2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron

2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron

Looking Glass command and control plane refueling
Active 1942-1944; 1949-1952; 1952-1954; 1970-1994
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Role Command and control
Part of Strategic Air Command
Decorations Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron emblem
2d Ferrying Squadron emblem[note 1]

The United States Air Force's 2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron[note 2] was an airborne command and control unit located at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The squadron was an integral part of the United States' Post Attack Command and Control System, performing the Operation Looking Glass mission with the Boeing EC-135 aircraft.

History

World War II

From its activation in April 1942 until it was disbanded in 1944, the 2d Ferrying Squadron received aircraft at their factory of origin and ferried them to the units to which they were assigned.[1]

Liaison duties in the 1950s

The 2d Liaison Squadron provided emergency air evacuation, search and rescue, courier and messenger service, routine reconnaissance and transportation of personnel. It regularly operated between Langley Air Force Base, Virginia and Fort John Custis with one Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor and several Stinson L-13s.[1]

In July 1952, the squadron closed at Langley and reopened at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, operating de Haviland Canada L-20 Beavers. It operated a regular courier service to Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina and Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, South Carolina. In 1953, the squadron also began operating Sikorsky H-19 helicopters. The unit was inactivated in June 1954.[1]

Airborne command post

The 2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron was activated in 1950 to operate Strategic Air Command's (SAC) airborne command post, using Boeing EC-135 aircraft in Operation Looking Glass. The squadron flew three eight hour missions daily, keeping an aircraft with a general officer supporting the Post Attack Command and Control System. This system enabled SAC to control its forces through hostilities even if SAC headquarters had been destroyed. With the end of the Cold War, the squadron was inactivated in 1994.[1]

Lineage

2d Ferrying Squadron
Activated on 16 April 1942
2d Liaison Squadron
Activated on 25 October 1949
Inactivated on 22 July 1952
Activated on 22 July 1952
Inactivated on 18 June 1954
2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron
Activated on 1 April 1970

Assignments

Stations

Awards and Campaigns

Aircraft & Missiles Operated

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Cargill indicates this emblem never received official approval. At the time he prepared the Lineage and Honors statement the emblem for the 2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron had not yet been approved. At that time the only approved emblem was that of the 2d Liaison Squadron approved on 13 April 1954 depicting a hummingbird on a yellow background, but no image of this emblem is available.
  2. ↑ From the abbreviation of its name (2 ACCS), the squadron was referred to as "Two Axe".
Citations
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Hall, R. Cargill (16 October 1984). "USAF Lineage and Honors History (USAFHRC Form 5)" (PDF). Air Force Historical Research Center. Retrieved August 24, 2016. (updated after 1994)
  2. ↑ World Airpower Journal. (1992). US Air Force Air Power Directory. Aerospace Publishing: London, UK. ISBN 1-880588-01-3
Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

External links

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