The 9th Attack Squadron is a United States Air Force squadron, assigned to the 49th Operations Group, stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. The squadron is a training unit for new pilots and sensor operators for the MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA).
The 9th is one of three RPA training squadron at Holloman. The squadron was activated to meet Air Force training requirements. The 9th trains Reaper pilot and sensor operators in initial qualification training at Holloman. The base's other MQ-9 squadrons are the 6th and 29th Attack Squadrons.
History World War II The squadron traces its origins to the formation of the 49th Pursuit Group at Selfridge Field, Michigan on 15 January 1941. Originally named the 9th Pursuit Squadron, it was equipped with Seversky P-35s that were transferred from the 1st Pursuit Group that had departed Selfridge for Rockwell Field, California. In May 1941, the squadron proceeded to Morrison Field, Florida, to train in the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter.Ferguson & Pascalis,
With the advent of World War II, the squadron moved to Australia and became part of Fifth Air Force in January 1942. It was redesignated as the 9th Fighter Squadron in May 1942. The unit received Curtiss P-40 Warhawks in Australia and, after training for a short time, provided air defense for the Northern Territory.
The squadron moved to New Guinea in October 1942 to help stall the Japanese drive southward from Buna to Port Moresby. Engaged primarily in air defense of Port Moresby; also escorted bombers and transports, and attacked enemy installations, supply lines, and troop concentrations in support of Allied ground forces.
The 9th participated in the Allied offensive that pushed the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track, took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943, fought for control of the approaches to Huon Gulf, and supported ground forces during the campaign in which the Allies eventually recovered New Guinea. It covered the landings on Noemfoor and had a part in the conquest of Biak.
After having used Lockheed P-38 Lightnings, Curtiss P-40 Warhawks and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, the 9th was equipped completely in September 1944 with P-38's, which were used to fly long-range escort and attack missions to Mindanao, Halmahera, Seram, and Borneo. The unit arrived in the Philippines in October 1944, shortly after the assault landings on Leyte and engaged enemy fighters, attacked shipping in Ormoc Bay, supported ground forces, and covered the Allied invasion of Luzon. Other missions from the Philippines included strikes against industry and transportation on Taiwan and against shipping along the China coast. The 9th Fighter Squadron and its sister squadrons (7th and 8th Fighter Squadrons) attained a record of 668 aerial victories not matched in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Aces of the 9th were Dick Bong (40 victories), Thomas McGuire (38 victories), Gerald Johnson (22 victories),This is not Gerald W. Johnson, a high scoring ace of WW II in the ETO James Watkins (12 victories), Andrew Reynolds (9.33 victories), Grover Fanning (9 victories), John O'Neil (8 victories), Wallace Jordan (6 victories), John Landers (6 victories), Ralph Wandrey (6 victories), Ernest Ambort (5 victories), Warren Curten (5 victories), Jack Donaldson (5 victories), Cheatam Gupton (5 victories), and Robert Vaught (5 victories)
After V-J Day, the squadron moved to the Japanese Home Islands, initially being stationed at the former Imperial Japanese Navy Atsugi Airfield, near Tokyo on 15 September 1945. Its war-weary P-38 Lightnings were sent back to the United States and the squadron was re-equipped with North American P-51D Mustangs with a mission of both occupation duty and show-of-force flights. In February 1946, the squadron moved to Chitose Air Base, on northern Honshu and assumed an air defense mission over Honshu and also Hokkaido Island. The pilots of the squadron were briefed not to allow any Soviet Air Force aircraft over Japanese airspace, as there was tension between the United States and the Soviet Union about Soviet occupation forces landing on Hokkaido. In April 1948, the squadron moved to the newly rebuilt Misawa Air Base with the 49th Fighter Group. At Misawa, the squadron moved into the jet age when it was re-equipped with the Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star.
Korean War
With the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the 9th was one of the first USAF squadrons dispatched to Korea from Japan, initially operating propeller-driven F-51Ds to cover the evacuation of civilians from Kimpo and Suwon. Next, it flew close air support missions to help slow the advancing North Korean armies. Later, it turned to the interdiction of enemy troops, supplies and communications from Misawa. However its short-range F-80Cs meant that the 49th had to move to South Korea in order for them to be effective.
The squadron moved to Taegu Air Base (K-2) on 1 October 1950, becoming the first jet fighter outfit to operate from a base in South Korea. During the autumn of 1950 and spring of 1951, the squadron flew daily combat missions from Taegu, flying escort missions for Boeing B-29 Superfortresses over North Korea and engaging Communist Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighters in air-to-air combat. When the Chinese Communist Forces intervention gained momentum in 1950–1951, the squadron again concentrated on the ground support mission, attacking Communist Chinese ground units in North Korea, moving south until the line was stabilized and held just south of Seoul.
The 9th changed equipment to the Republic F-84G Thunderjet in mid-1951, It engaged communist forces on the ground in support of the 1st UN Counteroffensive Campaign. Afterwards, it engaged primarily in air interdiction operations against the main enemy channel of transportation, the roads and railroads between Pyongyang and Sinuiju. Also, it flew close air support missions for the ground forces and attacked high-value targets, including the Sui-ho hydroelectric plants in June 1952 and the Kumgang Political School in October 1952. On 27 July 1953, the squadron joined with the 58th Fighter-Bomber Group to bomb Sunan Airfield for the final action of F-84 fighter-bombers during the Korean War.
The wing remained in Korea for a time after the armistice. It moved to Japan in November 1953 and returned to its air defense mission. The squadron upgraded to the North American F-86F Sabre in 1956. By late 1957, however, Worldwide DOD Budget restrictions during FY 1958 meant that the 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing would be inactivated as part of a reduction of the USAF units based in Japan.
United States Air Forces in Europe Due to seniority, after the closure of the 49th's base in Japan, it moved on paper to replace the 388th Fighter-Bomber Wing at Étain-Rouvres Air Base, France on 10 December 1957. The 9th assumed the aircraft, personnel and equipment of the 563d Fighter-Bomber Squadron which was inactivated. As the 49th had been a part of American forces in the Pacific since it was sent to Australia in January 1942, the assignment to Europe after fifteen years in the Pacific was a major change for the organization.
Taking over the seven North American F-100D Super Sabres and three dual-seat F-100F trainers of the 563d, the squadron continued its normal peacetime training. The squadron began keeping four of its planes on 15-minute alert (Victor Alert) on 1 February 1958 so a portion of the squadron could react quickly in an emergency. During the fall of 1958, most of the squadron operated from Chalon-Vatry Air Base while the runway at Etain was being repaired and resurfaced.
However, the nuclear-capable F-100 was troublesome to the host French Government, the French decreed that all United States nuclear weapons and delivery aircraft had to be removed from French soil by July 1958. As a result, the F-100s of the 49th Wing had to be removed from France. After negotiations with the French, the 49th's commander was informed that the wing would be departing from France on 1 July 1959 and be moved to Spangdahlem Air Base, West Germany. During the relocation to West Germany, the squadron deployed to Wheelus Air Base, Libya, for gunnery training. However, not all squadron personnel moved to Spangdahlem, as many of the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing personnel there were almost at the end of their tours and did not want to move to RAF Alconbury, where the 10th was being relocated to in order to accommodate the 49th. As a result, some squadron ground support personnel instead moved to RAF Lakenheath, England to backfill vacancies there, while the 10th's personnel at Spandahlem were allowed to finish out their assignments.
At Spangdahlem, the squadron flew F-100s until 1961 when it converted to the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, commonly known as the "Thud". The 49th was only the third USAF unit to operate the F-105. As part of United States Air Forces Europe, the 9th participated in many NATO exercises. In February 1967, the 9th opened the 49th weapons training detachment at Wheelus Air Base, Libya, to begin transition to the McDonnell F-4D Phantom II, and received its first F-4D on 9 March 1967.
In the late 1960s, the defense budget began to be squeezed by the costs of the ongoing Vietnam War. Secretary of Defense Robert MacNamara decided to reduce costs in Europe by "Dual Basing" United States military units in Europe by returning them permanently to the United States, and conducting annual deployment exercises in Europe, giving the units a NATO commitment for deployment to bases in Europe if tensions with the Soviet Union warranted an immediate military buildup. The 49th Tactical Fighter Wing returned to the United States under this policy, moving on 1 July 1968 to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, to serve as the US Air Force's first dual-based, NATO-committed wing.
Holloman Air Force Base
At Holloman, the squadron participated in Tactical Air Command (TAC) tactical exercises and firepower demonstrations to maintain combat readiness. Also, the first Tail Codes to identify squadron aircraft were applied, rather than the traditional red colors of the 9th which had been used since the Korean War. Initially "HE" was the tail code identifier for the 9th, however, in 1972, the Air Force issued AFM 66-1 which specified wing tail codes and the squadron's planes were standardized on the 49th's "HO" tail code. However, a red tail stripe was applied to identify squadron aircraft.Martin, .
The 9th also retained its NATO commitment to return once a year to its "dual base" home in West Germany. These deployments were known as "Crested Cap", and were as follows: Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, 11 September – 6 October 1970 (F-4D) Hahn Air Base, West Germany, 11 September – 7 October 1971 (F-4D) Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, 3 February – 15 March 1973 (F-4D) Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, 6 September – 7 October 1975 (F-4D) Hahn Air Base, West Germany, 22 September – 21 October 1976 (F-4D) Ramstein Air Base, West Germany, 11 September – 10 October 1977 (F-4D)
With the end of the Cold War and subsequent force drawdowns by USAFE, these exercises ended in 1991.
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base On 4 May 1972, after North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam, the entire 49th Wing, except for a rear echelon that remained to run Holloman, deployed at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. Operation Constant Guard III, ordered in response to the North Vietnamese invasion, was the largest movement that TAC had ever performed. In nine days, the squadron deployed its F-4D Phantom IIs from Holloman to Takhli. Airmen arriving reported that Takhli was a mess, with missing or broken plumbing fixtures, no hot water, and no drinking water – that had to be trucked in from Korat every day. Bed frames had been thrown out of the hootches into the high snake-infested grass, and mattresses or bedding consisted of sleeping bags at best.