318th Special Operations Squadron

318th Special Operations Squadron (318 SOS) flies Pilatus PC-12 and is currently stationed at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico. The 318 SOS is under the command of the Air Force Special Operations Command. Crews plan, prepare, and execute Non Standard Aviation (NSAv) missions in support of joint special operations forces while directly supporting theater special operations commanders by conducting night vision infiltration, exfiltration, resupply and other combat taskings on unimproved runways.^[1]

History

Lineage

• Constituted as 318th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando) on 1 May 1944.

Activated on 1 May 1944

Redesignated 4th Fighter Squadron (Commando) on 2 June 1944

Inactivated on 25 March 1946

Assignments

• 3d Air Commando Group, 1 May 1944-25 March 1946.

Stations

• Camp Mackall, North Carolina, 1 May 1944
• Dunnellon AAF, Florida, 15 August 1944
• Camp Mackall, North Carolina, 12 September 1944
• Baer Field, Indiana, 30 September-ii October 1944
• Nadzab Airfield Complex, New Guinea, 26 October 1944;
• Leyte, Philippines, (undetermined location), 5 January 1945
• Mangaldan Airfield, Luzon, Philippines, 26 January 1945
• Laoag Airfield, Luzon, Philippines, 15 April 1945
• Ie Shima Airfield, Okinawa, 9 August 1945 (operated from Atsugi Airfield, Japan, 20 September-7 October 1945)
• Chitose AB, Japan, 27 October 1945-25 March 1946.

Aircraft

• C-47 Skytrain, 1944–1946
• C-130 Hercules
• Pilatus PC-12

History

Activated on 1 May 1944 as 318th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando) at Camp Mackall, North Carolina and serving under the 3rd Air Commando Group. Participated in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, flying the Waco CG-4 glider and C-47 Skytrain transport. Inactivated 25 March 1946. Reactivated on 15 November 1971 at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina as 318th Special Operations Squadron, serving under 1st Special Operations Wing. It provided unconventional warfare support in Vietnam with the C-130 Hercules until inactivation on 1 June 1974. Reactivated on 27 July 2007 at Hurlburt Field, Florida as 1st Special Operations Group, Detachment 4. Relocated to Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico and redesignated as 27th Special Operations Group, Detachment 2 on 30 December 2007. Redesignated as 318th Special Operations Squadron on 16 May 2008.^[1]

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.