36th Fighter Squadron Patch – Sew On

4 inch 36th Fighter Squadron Patch – Sew On

The 36th Fighter Squadron is part of the US Air Force’s 51st Operations Group at Osan Air Base, South Korea. It operates the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting air superiority missions. The squadron was first activated in 1917 as the 36th Aero Squadron and served in France during World War I, although the war ended before the unit saw combat. It has been continuously active since 1930 as a fighter squadron.

During its 101-year history, the 36th Fighter Squadron has flown 21 different types of aircraft, received 22 unit citations and accumulated 24 service and campaign streamers.[2]

World War I

Map of Cazaux AIC showing 36th Aero Squadron location
The unit came into existence shortly after the United States entered World War I as the 36th Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas in June 1917. Later that year, First Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt, the son of President Theodore Roosevelt, briefly commanded the squadron. After a brief training period, the squadron moved overseas on the RMS Baltic. Landing in France in September 1917, the squadron shortly stopped at the Étampes aerodrome before settling at the 3rd Aviation Instruction Center on Issoudun Aerodrome, where it helped building the new center before being declared operational some time at the end of year. On 21 February 1918, the 36th Aero Sqn (Repair) arrived at the Cazaux aerodrome, home of the French Aerial Gunnery School, where it helped maintaining the aircraft of the American detachment. On 5 November, it moved to the newly created American Aerial Gunnery School, in St. Jean de Monts, France.

On 16 February 1919, the squadron reached the harbor of St. Nazaire, France, from where it sailed back to the United States on 14 March, on the USS Manchuria and was demobilized in the spring of 1919 at Garden City, New York[3][2]

Interwar period

Berliner Joyce P-16

Squadron Consolidated P-30
The squadron was reconstituted in 1923 as the 36th Pursuit Squadron. Although inactive, it was originally allotted to the Sixth Corps Area. In 1929 the squadron was designated as a “Regular Army Inactive” unit. Although remaining inactive as a regular unit, officers of the Organized Reserves were assigned to the unit and performed summer training with the squadron at Kelly Field for the next few years.[4]

In October 1930 the squadron was once again activated at Selfridge Field, Michigan,[note 1] where it was attached to the 1st Pursuit Group and equipped with various models of the Curtiss Hawk series of single engine biplane pursuit aircraft.[1] By 1932, the squadron’s primary aircraft became the Boeing P-12, although the squadron continued to fly the P-6 model of the Hawk. As part of its mission to develop pursuit tactics, the squadron continued to fly a variety of other aircraft, notably including the Berliner-Joyce P-16 and Consolidated P-30 two-seat fighters. Training of fighter pilots and testing of tactics continued after 1932 when the squadron moved to Langley Field, Virginia, where it was assigned to the 8th Pursuit Group.[1][2]

Main article: Air Mail scandal
In 1934, following a Congressional investigation of how air mail contracts had been awarded by the United States Postal Service, President Franklin D. Roosevelt cancelled all existing air mail contracts and assigned the duty of flying the mail to the Air Corps. The squadron began flying its P-12s on air mail routes, but they proved unsuitable for the work, lacking instruments to fly at night or in adverse weather. Moreover, they could only carry about 50 lbs of mail, and with the mail load, the planes were tail heavy and difficult to fly. The P-12s were withdrawn from the project within a week, although the larger observation aircraft continued to fly mail until May, when new air mail contracts were awarded.[5]

Curtiss YP-37
The P-30, along with the arrival of Curtiss YP-37s in 1938