The 4th Special Operations Squadron is part of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It operates Lockheed AC-130J aircraft providing special operations capabilities.
Mission
The squadron plans, prepares and executes AC-130J gunship missions, providing precise delivery of munitions supporting joint conventional and special operations forces. It directly supports unified and theater special operations commands by conducting close air support, armed aerial reconnaissance, and interdiction missions worldwide in support of Secretary of Defense taskings.
History
World War II
The first predecessor of the squadron was organized in April 1942 at Logan Field, Maryland. Shortly thereafter, operating from New Castle Army Air Base, Delaware, the 4th ferried aircraft to locations in Alaska, Africa, and Europe under the 2d Ferrying Group. It also airlifted cargo and evacuated wounded to US military hospitals. However, the Army Air Forces found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization not well adapted to training and support missions. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. The squadron was disbanded in March 1944, and, along with the other elements of the 2d Ferrying Group and support units at New Castle, replaced by the 552d AAF Base Unit (2d Ferrying Group).
Light aircraft operations
The second predecessor of the squadron was activated at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina in October 1949 as the 4th Liaison Flight and initially equipped with Stinson L-13 light aircraft. It was expanded to become the 4th Liaison Squadron on 15 July 1952, but was inactivated a week later. However, it was activated the same day at Donaldson Air Force Base, South Carolina, where it was equipped with de Havilland Canada L-20 Beavers. At the beginning of 1953, the squadron moved overseas to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany, where it operated the Beavers until inactivating on 8 March 1954.
Vietnam War
The third predecessor of the squadron was activated in August 1965 as the 4th Air Commando Squadron. Although nominally stationed at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam, the squadron was organized at Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas, where it trained as the first gunship unit in the Air Force for the next three months. It flew night combat missions in South Vietnam manning the Douglas AC-47 Spooky gunship beginning in November 1965. By year's end, the 4th had flown 277 combat sorties, used 2,458 illumination flares, and expended 137,136 rounds of ammunition in support of friendly positions under attack. In February 1966, four of the squadron's gunships were moved to Thailand to operate against the Ho Chi Minh Trail. There they would serve several roles. They were equipped to assume Airborne Command and Control Center duties in lieu of Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. They both struck and directed forward air control in the Operation Barrel Roll area of Laos. They also hunted supply trucks along the Trail. Between December 1965 and July 1966, they were credited with destroying 243 trucks. However, they lost four AC-47s and 26 air crew members in the process, as enemy anti-aircraft fire became steadily more effective. The 4th was then assigned solely to defense of hamlets and troops under attack.