1st Special Operations Wing


The 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida is one of three United States Air Force active duty Special Operations wings and falls under the Air Force Special Operations Command.
The 1st Special Operations Wing is a successor organization of the 16th Pursuit Group, one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II.

Heraldry

The unit's current emblem was approved on 6 June 1963.
The 16th Pursuit Group's emblem was approved in 1934. It has four lightning bolts—representing the four assigned squadrons—depicting destruction from the sky.

History

16th Pursuit Group

The beginnings of the 1st Special Operations Wing can be traced to the authorization by the Army Air Service of the 16th Pursuit Group on 24 March 1923 as part of the United States Army Panama Department at Albrook Field, Canal Zone. The unit, however, was not activated until 1 December 1932. The 16th Pursuit Group spent its entire existence in the defense of the Panama Canal. The Group was progressively redesignated, in keeping with the changes sweeping through the Army Air Corps, becoming first the 16th Pursuit Group in 1939 and finally the 16th Fighter Group in 1942. It was disbanded in the Canal Zone on 1 November 1943.
Although subordinate squadrons assigned to the Group changed over the years the Group headquarters remained at Albrook Field throughout its existence. Squadrons assigned were:
As the U.S. prepared for World War II in 1940–1941, the 16th Pursuit Group, as of 1939 could count only 22 Curtiss P-36A Hawks on hand as of 1939, although these were the best fighter aircraft to be had at the time. Additionally, as of February 1939 the Group was shown on Order of Battle documents with 10 Douglas B-18's, but these belonged to its 44th Reconnaissance and 74th Attack Squadrons, which were assigned to the Group at the time.
In June 1941, relief for the P-36As arrived in the form of 6 Curtiss P-40Bs and 64 P-40Cs, although, though these were split between the 16th and 32nd Pursuit Groups. These new aircraft arrived not a moment too soon, because as of April and May 1941 not fewer than 17 of the Groups P-36As were either unserviceable or awaiting deposition due to either a lack of parts or as a result of the hard use they had endured during the intense training program then ongoing. With the arrival of the P-40s, morale improved dramatically, and the Group headquarters added a rare Sikorsky OA-8 to its roster for rescue and communications duties, and had lost one of its A-17s and one BC-1 by August, at which time all remaining P-36As were transferred to the newly formed 32d Pursuit Group.
As of the outbreak of war in December 1941, the Group had 20 serviceable P-40Cs but 10 new P-40Es had arrived, although one of these was promptly crashed. One other P-40C did not have a prop, and all elements of the Group were dispersed at Albrook Field.
By mid-January 1942, it was found expedient to send a detachment of the Headquarters to Borinquen Field, Puerto Rico to liaise with the VI Interceptor Command headquartered there, and detachments of six P-40Cs were also quickly moved to Atkinson Field, British Guiana and Zandery Field, Dutch Guiana, to provide local air defense for the other elements stationed at those remote bases for Ferrying Command. Besides these, the Group had 23 P-40Cs, eight P-40Es and 14 of its former P-36As back at Albrook.
As of mid-February 1942, the Group elements still stationed at Albrook had the following aircraft on hand but only had 11 pilots between them of whom only seven had more than one year experience on pursuit aircraft :
As the squadrons of the group moved through their various deployments from the start of the war on, the group headquarters became less and less important in day-to-day operations and, finally, on 17 January 1943, the Group Headquarters was moved from Albrook to La Joya Auxiliary Airdrome No. 2 to attempt to get the men assigned at Group back into the midst of "field" operations that were being endured by the subordinate squadrons.
In actuality, the Group was disbanded on 31 October 1943, at which time the HHS still had a solitary Curtiss P-36A assigned. The Command and Control responsibilities of the surviving former Squadrons of the Group then came under the umbrella of the XXVI Fighter Command.

1st Air Commando Group

The next unit in the lineage of the 1 SOW is the 1st Air Commando Group, which inherited the history and lineage of the 16th Fighter Group.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, amidst the Quebec Conference in August 1943, was impressed by Brigadier Orde Wingate's account of what could be accomplished in Burma with proper air support. To comply with Roosevelt's proposed air support for British long range penetration operations in Burma, the United States Army Air Forces created the 5318th Air Unit to support the Chindits. In March 1944, they were designated the 1st Air Commando Group by USAAF Commander General Hap Arnold. Arnold chose Colonel John R. Alison and Colonel Philip Cochran as co-commanders of the unit.
Alison was a veteran flight instructor of P-40 aircraft, and gained renown as a pilot with Major David Lee "Tex" Hill's 75th Fighter Squadron, part of Col Robert Lee Scott, Jr.'s 23d Fighter Group, the USAAF successor of the AVG's famed Flying Tigers in the China-Burma-India Theater. General Claire Lee Chennault lobbied to Arnold, who knew Alison from service at Langley Field, suggesting Alison be given the new command. Cochran was a decorated P-40 veteran pilot from the North African Campaign noted for his unconventional aerial tactics.
As a result, the 5318th Provisional Air Unit was formed in India in late 1943. As a miscellaneous unit, the group was comprised until September 1944 of operational sections : bomber; fighter; light-plane ; transport; glider; and light-cargo. The 1st Air Commando Group consisted of a squadron of 30 A-model P-51 Mustangs led by Lt. Col. Grattan M. "Grant" Mahony, a squadron of 12 B-25H bombers led by Lt. Col. Robert T. Smith, 13 C-47 air transports led by Major William T. Cherry, Jr., 225 Waco CG-4A military gliders led by Captain William H. Taylor, Jr., and 100 L-1 and L-5 Sentinel liaison aircraft led by Major Andrew Rebori and Lt. Col. Clinton B. Gaty. The group tested the United States' first use of a helicopter in combat, six Sikorsky R-4s led by Lt. Col. Clinton B. Gaty, in May 1944.
A tragic accident occurred where 2 CG-4 gliders towed by one of the unit's Skytrains collided killing several American and British Chindits. The commander of the British unit, Lt. Col. D.C Herring restored confidence in the Americans who were worried whether the Chindits would trust them to fly them on operations by sending the Air Commandos a message that became the unit's motto;
The unit was redesignated the 1st Air Commando Group on 25 March 1944. It provided fighter cover, bomb striking power, and air transport services for the Chindits, fighting behind enemy lines in Burma. Operations included airdrop and landing of troops, food, and equipment; evacuation of casualties; and attacks against enemy airfields and lines of communication.
The 1ACG started receiving better-performing P-51B Mustangs in April 1944. They converted from P-51 Mustang to D-Model P-47 Thunderbolt fighters by September 1945. The unit eliminated its B-25 Mitchell bomber section in May 1944.
In September 1944, after the original unit was consolidated with the headquarters component of the new establishment, the sections were replaced by a troop carrier squadron, two fighter squadrons, and three liaison squadrons. The group continued performing supply, evacuation, and liaison services for allied forces in Burma until the end of the war, including the movement of Chinese troops from Burma to China in December 1944. It also attacked bridges, railroads, airfields, barges, oil wells, and troop positions in Burma; and escorted bombers to Burmese targets, including Rangoon. Switched back to P-51 Mustangs in January 1945. Left Burma in October and inactivated in New Jersey in November 1945.
On 15 March 1945, 40 P-51D Mustangs armed with drop tanks attacked Don Muang airfield, which harbored little more than 100 Japanese aircraft. At 1:30 pm, the Mustangs strafed every aircraft in sight, and destroyed at least 50% of the aircraft there. More Japanese aircraft that managed to takeoff were shot down and destroyed. On 9 April 1945, a second attack was launched with 33 Mustangs total. Anti-Aircraft fire was heavy, and three Mustangs were shot down.
During their brief combat operations in the China Burma India Theater, the 1ACG accomplished a number of "firsts." Their first joint operation with the Chindits—Operation Thursday—was the first invasion of enemy territory solely by air, and set the precedent for the glider landings of Operation Overlord associated with the Normandy Landings on D-Day. They also used helicopters in combat for the first time, executing the first combat medical evacuations. They pioneered the use of air-to-ground rockets. These firsts and others had a lasting effect on how air operations would directly support ground operations.

Vietnam

In April 1961 General Curtis Lemay directed HQ Tactical Air Command to organize and equip a unit to train USAF personnel in World War II–type aircraft and equipment; ready surplus World War II-era aircraft for transfer, as required, to friendly governments provide to foreign air force personnel in the operation and maintenance of these planes develop/improve: weapons, tactics, and techniques.
In response to Lemay's directive, on 14 April 1961 Tactical Air Command activated the 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The unit had an authorized strength of 124 officers and 228 enlisted men. The 4400th CCTS consisted of World War II aircraft: 16 C-47 transports, eight B-26 bombers, and eight T-28 fighters. The declared mission of the unit would be to train indigenous air forces in counterinsurgency and conduct air operations. The 4400th CCTS acquired the logistics code name "Jungle Jim", a moniker that rapidly became the nickname of the unit.
As the military conditions in South Vietnam continued to deteriorate, United States Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara actively began to consider dispatching United States military forces to test the utility of counterinsurgency techniques in Southeast Asia. In response, Air Force Chief of Staff General Curtis LeMay pointed out that the 4400th was operationally ready and could serve as an Air Force contingent for that force.
On 11 October 1961, President John F. Kennedy directed, in NSAM 104, that the Defense Secretary "introduce the Air Force 'Jungle Jim' Squadron into South Vietnam for the initial purpose of training Vietnamese forces." The 4400th was to proceed as a training mission and not for combat at the present time. "Jungle Jim" was a code name and nickname of the original 4400th CCTS and Air Commandos. Members wore an Australian-type green fatigue slouch hat in the style Johnny Weissmuller wore in the Jungle Jim films.
The mission was to be covert. The commandos were to maintain a low profile in-country and avoid the press. The aircraft were painted with Republic of Vietnam Air Force insignia, and all pilots wore plain flight suits minus all insignia and name tags that could identify them as Americans. They also sanitized their wallets and did not carry Geneva Convention cards. Those Air Commandos who served with the Raven Forward Air Controllers in the Secret War in Laos from 1966 to 1974 would continue this sanitized routine during their service there.
Elevated to group level as 4440th Combat Crew Training Group, 20 March 1962. The provisional TAC group was replaced by AFCON 1st Air Commando Wing in Apr 1962 and assumed air commando operations and training responsibility. Trained United States and RVNAF aircrews in the United States and South Vietnam in unconventional warfare, counter-insurgency, psychological warfare, and civic actions throughout the Vietnam War.