World War I The squadron has its origins at
Kelly Field, Texas, being organized as the
101st Aero Squadron on 22 August 1918. The personnel were composed of new recruits from various Recruit Barracks, including Fort McDowell, Vancouver Barracks, Fort Sam Houston,
Columbus Barracks, Fort Williams, Fort Warren and Fort Oglethorpe. During September 1917, it was found necessary to transfer many of its men. Altogether, 113 men were transferred out and 32 transferred in, leaving the squadron well below its authorized strength. In October, the squadron was again filled up to a required total of 150 recruits. The squadron remained at 3d AIC until after the Armistice with Germany in November 1918, then returned to the United States in early April 1918. Arrived at Michel Field where the squadron members were demobilized and returned to civilian life. In Massachusetts, the Archie Club, composed of former Army Air Service pilots, lobbied for the formation of an air unit for the
Massachusetts National Guard. The state had earlier been allotted the entire 26th Guard Division. The 101st built its own air base on land-filled tidal flats at
Jeffries Point,
East Boston. The 101 flew its
Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" aircraft throughout New England at air shows, county fairs and other events. In addition, the 101st attended two-week summer camps that simulated forward deployments. Pilots flew their
Curtiss O-11s to temporary fields on Cape Cod while ground crews followed in trucks. One of these fields became
Cape Cod Airfield. In 1933 Jeffery Field was rebuilt with new hangars and administrative buildings, and renamed
Logan Airport in honor of Major General Edward L. Logan, who commanded the 26th Division from 1923 to 1928.
Berlin Crisis During the summer of 1961, as the
Berlin Crisis unfolded, several USAF reserve units were notified on 16 August of their pending recall to active duty. On 1 October, the
Massachusetts Air National Guard's 102nd Tactical Fighter Wing and its three squadrons, the
101st Tactical Fighter Squadron, the
131st Tactical Fighter Squadron, and the
138th Tactical Fighter Squadron went on active duty at
Otis Air Force Base. Between 28 and 30 October, the 101st TFS departed
Logan International Airport to
Phalsbourg, France. The wing deployed 82 Sabres across the Atlantic. In addition two
C-47 Skytrains and six
T-33 Shooting Star aircraft were assigned to the wing for support and training purposes. The 101st's primary mission at the time was to provide close air support to
NATO ground forces and air interdiction. Starting on 5 December, the 102nd began deploying to
Wheelus Air Base,
Libya for gunnery training. During its time in Europe, the 101st participated in several
USAF and
NATO exercises, including a deployment to
Leck Air Base,
West Germany near the Danish border. At Leck, ground and support crews from both countries exchanged duties, learning how to perform aircraft maintenance and operational support tasks. On 7 May 1962, the Seventeenth Air Force stated that the 102nd would deploy back to the United States during the summer, returning in July 1962. Regular USAF personnel, along with a group of ANG personnel who volunteered to remain on active duty formed the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the newly activated
366th Tactical Fighter Wing.
Relocation to Otis In 1968, the 102nd Tactical Fighter Wing moved to
Otis Air Force Base. The next year the squadron was reassigned from
Air Defense Command to
Tactical Air Command. The wing flew the
F-84F Thunderstreak from 1964 until June 1971, when a squadron of
F-100D Super Sabres was transferred directly from units fighting the
Vietnam War. After making the transition to the "Hun," the Mach 2
F-106 Delta Darts soon arrived to replace them. On 10 June 1972, after completing the move to the F-106, the unit officially became the 102nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron. In 1976, the 102nd Fighter Interceptor Group was inactivated and the 102nd Fighter Interceptor Wing assumed authority for the 177th and 125th Fighter Interceptor Groups in
Atlantic City, New Jersey, and
Jacksonville, Florida, and for the 107th and 147th Fighter Interceptor Groups, flying
F-4C Phantom at
Niagara Falls, New York, and
Ellington Field, Texas. At 9:13, the pilots of the F-15s told FAA Boston Center that they were heading for Manhattan to establish a Combat Air Patrol (CAP) over the area. The F-15s arrived over Manhattan at 9:25. Locals argued that this would leave a huge gap in the national air defenses. BRAC officials, after visiting the base, decided to keep it open, but the 101st would still lose its planes, only this time they were only going to the
104th Fighter Wing, based at
Barnes Municipal Airport, near the town of
Westfield in western Massachusetts. The wing hosted its last airshow with the
F-15C Eagle at the end of Air Force Week in August 2007. The wing shared a commonality with the
101st Air Refueling Wing, the
103d Fighter Wing, and the
104th Fighter Wing, which due to BRAC decisions, also changed the type of planes that they flew. Beginning in 2007, the F-15s began moving to Barnes Municipal Airport. With the grounding of the
F-15 Eagles, the
158th Fighter Wing, which is based in
Vermont temporarily took over the role of patrolling the Northeast's skies. This interruption of the F-15's flight, coinciding with the transitioning of the fighter jets to the
104th Fighter Wing, created some issues. The move was originally scheduled to be completed at the end of January, but the grounding of the F-15's in late 2007 and early 2008 delayed this move to the end of February. On 24 January 2008, the 101st Fighter Squadron flew its last patrol mission. The unit's wing commander, Colonel Anthony Schiavi, led the flight, accompanied by Major Daniel Nash, who was one of the first responders for 9/11. Fire trucks were on hand when the team landed a half-hour later, giving the planes and the pilots the customary ceremonial hose-down for the last time. The new mission was finally confirmed when Governor
Deval Patrick announced that the wing would transition to an intelligence mission as soon as the planes left. Original BRAC plans only said that a
Distributed Common Ground System would be created at Otis. These plans didn't include the air guardsmen affected by the loss of their jobs. The issue was finally resolved when the Air Force announced its plans, right before the F-15's started to leave for Barnes. On 1 April 2008, the 101st Fighter Squadron was re-designated as the 101st Intelligence Squadron, with a formal ceremony on 6 April. The wing will reach full operation in 2010. By 1 October, the wing is expected to be operationally ready. During the time preceding the wing reaching full operational capacity, members of the wing had the option of moving with the F-15s to Barnes. Most members decided to stay behind and train for their new missions. The crash trucks moved with the F-15s to Barnes, leaving the
brush breakers of the
Massachusetts Military Reservation behind. The buildings formerly occupied by the planes will be reused for the intelligence mission by wing members. These buildings include the hangars that the F-15s formerly occupied.
Lineage • Organized as
101st Aero Squadron on 22 August 1917 : Re-designated:
101st Aero Squadron (Services), on 21 February 1918 : Demobilized on 14 April 1919 • Constituted in the National Guard in 1921 as the
101st Squadron (Observation), and allotted to the state of Massachusetts. : Organized from the 1st Aero Unit (organized about February 1921 at Boston, MA) and Federally recognized on 18 November 1921 : Re-designated
101st Observation Squadron on 25 January 1923 • Consolidated with the 101st Aero Squadron, on 20 October 1936 : Ordered to active service on 25 November 1940 : Re-designated:
101st Observation Squadron (Light) on 13 January 1942 : Re-designated:
101st Observation Squadron on 4 July 1942 : Re-designated:
101st Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter) on 2 April 1943 : Re-designated:
101st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on 11 August 1943 : Re-designated:
101st Photographic Mapping Squadron on 9 October 1943 : Re-designated:
39th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron on 29 March 1944 : Re-designated:
39th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on 4 December 1945 : Inactivated on 29 Ju1 1946 • Re-designated
101st Fighter Squadron, and allotted to
Massachusetts Air National Guard on 29 July 1946. : Federally recognized and activated on: 15 October 1946 : Federalized and placed on active duty, 1 April 1951 : Re-designated:
101st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 November 1951 : Released from active duty and returned to Massachusetts commonwealth control, 1 November 1952 : Federalized and placed on active duty, 1 October 1961 : Released from active duty and returned to Massachusetts commonwealth control, 31 August 1962 : Re-designated:
101st Tactical Fighter Squadron, 1 June 1969 : Re-designated:
101st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 28 April 1972 : Re-designated:
101st Fighter Squadron, 16 March 1993 : Re-designated:
101st Intelligence Squadron, 1 April 2008
Assignments • Post Headquarters, Kelly Field, 22 August – 3 December 1918 • Aviation Concentration Center, 3 November 1917 – 1 January 1918 • Replacement Concentration Center, AEF, 1 January – 21 February 1918 • 3d Aviation Instruction Center, 21 February 1918 – 6 January 1919 • Commanding General, Services of Supply, 6 January – 18 March 1919 • Post Headquarters, Michel Field, 5–14 April 1919 •
Massachusetts National Guard, (divisional aviation, 26th Division), 18 November 1921 • First Corps Area, 25 November 1940 • VI Army Corps, 30 December 1940 •
26th Observation (later Reconnaissance; Tactical Reconnaissance) Group, 1 September 1941 •
74th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 9 October 1943 •
76th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 21 October 1943 • III Tactical Air Division, 29 March 1944 • I (later III) Tactical Air Division, 12 April 1944 •
Ninth Air Force, 6 January 1945 : Flight attached to
XIX Tactical Air Command to 28 February 1945 : Flights attached to
IX Tactical Air Command and
XXIX Tactical Air Command [Prov] to 10 March 1945 •
10th Photographic Group, 28 February 1945 •
Ninth Air Force : Attached to 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Group [Prov), 30 March 1945 •
363d Tactical Reconnaissance (later Reconnaissance) Group, 23 May 1945 •
United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, 25 June 1945 •
Third Air Force, 3 August 1945 •
Fourth Air Force, 24 October 1945 : Attached to
412th Fighter Group, 5 November 1945 – 3 July 1946 •
Tactical Air Command, 21 March 1946 •
Twelfth Air Force, 17 May – 29 July 1946 • 102nd Fighter Group, 15 October 1946 : Redesignated: 102d Fighter-Interceptor Group, 28 April 1972 : Redesignated: 102d Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 1976 : Redesignated: 102d Tactical Fighter Wing, 10 February 1988 : Redesignated: 102d Fighter Wing, April 1992 : Redesignated:
102d Intelligence Wing, 1 April 2008
Major Command •
Air National Guard/
Air Combat Command (1992–present) •
Air National Guard/
Tactical Air Command (1969–1992) •
Air National Guard/
Air Defense Command (1946–1969)
Stations •
Kelly Field, Texas, 22 August 1917 •
Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City, New York, 3 Nov-c. 4 December 1917 •
St. Maixent Replacement Barracks, France, 1 January 1918 •
Issoudun Aerodrome, France, 21 February 1918 •
Bordeaux, France, 6 January – 18 March 1919 •
Mitchel Field, New York, c. 5–14 April 1919 •
Jeffery Field, Massachusetts, 18 November 1921 •
Otis Field, Massachusetts, 31 July 1941 •
Hyannis Army Airfield, Massachusetts, 31 July 1942; •
Harrisburg Municipal Airport, Pennsylvania, 11 September 1942 •
Reading Army Airfield, Pennsylvania, 1 June 1943 •
Thermal Army Airfield, California, 11 January 1944 •
Muskogee Army Airfield, Oklahoma, 12 Apr – 17 December 1944 •
Denain/Prouvy Airfield (A-83), France, 24 January 1945 • St Amand Airfield, France, c. 7 February 1945 : Flight at:
Jarny Airfield (A-94), France, '10 February – 7 March 1945 : Flight at:
Gosselies Airfield (A-87), Belgium 13 February – 8 March 1945 : Flight at:
Le Culot Airfield (A-89), Belgium, 8 February – 8 March 1945 • Jarny Airfield (A-94), France, 7 March 1945 •
Maastricht Airport (Y-44), Netherlands, 2 April 1945 •
Wiesbaden Airfield (Y-80), Germany, 20 April–July 1945 •
Drew Field,
Florida, 3 August 1945 •
Santa Maria Army Airfield, California, 24 October 1945 •
March Field, California, 3 December 1945 – 29 July 1946 •
Logan Airport, Massachusetts, 15 October 1946 : Deployed to:
Leck Air Base, West Germany, 1961 : Deployed to:
Wheelus Air Base, Libya, 1961 : Deployed to:
Phalsbourg-Bourscheid Air Base, 1961–1962 •
Otis AFB, 1968–Present : Detachment 1 ::
Loring Air Force Base (1986–1993) ::
Bangor International Airport (1993–2008)
Aircraft • Included
Curtiss JN-4, JN-6, PT-I, BT-1, 0–2, 0–11, XO-12, and 0-17 during period 1922–1933 • Numerous light observation aircraft, 1932–1943 •
North American O-47 1940–1941 •
P-40 Warhawk, 1943 •
B-25 Mitchell, 1943–1944 • L-5, O-52,
P-39 Airacobra, 1943–1944 •
F-5 Lightning, 1944–1945 •
P-51 Mustang, 1946 •
P-80 Shooting Star, 1946 •
P-47 Thunderbolt (1947–???) •
P-51H Mustang (195?–1954) •
F-94A/B Starfire (1954–1958) •
F-86H Sabre (1958–1964) •
F-84B/F Thunderstreak (1964–1971) •
F-100D Super Sabre (1971–1972) •
F-106A/B Delta Dart (1972–1987) •
F-15A/B Eagle (1987–2004) •
F-15C Eagle (2004–2008) ==See also==