547th Night Fighter Squadron
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. It is currently responsible for intelligence support for all Red Flag-Nellis exercises.
History
Activated in March 1944 at Hammer Field, California. The 547th was one of the last purpose-activated night fighter squadrons of World War II. Trained in Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, under IV Fighter Command
IV Fighter Command
The IV Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fourth Air Force, based at Oakland Airport, California...
initially equipped with specifically modified twin-seat black painted P-38M Lightnings equipped with AN/APS-6 radar in an external radome underneath the nose, relocated radio equipment and anti-flash gun muzzles. The pilot sat in the front seat, radar operator in the rear.
Deployed to the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) in September 1944, being assigned to Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
and engaged in defensive night operations, also conducting night interdiction raids on enemy targets. Received P-61 Black Widow
P-61 Black Widow
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically for night interception of aircraft, and was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar. It was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design developed during World War II...
s in Oct 1944 at Owi Airfield
Owi Airfield
Owi Airfield is a World War II airfield located on Pulau Owi island in the Schouten Islands, Indonesia.The airfield was built by the Americans and used as a major command and control, as well as an operational fighter and bomber base in from the summer of 1944 until the end of the war in September...
, Netherlands East Indies. Operated in NEI, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Okinawa
Moved to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in October 1945 as part of Fifth Air Force occupation Forces, Inactivated in Japan February 1946.
Trained US and allied forward air controllers, 1969-1975 and psychological warfare pilots, 1969-1972.
Serves as USAFs center of excellence for adversary tactics analysis; develops intelligence threat training programs; defines potential threats to the US, provides intelligence support to Air Combat Command's test and evaluation programs and live-fly exercises, 1991-Present
Lineage
- Constituted as: 547th Night Fighter Squadron on February 18, 1944
- Activated on March 1, 1944
- Inactivated on February 20, 1946
- Redesignated 547th Special Operations Training Squadron on 22 Aug 1969.
- Activated on 15 Oct 1969
- Redesignated 547th Tactical Air Support Training Squadron on 15 Aug 1972
- Inactivated on 30 Apr 1975
- Redesignated and activated 547th Adversary Threat Squadron on 1 Nov 1991
- Redesignated 547th Intelligence Squadron on 1 Jul 1994.
Assignments
- 481st Night Fighter Operational Training Group, 1 March 1944
- IV Fighter CommandIV Fighter CommandThe IV Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fourth Air Force, based at Oakland Airport, California...
, 31 March 1944 - Fifth Air ForceFifth Air ForceThe Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
, 4 September 1944 - V Fighter CommandV Fighter CommandThe V Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fifth Air Force, based at Fukuoka AB, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946....
, 30 September 1944 - 86th Fighter Wing86th Fighter Wing (World War II)The 86th Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit which operated during the Second World War. Its last assignment was with Far East Air Forces, based at San Marcelino Airfield, Philippines...
, 10 October 1944
- Attached to: V Fighter CommandV Fighter CommandThe V Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fifth Air Force, based at Fukuoka AB, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946....
, 10 October-November 1944 - Attached to: 310th Bombardment Wing310th Air DivisionThe 310th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Continental Air Command, assigned to Twelfth Air Force, being stationed at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma...
, 5-16 January 1945 - Attached to: 308th Bombardment Wing308th Bombardment Wing (World War II)The 308th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Far East Air Forces, based at Nagoya, Japan. It was inactivated on 30 June 1948....
, 16 January-February 1945- V Fighter CommandV Fighter CommandThe V Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fifth Air Force, based at Fukuoka AB, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946....
, 15 May 1945–20 February 1946
- V Fighter Command
- Attached to: 310th Bombardment Wing310th Air DivisionThe 310th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Continental Air Command, assigned to Twelfth Air Force, being stationed at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma...
, 22 October-10 November 1945 - Attached to: V Bomber CommandV Bomber CommandThe V Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fifth Air Force, based at Irumagawa AB, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946....
, 10 November 1945–20 February 1946- 1st Special Operations (later, 834th Tactical Composite) Wing1st Special Operations WingThe 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida is one of two United States Air Force active duty Special Operations wings and falls under the Air Force Special Operations Command ....
, 15 Oct 1969-30 Apr 1975 - 57th Operations Group57th Operations GroupThe 57th Operations Group is a non-flying component of the 57th Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command. The group is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.-Overview:...
, 1 Nov 1991 - 57th Adversary Tactics Group57th Adversary Tactics GroupThe 57th Adversary Tactics Group is the flying component of the 57th Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Combat Command...
, 15 Sep 2005-
- 1st Special Operations (later, 834th Tactical Composite) Wing
Stations
- Hammer AAFFresno Yosemite International AirportFresno Yosemite International Airport , formerly known as Fresno Air Terminal, is a joint civil-military public airport located in eastern Fresno, in Fresno County, California. The airport is more than south of Yosemite National Park on California State Route 41. The airport covers and has two...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, March 1, 1944 - Visalia AAFVisalia Municipal AirportVisalia Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located four nautical miles west of the central business district of Visalia, a city in Tulare County, California, United States...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, May 31 – August 5, 1944, - Oro Bay (Cape Sudest) AirfieldOro Bay AirfieldOro Bay Airfield is a former World War II airfield in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. The airfield was abandoned after the war and today is almost totally returned to its natural state.-History:...
, New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, September 5 – October 6, 1944 - Owi AirfieldOwi AirfieldOwi Airfield is a World War II airfield located on Pulau Owi island in the Schouten Islands, Indonesia.The airfield was built by the Americans and used as a major command and control, as well as an operational fighter and bomber base in from the summer of 1944 until the end of the war in September...
, Schouten IslandsSchouten IslandsThe Indonesian Schouten Islands are an island group of Papua province, eastern Indonesia in the Cenderawasih Bay 50 km off the north-western coast of the island of New Guinea...
, Netherlands East Indies, October 6 – December 31, 1944
- Detachment: Tacloban AirfieldDaniel Z. Romualdez Airport-Facilities:Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport's facilities include a single-storey terminal building, a communications tower and administrative building. Small cafes surround outside the terminal across the parking area.* Terminal...
, LeyteLeyteLeyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, November 9, 1944 – January 11, 1945 - Detachment: McGuire FieldMcGuire FieldFor the airport in the United States, see San José International AirportSan Jose Airport , formerly known as McGuire Field, is an airport serving the general area of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro in the Philippines. It is one of three airports in Occidental Mindoro, the others being Mamburao...
, MindoroMindoroMindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, December 1944 – January 16, 1945- Lingayen AirfieldLingayen AirportLingayen Airport is the airport serving the general area of Lingayen, the capital of the province of Pangasinan in the Philippines. It is one of two airports in the province: the other being Rosales Airport...
, LuzonLuzonLuzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, January 18 – August 13, 1945 - Ie Shima AirfieldIe Shima Airfieldis a gunnery and training facility, managed by the United States Marine Corps and a former World War II airfield complex on Ie Shima, an island located off the northwest coast of Okinawa Island in the East China Sea...
, Okinawa, August 13 – October 7, 1945 - Atsugi Airfield, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, October 7, 1945 – February 20, 1946 - Holley Field [AF auxiliary field at Hurlburt Fld], FL, 15 Oct 1969
- Eglin AF Auxiliary Field #9 [Hurlburt FldHurlburt FieldHurlburt Field is a U.S. Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the Town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation, and is home to Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command , the 1st Special Operations Wing , the...
], FL, 8 Sep 1973-30 Apr 1975 - Nellis AFB, NV, 1 Nov 1991-Present
- Lingayen Airfield
Aircraft
- P-38 LightningP-38 LightningThe Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
, 1944 - P-61 Black WidowP-61 Black WidowThe Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically for night interception of aircraft, and was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar. It was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design developed during World War II...
, 1944–1945 - P-70 Havoc, 1944
- U-10, 1969-1970
- O-1, 1969-1971
- O-2, 1969-1975.