121st Fighter Squadron

121st Fighter Squadron
General Dynamics F-16D Block 30 Fighting Falcon (s/n 85-1509) from the 121st Fighter Squadron
Active	1940-Present
Country	United States
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Squadron
Role	Fighter
Part of	District of Columbia Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Joint Base Andrews, Camp Springs, Maryland
Nickname(s)	Capital Guardians
Tail Code	"DC" Red tailstripe w/stars
Insignia
121st Fighter Squadron emblem

The 121st Fighter Squadron (121 FS) is a unit of the District of Columbia Air National Guard 113th Wing located at Joint Base Andrews, Camp Springs, Maryland. The 121st is equipped with the Block 30 F-16C/D Fighting Falcon.

The squadron is a descendant organization of the 121st Observation Squadron, established on 10 July 1940. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II.

History

Origins

Established by the National Guard Bureau as the 112th Observation Squadron and allocated to the District of Columbia National Guard in July 1940. Not organized until April 1941, formed in Washington D. C. without aircraft assigned.

World War II

Unit was ordered to active duty in April 1941 as part of the build up of the Army Air Corps after the Fall of France. Assigned to Bolling Field, D.C. and equipped with light observation aircraft.

Lineage

Legacy 121st Fighter Squadron emblem

• Constituted as 121st Observation Squadron in the National Guard 30 July 1940 and allotted to the District of Columbia

Organized and Federally recognized on 10 April 1941

Ordered to active service on 1 September 1941

Re-designated: 121st Observation Squadron (Light) on 13 January 1942

Re-designated: 121st Observation Squadron on 4 July 1942

Inactivated on 18 October 1942

• Re-designated 121st Liaison Squadron on 2 April 1943

Activated on 30 April 1943

Inactivated on 7 November 1945

• Re-designated: 121st Fighter Squadron, and allotted to District of Columbia ANG on 24 May 1946

Extended federal recognition on 26 October 1946

Re-designated: 121st Fighter Squadron (Jet) in December 1949

Federalized and ordered to active service on: 1 February 1951

Re-designated: 121st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 1 February 1951

Released from active duty and returned to District of Columbia control, 1 November 1952

Re-designated: 121st Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 November 1958

Federalized and ordered to active service on: 26 January 1968

Released from active duty and returned to District of Columbia control, 18 June 1969

Re-designated: 121st Fighter Squadron on 15 March 1993

Components designated as: 121st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron when deployed as part of an Air and Space Expeditionary unit after June 1996.

Assignments

• District of Columbia National Guard, 10 Apr 1941
• 65th Observation Group, 1 Sep 1941-18 October 1942
• 76th Reconnaissance Group, 30 Apr 1943
• I Air Support Command (later I Tactical Air Division), 11 Aug 1943
• Army Air Forces, MTO, Mar 1944

Attached to United States Fifth Army after 30 Sep 1944

Two flights assigned to: United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, 1 Nov 1944

Two flights assigned to: Ninth Air Force, 29 Nov 1944

Two flights assigned to: First Tactical Air Force [Prov], 22 Dec 1944-1 Mar 1945

Further attached to: Sixth United States Army Group, Sep 1944-1 Mar 1945

• Twelfth Air Force, 25 Feb 1945

Attached to: United States Fifth Army to c. July 1945

• Third Air Force, 25 Aug-7 Nov 1945
• 113th Fighter Group, 24 May 1946
• 113th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 1 Feb 1951
• 113th Tactical Fighter Group, 1 Nov 1958
• 113th Tactical Fighter Wing, 9 Dec 1974
• 113th Operations Group, 15 Mar 1992-Present

Stations

• 743 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 10 April 1941
• Bolling Field, Washington, DC, 1 September 1941
• Owens Field, South Carolina, 23 Sep 1941
• Lexington County Airport, South Carolina, 8 Dec 1941
• Langley Field, Virginia, 26 Dec 1941
• Birmingham Army Airfield, Alabama, 18 Oct 1942
• Vichy Army Airfield, Missouri, 30 Apr 1943
• Morris Field, North Carolina, 8 May 1943
• Raleigh-Durham Army Airfield, North Carolina, 27 Aug 1943-18 Feb 1944
• Oran Tafraoui Airport, Algeria, 20 Mar 1944
• Telergma Airport, Algeria, 17 Apr-9 Jul 1944
• Pomigliano Airfield, Italy, 24 Jul 1944

A flight located at: St Tropez, France, 1 Sep 1944

A flight located at: Lyons, France 15 Sep 1944

A flight located at: Vittel, France, 3 Oct 1944-1 Mar 1945

D flight located at: Vittel, France, 7 Oct 1944-1 Mar 1945

Other flights at various points in Italy during period Sep 1944-May 1945

• Peretola Airport, Florence, Italy, 6 Oct 1944
• Verona Airfield, Italy, 3 May 1945
• Manerba Airfield, Italy, 16 May 1945
• Peretola Airport, Florence, Italy, 16 Jul-Aug 1945
• Drew Field, Florida, 25 Aug 1945
• Muskogee Army Airfield, Oklahoma, 13 Sep-17 Nov 1945
• Andrews Army Airfield, 20 October 1946

Renamed: Andrews Air Force Base, 24 June 1948

Renamed: Joint Base Andrews, 1 October 2009-Present

District of Columbia National Guard deployments

• Korean War

Operated from: New Castle County AFB, Delaware, 1 February 1951-1 November 1952

• 1968 Pueblo Crisis

Operated from: Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina, 26 January 1968-18 June 1969

• Operation Southern Watch

Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, May-July 1996

• Operation Northern Watch (AEF)

Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, February-April 1987

Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, 11 January-6 Feburary 1998

• Operation Iraqi Freedom (AEF)

Balad Air Base, Iraq, March-29 April 2003

Balad Air Base, Iraq, August-October 2007

Balad Air Base, Iraq, January-April 2010

• Operation Enduring Freedom (AEF)

Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, 7 October 2011-January 2012

Aircraft

• Douglas O-38, 1941-1942
• North American O-47, 1941-1942
• Curtiss O-52 Owl, 1941-1942
• L-4 Grasshopper, 1943-1944
• L-5 Sentinel, 1943-1944
• L-6 Grasshopper, 1943-1944
• RA-24 Banshee, 1943-1944
• A-20 Havoc, 1944-1945
• UC-78 Bobcat, 1945
• F-47D Thunderbolt, 1947-1949
• F-84C Thunderjet, 1949-1951

• F-94B Starfire, 1951-1952
• F-51H Mustang, 1952-1954
• F-86A Sabre, 1954-1955
• F-86E Sabre, 1955-1957
• F-86H Sabre, 1957-1960
• F-100C/F Super Sabre, 1960-1971
• F-105D/F Thunderchief, 1971-1982
• F-4D Phantom II, 1981-1990
• Block 5/10 F-16A Fighting Falcon, 1989-1994
• Block 30 F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, 1994-Present

See also

• List of United States Army National Guard Observation Squadrons

References

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

• A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
• Maurer, Maurer. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force: World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1982.

External links

• http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/usaf/121fs.htm