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Active 28 February 1918 – 15 November 19181 April 1931 – 1 September 19371 February 1940 – 15 October 19461 November 1952 – 1 May 19921 January 1994 – 30 June 200319 May 2006 – present Part of Air Force Reserve Command10th Air Force |
The 78th Attack Squadron (78 ATKS) is part of the Tenth Air Force, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. The 78 ATKS conducts operations from Creech Air Force Base, Nevada in conjunction with their active-duty associates in the Air Force Warfare Center.
Contents
Mission
The mission of the 78th Attack Squadron is to maintain combat-ready reservists to train and equip the Combat Air Forces to conduct Integrated and Expeditionary Combat Operations, as well as training operations, in the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aerial Systems.
The squadron consists of RPA pilots, sensor operators and intelligence personnel integrated into Regular Air Force units within the 432d Air Expeditionary Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.
History
The 78th was organized in 1917 at Rich Field, Waco, Texas as a training unit. In February 1918 moved to Hicks Field, Fort Worth, Texas before being demoilized. In 1931, the 78th Pursuit Squadron was again activated and assigned to the 20th Pursuit Group at Mather Field, California flying single-seat Boeing P-12 biplane fighters.
During World War II the unit was recognized and stationed in the Pacific theater where the unit flew P-39s, P-40s, and P-51s. With a combat record from the war of 200 enemy aircraft destroyed or damaged, versus the loss of only six aircraft assigned to the unit. The 78th received the Distinguished Unit Citation for actions at the Musashino Plant, Tokyo, Japan, on 7 April 1945.
On 1 November 1952 the 78th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was reactivated, flying F-86 Sabre aircraft as part of the 81st Fighter-Interceptor Wing. In 1954 the 81st became a Fighter Bomber Wing and the assigned squadrons began flying the F-84 Thunderjet. Then in 1958, the 78th received its first F-101 Voodoo aircraft.
While flying the A-10 Thunderbolt II at RAF Woodbridge the squadron deployed to Incirlik Air Base Turkey in 1991, where it took part in Operation Provide Comfort. Later after inactivation and reactivation at Shaw Air Force Base and flying the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the 78th began a regular rotation of deployments to patrol the Northern and Southern No-Fly Zones of Iraq, the last of which took place in mid to late 2002, when they deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. The squadron also performed combat operations in Kosovo from March to June 1999.
The 78th was prepared to again deploy to Turkey in preparation for Operation Iraqi Freedom, however, the Turkish government denied the use of its nation as a staging area against Iraq. Consequently, the 78th stood down and was inactivated. The personnel and F-16CJ equipment of the 78th transferred to the 55th Fighter Squadron. In April 2006 the 78th was reactivated and redesignated as the 78th Reconnaissance Squadron, with the unit flying the MQ-1 Predator. In July, 2010, with the gaining of the MQ-9 Reaper mission, the unit was redesignated the 78th Attack Squadron.