391st Fighter Squadron

Fortune Favors the Bold...Tigers

Callsign :  BOLD TIGERS

Nato Tiger Association status : honorary member

On 24 May 1943, the United States Army constituted the 391st Fighter Squadron as part of the 366th Fighter Group.  Both organizations existed only on paper until 1 June 1943, when the 366th Fighter Group was activated at Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia.   Here the new 391st Fighter Squadron received its personnel and equipment, beginning flight training in the Republic P-47D “Thunderbolt”.

With initial training complete, the 366th Fighter Group entered the war in Europe with its arrival in England, on 10 January 1944, as part of the 9th United States Army Air Force.  First the squadron conducted theatre training, learning tactics used against the enemy from Allied pilots with combat experience.  From 14 March the P-47s of the 391st Fighter Squadron conducted fighter sweeps over occupied Europe, bombing tactical targets as well as engaging German planes in air-to-air combat.   This type of mission would continue throughout the war, which the 391st used in both air-to-ground and air-to-air roles.  The squadron, as well as the entire 366th Group, supported action leading up to the Normandy invasion and flew many sorties during D-Day operations.  As the German Army was pushed back across Europe, the 391st changed bases several times.  This allowed the fighters to penetrate behind enemy lines as the lines advanced toward Germany.  In all, the squadron had three temporary bases in France, one in Belgium, and one in Germany itself before VE-Day.  Their last combat flight took place on 3 May 1945.  After the German surrender, the squadron remained in Germany as part of the occupation forces until inactivation on 20 August 1946.

The still inactive squadron received a new designation as the 391st Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 15 November 1952, with activation of the squadron occurring on 1 January 1953.  The activation took place with the squadron serving as a component of the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing, part of the newly activated  366th Fighter-Bomber Group.  In the late 1950s, periodic rotations to Europe were added to this mission.   The unit received a new designation as the 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 July 1958, with the group re-designated the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing.  Less than a year later, on 1 April 1959, the wing and its components again became inactivated.  During this period the 391st flew the North American F-51” Mustang”, North American F-86 “Sabre”, Republic F-84 “Thunderjet”, and the North American F-100 “Super Sabre”. 

8 May 1962 saw the wing in France operating the Republic F-84F “Thunderstreak” and after slightly over a year the 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron and the rest of the wing returned to the United States and a new assignment at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.

Shortly after the 12 July 1963 arrival at Holloman, the squadron began converting from the old F-84F t the new McDonnell F-4C “Phantom II”.  With conversion complete, the unit concentrated on the normal peacetime operations of training and maintaining readiness until 26 January 1966, when the 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron was attached to the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing, 2nd Air Division, 7th Air Force for service in Vietnam.  On 23 June, the squadron was finally assigned directly to the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing.  While at Cam Rahn Bay, the unit took part in air-to-ground missions such as close air support and interdiction, as well as air-to-air operations such as rescue protection and combat air patrol.  The squadron flew in combat in Southeast Asia from 2 February 1966 to 21 July 1968.

On 22 July 1968, the 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron's direct involvement in the Vietnam conflict drew close with its reassignment to the 475th Tactical Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan.  Here the squadron mission changed to providing air defense to Japan.   In addition, the 391st provided air defense to Korea through numerous deployments to Taegu Air Base and Kunsan Air Base in South Korea.  This continued for almost three years, until the 1 July 1971 assignment of the squadron to the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.   This move took place without personnel or equipment, with the 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron designation moving to a squadron of General Dynamics F-111 “Aardvark” aircraft at Mountain Home.  The 366th Tactical Fighter Wing replaced the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing at Mountain Home on 31 October 1972, reuniting the 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron with its previous parent unit.

Squadron operations throughout the 1970s and 1980s centered on maintain combat capability and training F-111 aircrew.  In 1977 Operation READY SWITCH brought a change in aircraft, with the F-111F fleet replaced by the older F-111A aircraft.  After the conversion, the mission of the squadron remained relatively unchanged with the F-111 training and combat preparations continuing throughout the 1980s into 1990.  The 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron ended its F-111A mission on 1 July 1990, with the squadron inactivated when the Air Force began to retire the F-111A fleet.

With the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing re-designated as the 366th Wing in preparation for a change to a composite force structure, the 391st once again became activated as a component of the wing.  When activated on 11 March 1992, the squadron was re-designated as the 391st Fighter Squadron, 366th Operations Group, Air Combat Command and equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F-15E “Strike Eagle”, serving as a dual-role asset to the Air Force's first Air Intervention Composite Wing.

(all aircraft are to scale, not all drawings show an aircraft in 391 markings)

Aircraft

Republic P-47 “Thunderbolt” (1943–1946)

North American F-51” Mustang” (1953)

North American F-86 “Sabre” (1953–1955)

Republic F-84G “Thunderjet” (1954–1958)

North American F-100 “Super Sabre” (1957–1959)

Republic F-84F “Thunderstreak” (1962–1965)

McDonnell F-4C “Phantom II” (1965–1971)

General Dynamics F-111F “Aardvark” (1971–1976)

General Dynamics F-111A “Aardvark” (1977–1990)

McDonnell Douglas F-15E “Strike Eagle” (1992–present)

391st Fighter Squadron

366th Fighter Group

9th US Army Air Force

391st Fighter-Bomber Squadron

21st Fighter-Bomber Wing

366th Fighter-Bomber Group

391dt Tactical-Fighter Squadron

366th Tactical-Fighter Wing (1st version)

366th Tactical-Fighter Wing (2ng version)

12th Tactical Fighter Wing

2nd Air Division

Seventh Air Force

475th Tactical Fighter Wing

347th Tactical Fighter Wing

366th Tactical Fighter Wing

391st Tactical-Fighter Squadron

366th Fighter Wing

391st Fighter Squadron

366th Wing

391st Fighter Squadron

366th Operations Group

391st Fighter Squadron

Air Combat Command

Unit awards

Distinguished Unit Citation

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat Valor “V” device

Air Force Meritorious Unit Award

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm

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text & picture sources : own collection & library + the world wide web / No copyright infringement intended : drawings, photos, etc. belong to the rightful owners.