airport, Washington, January 1925 – 2 March 1937 [5]
  • Camp Malir, India, 15 September 1942
  • Chakulia Airfield, India, 5 January 1943 (detachment of ground personnel at Gaya, India, 20 July – 10 September 1943)
  • Yangkai Airfield, China, 10 January 1944 – 13 September 1945 (detachments operated from Kweilin Airfield and Liuchow Airfield, China, 13 June – 10 July 1944 and from and Liuchow, 29 August – 2 November 1944)
  • Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, 1 November 1945 – 2 November 1945
  • Bradley Field, Connecticut, 5 June 1947 – 27 June 1949
  • Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, 1 November 1958 – 25 June 1961
  • Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, New York, 15 April 2019 – present [4]

Aircraft

Awards and campaigns

Award streamerAwardDatesNotes
Streamer PUC Army.PNG Distinguished Unit Citation 11 December 1944–12 March 1945491st Bombardment Squadron, French Indochina [4]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 2020–30 June 2022491st Attack Squadron [25]
Campaign StreamerCampaignDatesNotes
World War I War Service Streamer without inscription.png Theater of Operations18 December 1917–c. 12 January 1919491st Aero Squadron [4]
Streamer APC.PNG New Guinea24 January 1943–31 December 1944491st Bombardment Squadron [4]
Streamer APC.PNG India-Burma2 April 1943–28 January 1945491st Bombardment Squadron [4]
Streamer APC.PNG China Defensive13 April 1945–4 May 1945491st Bombardment Squadron [4]
Streamer APC.PNG China Offensive5 May 1945–2 September 1945491st Bombardment Squadron [4]

See also

References

Notes

Explanatory notes
  1. ↑ Aircraft is General Atomics MQ-9B Reaper, serial 09-4072 assigned to the 174th Attack Wing.
  2. ↑ Approved 19 October 1944. Description: On a yellow disc, border black, a medium blue sphere in base, marked with white lines of latitude and longitude, and having a black and red stake affixed at pole, being rung by white horseshoe, trimmed black, leaving white speed lines to rear toward sinister chief.
  3. ↑ This emblem was used in 1943, but apparently never received official approval. Watkins, pp. 90-91.
  4. ↑ Aircraft is identified as North American B-25C-15 Mitchell, serial 42-32425.
  5. ↑ Probably Post Headquarters, Kelly Field to November 1917, then Garden City Aviation General Supply Depot & Concentration Camp.
Citations
  1. ↑ Watkins, pp. 90-91
  2. 1 2 3 Stewart, A1C Kindra (10 May 2019). "Ringing in tradition, innovating airpower". 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ Rector, Alexander (1 July 2024). "491st Attack Squadron Conducts Change of Command Ceremon". 174th Attack Wing Public Affairs. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Musser, James M. (24 April 2019). "Factsheet 491 Attack Squadron (AETC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Clay, p. 1523
  6. 1 2 Strotman, Tony. "341st Bomb Group (M) 10th & 14th Air Forces". Army Air Forces in China Burma India. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  7. ↑ Weaver, Tenth Air Force, p. 420
  8. ↑ Weaver, Tenth Air Force, p. 432
  9. 1 2 3 4 Strotman, Tony. "491st Bombardment Squadron (M) "Ringer Squadron"". Army Air Forces in China Burma India. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  10. ↑ Strotman, Tony. "341st Bomb Group: History 1943". Army Air Forces in China Burma India. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  11. 1 2 Strotman, Tony. "341st Bomb Group: History 1945". Army Air Forces in China Burma India. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  12. ↑ Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 219-20
  13. ↑ 341st Missile Wing History, p. 3
  14. ↑ Mueller, p. 580
  15. ↑ "Abstract, Mission Project Closeup, Continental Air Command". Air Force History Index. 27 December 1961. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  16. ↑ Knaack, p. 25
  17. 1 2 Schake, p. 220 (note 43)
  18. ↑ "Abstract (Unclassified), History of the Strategic Bomber since 1945 (Top Secret, downgraded to Secret)". Air Force History Index. 1 April 1975. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  19. ↑ No byline. "Abstract, 341 Bombardment Wing History, Jan 1957". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  20. ↑ Ravenstein, pp.180-181
  21. ↑ No byline (30 April 1961). "Abstract, 341 Bombardment Wing Inactivation Progress Report". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  22. ↑ Paczkowski, SRA Nicholas (16 August 2024). "491st ATKS maintains MQ-9 Reaper aircrew, maintainers". 49th Wing Public Affairs. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  23. 1 2 Lineage in Musser, except as noted.
  24. ↑ Assignments in Musser, except as noted.
  25. ↑ "Air Force Personnel Services: Unit Awards". Air Force Personnel Center. Retrieved 22 May 2025. (search)

Bibliography

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

Weaver, Herbert (1950). "China-Burma-India, Chapter 12, Tenth Air Force". In Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II (PDF). Vol. IV: The Pacific: Guadalcanal to Saipan: August 1942 to July 1944. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN   48003657. OCLC   704158 . Retrieved 17 December 2016.
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