36th Fighter Squadron

The 36th Fighter Squadron (36 FS) is part of the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base, South Korea. It operates the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting air superiority missions.

Mission
Conduct air interdiction, close air support and counter-air missions in both day and night conditions.

History
During its 90-year history, the 36 FS has flown 21 different types of aircraft, received 22 unit citations and accumulated 24 service and campaign streamers.

The unit came into existence when a group of aviation pioneers, eager to prove the value of air power in World War I, formed the 36th Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas, in June 1917. First Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt, the son of President Theodore Roosevelt, was one of the squadron's first commanders, assuming command later that year. While the new squadron did not see combat as a unit when it moved to France, several of its members did while flying for other squadrons.

After World War I, the 36th was inactivated, only to be resurrected in October 1930 at Selfridge Field, Michigan, to train pilots and develop new air tactics. In 1932, the 36th relocated to Langley Field, Virginia, as part of the 8th Pursuit Group. While assigned to the 8th, the 36th flew airmail for the U.S. Postal Service, flying in all types of weather without instruments. During World War II, the squadron flew P-40 Warhawk, P-39 Airacobra, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-38 Lightning fighters in a number of Pacific Theater campaigns. These included the defense of New Guinea and the battle for the Philippines. They moved to Fukuska, Japan at the end of the war.

When the communist forces attacked the Republic of Korea in June 1950, the 36th found itself in the fight from the beginning of the conflict. Flying F-80 Shooting Stars, the squadron attacked advancing North Korean tanks, trucks, artillery, and troops. The unit later converted back to the piston-engined F-51 Mustang, considered more suitable for operations in Korea. The 36th ended the war equipped with F-86 Sabres, flying bombing and strafing missions against enemy air fields. The 36th returned to Japan after the Korean War, operating out of Itazuke Air Base for the next 10 years.

During the Vietnam War, the 36th flew combat missions into Southeast Asia from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base. 36th pilots flew F-105 Thunderchiefs, escorting rescue aircraft and suppressing anti-aircraft fire. The squadron was re-equipped with F-4 Phantom II fighters in December 1967 and stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan, with regular deployments to Kunsan Air Base beginning in March 1971. The 36th moved to Kunsan in May 1971, establishing a forward operating location at Osan Air Base. The squadron permanently moved to Osan and was assigned to the 51st Composite Wing (Tactical) in September 1974.

The 36th ushered in the era of the "Viper" on 10 August 1988, when squadron commander Lieutenant Colonel Al Spitzer landed the first F-16 Fighting Falcon at Osan. The squadron's combat capabilities were transformed in 1990 when the squadron converted to the Block 40 Low Altitude Navigational and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) F-16C/D. The addition of LANTIRN gave the Fiends the current ability to fly at low levels and deliver precision guided munitions during nighttime conditions. Upgrades to the Block 40 in recent years have included GBU-31 JDAM capability for all weather precision engagement.

Lineage

 * Organized as 36th Aero Squadron on 12 Jun 1917
 * Demobilized on 7 Apr 1919


 * Reconstituted, and redesignated 36th Pursuit Squadron, on 24 Mar 1923
 * Activated on 2 Oct 1930
 * Re-designated: 36th Pursuit Squadron (Fighter) on 6 Dec 1939
 * Re-designated: 36th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 12 Mar 1941
 * Re-designated: 36th Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942
 * Re-designated: 36th Fighter Squadron, Two Engine, on 19 Feb 1944
 * Re-designated: 36th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine, on 1 Apr 1946
 * Re-designated: 36th Fighter Squadron, Jet, on 1 Jan 1950
 * Re-designated: 36th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 20 Jan 1950
 * Re-designated: 36th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 Jul 1958
 * Re-designated: 36th Fighter Squadron on 7 Feb 1992.

Assignments

 * Unknown, 12 Jun-Sep 1917
 * Third Aviation Instructor Center, Sep 1917
 * French Aerial Gunnery School, Feb 1918
 * American Aerial Gunnery School, Nov 1918-Feb 1919
 * Unknown, Feb-7 Apr 1919
 * 2d Bombardment Wing
 * Attached to 1st Pursuit Group, 2 Oct 1930


 * 8th Pursuit Group
 * Attached to 1st Pursuit Group, 1 Apr 1931


 * 18th Pursuit Group
 * Attached to 1st Pursuit Group, 30 Jun 1931


 * 8th Pursuit (later, 8th Fighter; 8th Fighter-Bomber) Group, 15 Jun 1932
 * Attached to 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing, 1 Feb – 30 Sep 1957


 * 8th Fighter-Bomber (later, 8th Tactical Fighter) Wing, 1 Oct 1957
 * Attached to 4th Air Division, 13 May – 17 Jun 1964


 * 41st Air Division, 18 Jun 1964
 * Attached to 2d Air Division, 9 Aug – 5 Oct 1964 and 6 Mar – 4 May 1965


 * 6441st Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 Apr 1965
 * Attached to 2d Air Division, 26 Aug – 28 Oct 1965


 * 41st Air Division, 15 Nov 1966
 * 347th Tactical Fighter Wing, 15 Jan 1968
 * 3d Tactical Fighter Wing, 15 May 1971
 * 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, 16 Sep 1974
 * 51st Composite Wing (Tactical) (later, 51st Tactical Fighter Wing), 30 Sep 1974
 * 51st Fighter (later, 51st Operations) Group, 1 Oct 1990 – present

Stations

 * Camp Kelly, Texas (1917)
 * Étampes, France (1917)
 * Issoudun, France (1917–1918)
 * Cazaux, France (1918)
 * Saint-Jean-de-Monts, France (1918–1919)
 * Saint-Nazaire, France (1919)
 * Garden City, New York (1919)
 * Selfridge Field, Michigan (1930–1932)
 * Langley Field, Virginia (1932–1940)
 * Mitchel Field, New York (1940–1942)
 * Brisbane, Australia (1942)
 * Lowood, Australia (1942)
 * Townsville, Australia (1942)
 * Port Moresby, New Guinea (1942)
 * Milne Bay, New Guinea (1942–1943)
 * Mareeba, Australia (1943)
 * Port Moresby, New Guinea (1943)
 * Nadzab, New Guinea (1943–1944)
 * Finschhafen, New Guinea (1944)
 * Owi, Schouten Islands (1944)
 * Morotai (1944)
 * Dulag, Leyte (1944)


 * San Jose, Occidental Mindoro (1944–1945)
 * Ie Shima Airfield, Okinawa, (1945)
 * Fukuoka, Japan (1945–1946)
 * Ashiya Air Base, Japan (1946)
 * Itazuke Air Base, Japan (1946–1947)
 * Ashiya Air Base, Japan (1947–1949)
 * Itazuke Air Base, Japan (1949–1950)
 * Tsuiki Air Base, Japan (1950)
 * Suwon Air Base, South Korea (1950)
 * Kimpo Air Base, South Korea (1950)
 * Pyongyang, North Korea (1950)
 * Seoul Air Base, South Korea (1950)
 * Itazuke Air Base, Japan (1950–1951)
 * Kimpo Air Base, South Korea (1951)
 * Suwon Air Base, South Korea (1951–1954)
 * Itazuke Air Base, Japan (1954–1964)
 * Yokota Air Base, Japan (1964 - 19671
 * Deployed: Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand (9 August – 5 October 1964)
 * Deployed: Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand (6 March – 4 May, 26 August – 28 October 1965)
 * Kunsan Air Base, South Korea (1971)
 * Osan Air Base, South Korea (1971 – present)

Aircraft

 * O-2 (1930–1932)
 * P-1 Hawk (1930–1932)
 * P-6 Hawk (1930–1932, 1932–1935, 1936–1937)
 * P-16 (1932–1935)
 * P-12 (1932–1936)
 * O-27 (1932–1935)
 * PB-2 (1937–1939)
 * P-36 Hawk (1939–1940)
 * YP-37 (1938–1940)
 * A-17 Nomad (1938–1940)
 * P-40 Warhawk (1940–1941)


 * P-39 Airacobra (1941–1943)
 * P-400 Airacobra I (1942–1943)
 * P-47 Thunderbolt (1943–1944)
 * P-38 Lightning (1944–1946)
 * P-51 Mustang (1946–1950)
 * F-80 Shooting Star (1949–1953)
 * F-86 Sabre (1953–1957)
 * F-100 Super Sabre (1957–1963)
 * F-105 Thunderchief (1963–1966)
 * F-4 Phantom II (1967–1989)
 * F-16 Fighting Falcon (1988 – present)

Operations

 * World War I
 * World War II
 * Korean War
 * Vietnam War