The squadron was first activated during World War II as the 613th Bombardment Squadron. After training in the United States it moved to England, where it participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. It earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for combat action. Following V-E Day, the squadron was inactivated in England. It was briefly active in the reserves from 1947 to 1949, but does not appear to have been fully manned or equipped.
The squadron was redesignated the 613th Fighter-Bomber Squadron and activated in 1954 at Alexandria Air Force Base, Louisiana. In 1966 it moved to Torrejon Air Base, Spain, where it continued fighter operations until inactivating in 1991.
The ground echelon moved to Geiger Field, Washington in May 1943 and to Great Falls Army Air Base, Montana, in July. At Great Falls the first combat crews were assigned to the squadron.[4] In the final stage of training the squadrons dispersed with the 613th training at Cut Bank Army Air Field.[5]
After completing training the ground echelon left for overseas on 19 October 1943. After staging at Camp Shanks, New York they embarked on the RMS Queen Mary and sailed on 27 October disembarking at Greenock on the Firth of Clyde on 3 November 1943. The air echelon staged for deployment at Scott Field, Illinois then flew to England under the control of Air Transport Command via Newfoundland, Iceland and Scotland.[5]
On 26 November the 613th flew its first combat mission against Bremen, Germany.[6] The 401st Group did not suffer the combat loss of an airplane until its ninth mission on 30 December.[7] The squadron operated chiefly against strategic targets, bombing industries, submarine facilities, shipyards, missile sites, marshalling yards, and airfields.[2] On 11 January 1944 the squadron was in the lead group of the 1st Bombardment Division in an attack against aircraft manufacturing facilities at Oschersleben, Germany. Although the bombers were able to attack, poor weather conditions prevented the division from receiving effective fighter cover. For over three hours the bomber formation suffered more than 400 attacks by Luftwaffe fighters, including air-to-air rocket attacks. Despite these attacks the unit continued its attack and struck a telling blow against German aircraft production for which the squadron was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC).[2][8]
A little over a month later, on 20 February, the squadron earned its second DUC for an attack on the Erla Maschinenwerke aircraft manufacturing facilities in Leipzig, Germany. Despite fighter attacks and battle damage to the 613th's planes, 100% of the unit's bombs fell within 1000 feet of the aiming point.[2][9] Beginning in October 1944, the unit concentrated its attacks on Axis oil reserves.[2]
In addition to strategic missions, squadron operations included attacks on transportation, airfields, and fortifications prior to Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion. On D-Day the 613th attacked Normandy beachhead areas dropping bombs five minutes before troops landed.[10] The following month it provided close air support for Operation Cobra, the breakthrough at Saint-Lô, it also supported the siege of Brest in August and Operation Market Garden in September. During the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945, the unit attacked transportation and communications in the battle area. It supported airborne forces involved in Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.[2]
The squadron flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945 against Brandenberg.[11] It had flown 254 combat missions from Deenethorpe airfield.[12] After V-E Day, the squadron flew missions to Linz, Austria to evacuate British and French prisoners of war. It also flew "Trolley" sightseeing missions at low level, flying ground support personnel over the Ruhr and Frankfurt am Main to see the damage that had been done as a result of their efforts.[13]
The unit was alerted for redeployment to the Pacific Theater and the last plane departed Deenethorpe in early June. The ground echelon sailed on the RMS Queen Elizabeth on the fifth.[14] Upon arrival in the US, personnel were granted thirty days leave, reassembling at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, but plans had changed and personnel were either transferred to Boeing B-29 Superfortress units or processed for discharge and the squadron was inactivated.[15]
Reserve operations
The squadron was activated at Brooks Field (later Brooks Air Force Base), Texas in January 1947 as a unit of the reserves. It trained under the supervision of the 178th AAF Base Unit (later 2593d Air Force Reserve Training Center) of Air Defense Command (ADC).[16] It is not clear whether or not the squadron was fully staffed or equipped.[17] In 1948, Continental Air Command assumed responsibility for managing reserve and Air National Guard units from ADC.[18] President Truman's reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force,[19] and the 613th was inactivated in June.[1]
Fighter operations
401st Group F-84F Thunderstreak[e]401st Wing F-100D[f]
In April 1966, the squadron moved to Torrejon Air Base, Spain. From Torrejon, the squadron supported NATO by deployments to bases where they maintained an alert status. The squadron continued this operation until it was inactivated in 1991, except for a period in 1970 when it converted to the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II.[20]
Lineage
Constituted as the 613th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 20 March 1943
Activated on 1 April 1943
Redesignated 613th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 1 November 1943
Inactivated on 28 August 1945
Redesignated 613th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 27 December 1946
Activated in the reserve on 10 January 1947
Inactivated on 27 June 1949
Redesignated 613th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 24 November 1953
Activated on 8 February 1954
Redesignated 613th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 July 1958[21]
Inactivated on 28 June 1991
Assignments
401st Bombardment Group, 1 April 1943 – 28 August 1945
^Approved February 1955. Description: On a disc Air Force yellow bordered black,
a caricatured octopus of the second [color mentioned], with tentacles, markings and face features of the first [color mentioned], eyeballs red; grasping with three of his tentacles a rocket inflamed and with two of his tentacles twirling flashes of firepower all proper.
^This emblem was designed for the squadron by the Disney Studios. Closway, p. 36.
^The closest aircraft is Boeing B-17G-105-BO Flying Fortress, serial 43-39125, Der Grosse Arsch Vogel later You All Right, fuselage code IN-M. This plane was shot down on the squadron's last mission on 20 April 1945. Baugher, Joe (30 April 2023). "1943 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 8 May 2023., Missing Air Crew Report 14174.
^Aircraft is North American F-100D-85-NH Super Sabre, serial 56-3408. Taken about 1960.
^Aircraft is McDonnell F-4C-21-MC, serial 66-7768. This plane was transferred to the Air National Guard in 1984 and sent to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center on 3 April 1990. It was sold for scrap on 12 August 1998. Baugher, Joe (29 April 2023). "1966 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
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United States
United States Air Force
