USAF Patch ANG 103 ATS Air Transport Squadron Heavy C 97

USAF Patch 103 ATS Air Transport Squadron Heavy C 97 Stratofrieghter 1962 ANG Pennsylvania Air National Guard Philadelphia Airport Embroidered on twill cut edge.

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Squadron History

103 Bombardment Squadron was activated on the redesignation of 40 Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron equipped with B-26 Invader light bombers assigned to the 111 Bombardment Group Pennsylvania Air National Guard at Philadelphia International Airport on 24 May 1946. The Squadron was federalized on 10 October 1950 for the Korean War with its pilots and maintenance personnel sent to other combat units in Korea and its bombers were sent as reinforcement aircraft to Far East Air Force.

The Squadron moved with the Wing to Fairchild AFB on 1 April 1951 and reequipped with RB 29 Superfortress reconnaissance aircraft for strategic photographic and mapping missions and was redesignated 103 Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron and ordered to active service. The Squadron had an aircraft shot down by Russian Mig 15s while on a reconnaissance mission over eastern Russia on 13 June 1952 before being returned to control of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard on 15 November 1952. The Squadron reformed at Philadelphia International Airport on 1 January 1953 equipped with the F 51D Mustang fighter aircraft and was redesignated 103 Fighter Bomber Squadron tasked with air defense. In 1955 the Squadron reequipped with F 84F Thunderstreak and in July 1956 switched to F 94A and B Starfire interceptors upgrading to F 94C models in 1958 and then to F 89H Scorpion fighters in 1959.

The Squadron was redesignated 103 Air Transport Squadron Heavy on 1 April 1962 reequipped with C 97 Stratofreighter transport aircraft and retasked for heavy transport under Military Air Transport Service MATS. The Squadron relocated with 111 Air Transport Group to a new facility at Willow Grove Naval Air Station and transported troops and cargo all over the world heavily involved during the Vietnam War. The Squadron was redesignated 103 Military Airlift Squadron on 8 Jan 1966 on the redesignation of MATS to Military Airlift Command MAC.

The Squadron was redesignated 103 Tactical Air Support Squadron on 27 May 1969 reequipped initially with U 3A Blue Canoe aircraft and retasked for Airborne Forward Air Control AFAC before receiving O 2A Skymaster aircraft in 1970. 103 TASS reequipped with OA 37 Dragonfly aircraft in 1981 added Combat Search and Rescue CSAR to its mission and made several deployments to Central America to fly with US allies who had purchased the A 37 through the US Foreign Military Sales program. 103 TASS received A 10A Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft in 1988 to improve ground support and CSAR together with the OA 10 version for its Forward Air Control tasking.

The Squadron was redesignated 103 Fighter Squadron on 15 March 1992 with its primary mission transitioned to ground attack Close Air Support CAS for ground forces while retaining AFAC and CSAR duties. The Squadron undertook deployments to Southwest Asia following Operation Desert Storm including Southern Watch in 1995. Following the 9/11 attacks on the US 103 FS deployed on very short notice to Al Jaber AB Kuwait to provide CSAR support for combat operations for Operation Southern Watch over Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan as 103 Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. The Squadron deployed to Bagram AB Afghanistan from October 2002 to January 2003 for combat missions supporting operations with US Army Special Forces and coalition ground forces. The Squadron again returned to Kuwait in February 2003 for direct Close Air Support for coalition armoured forces during the entire invasion from the Kuwait border through Basra and Baghdad as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom transferring operations to Tallil AB Iraq once liberated returning to the US in May 2003.

With the consolidation of the A 10 fleet and the pending closure of NAS Willow Grove the A 10 departed in 2010 and 103 Fighter Squadron was inactivated on 31 March 2011.

This patch dates from 1962.