5th Liaison Squadron

Curtiss O-52 Owl

The 5th Observation Squadron was activated on February 7, 1942, at Post Field, Oklahoma as the 5th Observation Squadron.[1] The squadron replaced Flight E of the 16th Observation Squadron, which had supported the Field Artillery School since 1931.[2] It was initially equipped with the Curtiss O-52 Owl observation aircraft, but also flew the Douglas B-18 Bolo bomber, and a number of light aircraft, commonly called "Grasshoppers."[1]

The 5th was assigned directly to the Office of the Chief of Air Corps and attached to the Field Artillery School,[1] providing aircraft for training with the school. However, in July 1942, the United States Army decided that field artillery units would have assigned aircraft to serve as air observation posts. These planes and pilots would be assigned to the field artillery, not the air corps, and the school to train them would be located at Post Field.[3] In August, the squadron was relieved of its attachment to the artillery school and moved to Marshall Field, Kansas to make way for the first arriving class, which began in September.[1][3]

The squadron moved to Desert Center Army Air Field, where it supported units training at the Desert Training Center, later relocating to Thermal Army Air Field in September.[1] It converted entirely to "Grasshopper" aircraft in April 1943, becoming the 5th Liaison Squadron. The pilots of these light planes were enlisted, rather than officers.[4] In October, it moved to Alamo Army Air Field, Texas[1] and prepared for movement overseas.

L-5 Sentinel, as flown by the squadron

In February 1944, the squadron departed the United States for the China-Burma-India Theater, arriving at Ledo Airfield, India in April.[1] From August 1944 until May 1945, Tenth Air Force created the 1st Liaison Group, a provisional unit that included the 5th, along with the 19th, 71st and 115th Liaison Squadrons for operations.[5] While in the CBI Theater it flew 33,904 sorties. In the course of 14 months of operations, 40 squadron aircraft were destroyed in accidents or by enemy action,[6] on one occasion it lost three Stinson L-1 Vigilants in an attempt to rescue a downed bomber crewmember from an improvised airstrip in a jungle clearing.[7] Two squadron pilots were killed in the line of duty and two others were MIA and later declared dead.[6] It evacuated over 4,000 casualties[note 2] from makeshift jungle airstrips and carried hundreds of tons of equipment and supplies and thousands of passengers.[7]

In addition, the squadron's pilots often acted as forward air controllers, directing attacks against Japanese gun positions and troops.[8] The squadron remained in theater until late 1945, then returned to the United States and was inactivated at the Port of Embarkation, Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, in January 1946.[1]

A little over a year later, the squadron was activated at Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It was inactivated there in April 1949.[1]

A few months later, the squadron was redesignated the 5th Helicopter Squadron. It was activated at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina in October 1949 and equipped with Sikorsky H-5 helicopters. It was inactivated in July 1952.[1]

The squadron returned to its designation as a liaison unit and was activated at Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee in September 1952.[1] At Sewart, it trained for Arctic operations with de Havilland Canada L-20 Beavers. It moved to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska in April 1953 and operated the Beaver from several locations in Alaska until inactivating in July 1954.[1]

Explanatory notes

Citations

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Clay, Steven E. (2011). US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 (PDF). Vol. 3 The Services: Air Service, Engineers, and Special Troops 1919–1941. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-98419-014-0. LCCN 2010022326. OCLC 637712205. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
• Futrell, Robert F. (September 1956). "Command of Observation Aviation:A Study in Control of Tactical Airpower, USAF Historical Study No. 24" (PDF). Research Studies Institute, USAF Historical Division, Air University. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
• Pelliterri, SMS Angelo A. (December 30, 1997). "Surdent Paper: Enlisted Pilots of World War II" (PDF). Air Force Enlisted Heritage Research Institute. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
• Raines, Edgar F., Jr. (2000). Eyes of the Artillery: The Origins of Modern U.S. Army Aviation in World War II (PDF). Army Historical Series. Washington, DC: Center of Military History. ISBN 978-1907521669. OCLC 40890911. Retrieved January 21, 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)