114th Fighter Squadron

114th Fighter Squadron
114th Fighter Squadron - Emblem
Active	1942–present
Country	United States
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Squadron
Role	Fighter
Part of	Oregon Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base, Klamath Falls, Oregon
Motto(s)	The Land of No Slack

The 114th Fighter Squadron (114 FS) is a unit of the Oregon Air National Guard 173d Fighter Wing located at Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base, Klamath Falls, Oregon. The 114th is equipped with the F-15C Eagle.

History

World War II

Activated in mid-1942 as a B-26 Marauder medium bombardment group. Trained under Third Air Force in Louisiana; reassigned to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), being assigned initially to VIII Air Support Command in England in September 1942. Flew several missions over France and Belgium from its base in England during October, then being reassigned to the new Twelfth Air Force in Algeria.

During the North African Campaign, engaged in tactical bomb strikes of enemy targets, primarily in eastern Algeria and Tunisia, including railroads, airfields, harbor installations, and enemy shipping along the Mediterranean Coast.

Squadron returned to French Morocco in March 1943, then returned to combat in June 1943, attacking enemy targets on Italian island in the Mediterranean, including Sicily, Sardinia, and Pantelleria. From bases in Algeria and Tunisia, the group supported the Allied invasion of Italy, bombing bridges and marshalling yards during the late summer and early autumn of 1943.

In November, it moved to Sardinia, to strike Axis targets in central Italy. Early in 1944, the squadron supported Allied ground forces as they advanced in the Cassino and Anzio areas. Later in the year, the group attacked German supply lines in northern Italy, bombing bridges, marshalling yards, and roads. During the summer, it bombed bridges over the Po River in northern Italy to block the stream of German supplies and reinforcements going southward. Supported the invasion of southern France in August 1944 by attacking coastal batteries, radar stations, and bridges. From Corsica, it hit railroad bridges in Northern Italy and late in the year attacked railroad lines through the Brenner Pass that connected Germany and Austria with Italy.

In January 1945, the squadron returned to the United States, where it began to train with A-26 aircraft for operations in the Pacific Theater. Between May and July 1945, moved by ship to Okinawa, and on 16 July flew its first mission against Japan. From then until the end of the fighting in early August, the squadron attacked enemy targets such as airfields and industrial centers on Kyūshū and occupied Shanghai area of China, and shipping around the Ryukyu Islands and in the East China Sea. In November and December 1945, the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated.

New York Air National Guard

Initially allocated to the Oregon Air National Guard, 24 May 1946. Was transferred to the New York ANG and received federal recognition on 26 June 1946 by the National Guard Bureau as the 114th Bombardment Squadron (Light). The 114th Bombardment Squadron was bestowed the history, honors, and colors of the 439th Bombardment Squadron. Was equipped with B-26 Invader light bombers, being assigned to the 106th Bombardment Group at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn.

When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, the entire 106th Bombardment Group was federalized and brought to active duty. The Group was moved to March Air Force Base, California and assigned to Fifteenth Air Force, Strategic Air Command. It was assigned B-29 Superfortress medium bombers. The mission of the 106th Bomb Group was the training of reservists to backfill rotating B-29 combat crews serving in Korea. The Group served with SAC until returning to New York state control on 1 December 1952.

Upon return to Floyd Bennett Field, the 114th again was equipped with B-26s and resumed training with its light bombers and flew them until its conversion to an air defense fighter unit in 1956. Under Air Defense Command, the 108th Fighter-Interceptor Group initially received Lockheed F-94 Starfires and in 1957 the North American F-86D Sabre Interceptor.

The State of New York was notified by HQ United States Air Force on 26th September 1957 that support for the 106th Fighter-Interceptor Group would be ended due to fiscal constraints. Despite protests from the Governor of New York State that this was in violation of the law with respect to State militia units, the Air Force eventually prevailed and the 106th FIG and subordinate units were inactivated on 30 September 1958

Oregon Air National Guard

The 8123d Fighter-Interceptor Training Squadron was organized by the Oregon Air National Guard at Kingsley Field, Oregon as a provisional unit in January 1983 as an F-4C Phantom II Formal Training Unit (FTU) for the interceptor pilots of the 123d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Portland International Airport. On 1 October 1983 the unit was formally organized and federally recognized by the National Guard Bureau as the 114th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, with the 114th designation being transferred back to the Oregon Air National Guard.

With the phaseout of the F-4C from the inventory in the late 1980s, the 114th was re-equipped with the F-16A/B block 15 Air Defense Fighter and continued its mission as a Formal Training Unit. On 1 April 1996, the 173d Fighter Wing was formed at Kingsley AGB as a host organization and parent unit for the 114th Fighter Squadron when the unit was authorized to expand, with the 114th being transferred from the 142d Fighter Wing at Portland to the new Wing at Kingsley ANGB. Along with the 114th FS, the 173d consists of the 173d Operations Group; 173d Maintenance Group, 173d Mission Support Group and 173d Medical Group

With the 123d Fighter Squadron flying F-15 Eagles, the F-16s were transferred and began receiving F-15A/B Eagles in 1998 when they became available. Was upgraded to the F-15C/C Eagle in 2004, continuing its mission as an ANG interceptor training unit.

Lineage

Legacy emblem of the 114th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron

Legacy emblem of the 439th Bomb Squadron/114th Bomb Squadron

• Constituted 439th Bombardment Squadron(Medium) on 19 Jun 1942

Activated on 26 Jun 1942

Re-designated 439th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 3 Feb 1945

Inactivated on 13 Dec 1945

• Re-designated 114th Bombardment Squadron (Light), and allotted to Oregon ANG, on 24 May 1946.

Designation transferred to New York ANG 1 June 1946

Extended federal recognition on 26 June 1946

Federalized and placed on active duty, 1 March 1951

Released from active duty and returned to New York state control, 1 December 1952

Re-designated: 114th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 July 1956

Inactivated: 30 September 1958

• Organized as 8123d Fighter-Interceptor Training Squadron on 1 Jan 1983

114th designation transferred to Oregon ANG, 1 January 1984

Extended federal recognition and re-designated: 114th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 1 Feb 1984

Re-designated: 114th Fighter Squadron on 15 Mar 1992

Assignments

• 319th Bombardment Group, 26 Jun 1942
• VII Bomber Command, 18 Dec 1945-4 Jan 1946
• 106th Bombardment Group, 26 June 1946
• 106th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 1 July 1956-30 September 1958
• 142d Tactical Fighter Training Group, 1 Jan 1983
• 142d Fighter Group,15 Mar 1992
• 142d Operations Group, 11 October 1995
• 173d Operations Group, 1 April 1996

Stations

• Barksdale Field, Louisiana, 26 June 1942
• Harding Army Air Field, Louisiana, 8–27 August 1942
• RAF Shipdham (USAAF Station 115), England, 12 September 1942
• RAF Horsham St Faith (USAAF Station 123), England, c. 4 October 1942
• Saint-Leu Airfield, Algeria, c. 11 November 1942
• Oran Tafaraoui Airport, Algeria, 18 November 1942
• Maison Blanche Airport, Algeria, 24 November 1942
• Telergma Airfield, Algeria, c. 12 December 1942
• Oujda Airfield, French Morocco, 3 March 1943
• Rabat-Salé Airport, French Morocco, 25 April 1943
• Sedrata Airfield, Algeria, 1 June 1943

• Djedeida Airfield, Tunisia, 26 June 1943
• Decimomannu Airfield, Sardinia, c. 1 November 1943
• Serragia Airfield, Corsica, c. 21 September 1944–1 January 1945
• Bradley Field, Connecticut, 25 January 1945
• Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina, c. 28 February–27 April 1945
• Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, c. 2 July 1945
• Machinato-Naha Airfield, Okinawa, 21 July–21 November 1945
• Fort Lawton, Washington, 4 Jan 1946
• Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York, 26 June 1946-30 September 1958
• Klamath Falls Airport, Oregon, 1 January 1983

Designated: Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base, Oregon, 1991-Present

Aircraft

• B-26 Marauder, 1942–1944
• B-25 Mitchell, 1944–1945
• A-26 Invader, 1945–1946
• B-26 Invader, 1946-1951; 1952-1956
• B-29 Superfortress, 1951-1952
• F-94B Starfire, 1956-1957

• F-86D Sabre Interceptor, 1957-1958
• F-4C Phantom II, 1983-1988
• F-16A/B Fighting Falcon, 1988-1998
• F-15A/B Eagle, 1998-2004
• F-15C/D Eagle, 2004-Present

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0-89201-097-5
• 1957 Annual Report, State of New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
• Early history of the 106th Rescue Wing
• 114th Fighter Squadron lineage and history
• Rogers, B. (2006). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. ISBN 1-85780-197-0