17th Weapons Squadron

The 17th Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, assigned to the USAF Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

The squadron traces its lineage to the United States Army Air Service's 17th and 147th Aero Squadrons, both of which were active during World War I. The 147th was redesignated the 17th Pursuit Squadron in the post-war Air Service and later consolidated with the 17th Aero Squadron in 1936 to preserve the history of both pursuit units. The 17th Aero Squadron was activated in August 1917 and earned 13 campaign streamers in France flying the Sopwith Camel. The 147th Aero Squadron was organized in November 1917 and flew the Nieuport 28 and SPAD S.XIII fighters, earning eight streamers.

During World War II, the 17th Pursuit Squadron participated in the defense of the Philippines flying the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and garnering the first American Ace of World War II. Wiped out during the Battle of the Philippines, some of its squadron members endured the Bataan Death March. Reactivated during the Vietnam War, the squadron went on to fly Republic F-105F Thunderchief Wild Weasel aircraft, and in Operation Desert Storm flying the General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon.

Mission Flying the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, the squadron accomplishes its mission by providing graduate-level instructor academic and flying courses to USAF Combat Air Forces (CAF). The squadron conducts extensive technical off-station training and liaises with CAF units.

The 17th emblem, modified from the one adopted in 1917, consists of a Great White Snowy Owl in front of a black triangle with a blue background. Because of its distinctive Owl Patch, the squadron's nickname is the Hooters.

History World War I

17th Aero Squadron

Company A, Remount Station, Fort Sam Houston, Texas was organized on 13 May 1917, about a month after President Wilson declared war on Germany. It was later redesignated Company M, and later, Company B. On 16 June, its personnel were organized as the 29th Provisional Aero Squadron, Aviation Section, Signal Corps, which was redesignated the 17th Aero Squadron on 30 July. It was made of entirely of volunteers.Gorrell, Series E, Volume 4,

The unit was the first United States aero squadron sent to Canada to be trained by the British; the first squadron to be completely trained prior to be sent overseas with its complete quota of trained pilots; the first squadron to be attached to British Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons and the first to be sent into combat.

The squadron entered combat as a pursuit unit with British Second and Third Armies from 15 July-28 October 1918 seeing extensive combat during the Battle of the Somme while serving with the RAF. In October 1918 the squadron was requested by the Americans to be transferred to the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and it was reassigned to Second Army on 1 November 1918 and prepared for operations on American front but did not become combat-ready before the end of hostilities on 11 November 1918. It was demobilized in 1919. One of the aces serving in the squadron during World War I was Robert Miles Todd.Franks & Bailey, pp. 76–77.

On 17 October 1936, the World War I 17th Aero Squadron was consolidated with the United States Army Air Corps 17th Pursuit Squadron.

147th Aero Squadron

The 147th Aero Squadron was organized at Kelly Field, Texas on 11 November 1917. It was ordered directly to Fort Worth, Texas for training at Everman Field #2, Camp Taliaferro. It trained in Texas until February 1918, when it deployed to France, where additional training was received. It became part of the 1st Pursuit Group in June.Gorrell, Series E, Volume 18,

Initially flying French Nieuport 28 pursuit aircraft, the squadron was heavily engaged in combat in the Toul Sector and the Aisne-Marne Sector. It was part of the defense against the German offensive in mid-July in the Champagne-Marne, then went on the offensive during the Aisne-Marne during July. It took part in the St. Mihiel offensive, and the great American Meuse-Argonne Offensive which continued until the Armistice with Germany on 11 November 1918.Battle Participation of Organizations of the American Expeditionary Forces,

During its time in combat, the squadron gained 62 victories and suffered nine casualties. The squadron flew 2,000 combat hours.

Inter-war period After returning to the United States in April 1919 nearly all of the 147th's personnel were demobilized. The War Department created a new 1st Pursuit Group between late April and mid-August 1919 when it dispatched a small cadre of personnel to Selfridge Field, Michigan. New recruits and veterans from other flying units became members of the new 147th Squadron, and by late summer the process was complete. However, on 28 August, the squadron departed by train to Kelly Field, Texas where it became part of the new Advanced Pursuit Training School.

At Kelly Field, the squadron was assigned to the re-formed 1st Pursuit Group, effective 22 August 1919. The pursuit school was the first step in building a new permanent air service and by providing a course of instruction for pilots at Kelly, it was a way to transfer the hard-earned knowledge gained during World War I to a new generation of fliers. Pilots received hands-on experience in aircraft and engine maintenance. They also flew a training program that covered formation flying, aerobatics, air-to-air and air to ground gunnery, reconnaissance and patrol tactics. The aircraft used were British Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s and U.S.-built Airco DH.4s that were excess from the war effort.

On 14 March 1921, the 147th was redesignated as the 17th Squadron (Pursuit) and in Pursuit Group moved from Kelly to Ellington Field, near Houston, Texas. In June 1922, the 1st Group prepared to return to Selfridge. The four squadrons of the group (17th, 27th, 94th and 95th) departed Ellington on 24 June. The long deployment to Michigan was a novelty, and the press followed the group's progress closely. The group arrived at Selfridge Field on 1 July 1922. Selfridge served as the 1st Pursuit Group's home for many years. As the Army's only pursuit group, the War Department took special pains to ensure that it was maintained in a high state of readiness. On 21 January 1924, the War Department sanctioned unit emblems. The "Great Snow Owl", chosen by the World War I 17th Pursuit Group as its emblem when transferred to the American Expeditionary Forces in 1918 was adopted by the 17th Pursuit Squadron on 4 March 1924.

In May 1924, the group opened a satellite airfield at Oscoda, Michigan to function as an aerial gunnery camp for the unit. Loud-Reames Aviation Field was renamed Camp Skeel, for World War I pilot Captain Burt E. Skeel, and was used as an aerial gunnery range and for winter maneuvers by the 1st Pursuit Group. During World War II, the facility would be expanded as Oscoda Army Air Field, as a training base. After the war, it would be expanded and become Wurtsmith Air Force Base.

During the 1920s, the unit participated in exercises, demonstrations, and maneuvers, events the War Department used as combined training and public relations exercises. Public and congressional interest in aviation was high. Equipped with fast, nimble, pursuit planes such as the Curtiss P-1 Hawk, the unit attracted the attention of the public wherever it appeared. Overall, the Twenties were a productive decade for the unit. The 1st Pursuit Group responded well to being the Air Corps' only group-level pursuit organization, and developed a well-trained force that responded to the demands placed on it.

The 1930s produced a different set of challenges. During the Thirties, the group introduced at least six new aircraft into the Air Corps inventory. It also provided personnel for newly formed squadrons and groups. The onset of the Great Depression gave the unit additional responsibilities in 1931, the group participated in several air shows staged to benefit the unemployed. Squadron involvement ranged from two- and four-ship flights to squadron deployments. Beginning in 1933, the unit saw a handful of its officers detailed to work with the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program designed to put unemployed youths to work on various conservation projects.

The Curtiss P-6E Hawks flown by the squadron were improvements in the line of Hawks since the squadron received the P-1 in 1925. In 1934, it converted to the Boeing P-26A Peashooter, a low-wing, all-metal monoplane, and in 1937, it received the Seversky P-35, the first single-seat fighter in U.S. Army Air Corps to feature all-metal construction, retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit. 17 October 1936 saw the Air Corps formally consolidate the 17th Pursuit Squadron with the World War I 17th Aero Squadron. With the consolidation, the combat history and lineage of its World War I predecessor became a part of the 17th.

The growing threat of war with the Japanese Empire in the Philippine Islands led to the 17th Squadron to be relieved from assignment to the 1st Pursuit Group and transferred to the Philippine Department. Leaving Selfridge on 31 October, the squadron was reassigned to the 4th Composite Group at Nichols Field, near Manila in the Philippines, on 14 December 1940.

World War II Battle of the Philippines

The 17th Pursuit Squadron had been sent overseas without aircraft to fly Seversky P-35s that had been held back from a sale to Sweden to reinforce the Philippines. Until their aircraft arrived and were assembled in March 1941, they practiced in the Boeing P-26 Peashooters that then constituted the interceptor force at Nichols Field. By late 1941 standards, the P-35A was hopelessly obsolescent. It was too lightly armed and lacked either armor around the cockpit or self-sealing fuel tanks, and the instruments of the aircraft flown by the 17th were marked in Swedish and calibrated in the metric system.

When new Curtiss P-40E Warhawks arrived in September 1941, the 17th was happy to hand down the Severskys to the 34th Pursuit Squadron, recently arrived from the United States without its aircraft. With the 3d and 20th Pursuit Squadrons, the 17th formed the interceptor component of the Philippine Department's 4th Composite Group.Edmonds, On 1 October 1941 the squadrons were reassigned to the newly created 24th Pursuit Group and became part of the Far East Air Force (FEAF) when it stood up in November.

After word was received of the attack on Pearl Harbor, FEAF units gathered in anticipation of the Japanese attack everyone knew would be coming. However, attack orders against known Japanese forces on Formosa were not forthcoming. "We can't attack till we're fired on". By 11:00 am both the 20th and 17th Pursuit Squadrons were on the ground at Clark Field. Both had been flying patrol missions during the morning and needed to refuel. While the planes were being serviced, the pilots went to eat; as soon as they had eaten, they returned to their planes and went on alert. The 17th, who had refueled first, was ready to go.Morton,Watson,

About 11:30 am, a message from Iba Field reported a large formation of planes heading west over the China Sea, heading presumably for Manila. The 17th was ordered into the air to patrol over the Bataan Peninsula and the entrance to Manila Bay and intercept whatever the Japanese tried to send though. At that moment, the first formation of Japanese bombers appeared over Clark Field. They came over the unprotected field in a V-formation at a height estimated at 22,000 to 25,000 feet, dropping their bombs on the aircraft and buildings below, just as the air raid warning sounded. As at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese achieved complete tactical surprise. The 17th and 21st Pursuit Squadrons, on patrol over Bataan and Manila, received no warning of the raid, and thus did not attack the Japanese aircraft.