190th Fighter Squadron

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 190th Fighter Squadron


caption= The 190th logo on an A-10 at Mountain Home Air Force Base
dates= October 13, 1946 -Present
country= United States
allegiance= Idaho, United States
branch= United States Air Force
type= Squadron
role= Close air support
size=
command_structure= Air National Guard/Air Combat Command
garrison= Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho
garrison_label=
equipment=
equipment label=
nickname= Wild Weasels
patron=
motto=
colors=
colors_label=
march=
mascot=
battles=Operation Southern Watch
Operation Iraqi Freedom
anniversaries=
decorations=
battle_honours=
notable_commanders= Thomas G. LanphierThe 190th Fighter Squadron flies the A-10 Thunderbolt II. It is a unit of the Idaho Air National Guard. It's parent unit is the 124th Fighter Wing. The squadron was deployed to the Middle-East in 2003 to support the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Two of the 190th's pilots were involved in a friendly fire incident during the invasion on March 28, 2003 in which a British soldier was killed and five others wounded.

Mission

History

The squadron was established on October 13, 1946 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Thomas G. Lanphier, who was one of the pilots involved with shooting-down and killing Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during World War II. Having no aircraft at first, the squadron met in a "small" building on Fort Street in downtown Boise, Idaho. [124th Communications Flight, April 1, 2006, [http://www.idaho.ang.af.mil/Pages/internal_pages/pa_pages/history.html] ]

In 1947 the squadron received its first aircraft, the P-51 Mustang, and relocated to nearby Gowen Field. In 1950 the squadron was called to active duty by the United States Air Force to replace Air Force units in the United States (U.S.) that had been deployed to the Korean War. In 1953 the unit began operating the F-86 Sabre. Over the next 23 years, the squadron changed aircraft four more times to fly the F-94 Starfire, F-89 Scorpion, F-86L Sabre Jet, and the F-102 Delta Dagger. [124th Communications Flight, April 1, 2006, [http://www.idaho.ang.af.mil/Pages/internal_pages/pa_pages/history.html] ]

In 1975 the squadron changed its name to the 190th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and changed aircraft to the F-4 Phantom II. The squadron operated this aircraft for the next 20 years. With this aircraft, the squadron provided aerial photography support during the Teton Dam disaster as well as deploying to support NATO missions from Canada and Norway. [124th Communications Flight, April 1, 2006, [http://www.idaho.ang.af.mil/Pages/internal_pages/pa_pages/history.html] ]

In 1991 the squadron changed aircraft to the F4G Wild Weasel and with its parent unit, the 124th Fighter Group, became a reserve component of the U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command. In this capacity, the squadron deployed to Southwest Asia several times between 1993 and 1995 in support of Operation Southern Watch and Operation Provide Comfort. [124th Communications Flight, April 1, 2006, [http://www.idaho.ang.af.mil/Pages/internal_pages/pa_pages/history.html] ]

. [National Guard, "Air National Guard pilot killed in A-10 crash"]

Invasion of Iraq friendly fire incident

As part of the invasion of Iraq and supporting the British portion of that operation called Operation Telic, on March 28, 2003 two 190th A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, flown by an unidentified Major and Lieutenant Colonel Gus Kohntopp, flew a mission to destroy artillery and rocket launchers from Iraq's 6th Armor Division, dug in convert|25|mi|km north of Basra. During the mission, the two A-10 aircraft mistakenly attacked a patrol of four armored vehicles from D Squadron of the British Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry that were supporting the 16 Air Assault Brigade in Operation Telic. As a result of the attack by the 190th A-10 aircraft, British Lance-Corporal of Horse Matty Hull was killed and five of his colleagues were injured, four seriously. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/03/31/nbrits231.xml News - Telegraph ] ] [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/31/ninquest131.xml Soldier tells how he tried to rescue colleague - Telegraph ] ]

The aftermath of the attack caused controversy, especially in the United Kingdom (UK), as some, including Hull's family, complained of a lack of cooperation into the British inquest of the incident by the United States government and the UK's Ministry of Defense (MoD). The United States and UK MoD denied for a period of time that a video existed of the incident and then later admitted that a video existed but couldn't be released because it was "classified." On February 6, 2007 The Sun tabloid newspaper obtained a copy of the cockpit video from the A-10 aircraft, which they released to the public on their website. [ [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007060133,00.html Joy at direct hit turns to horror | The Sun |HomePage|News ] ]

In a statement, Lt. Tony Vincelli, spokesman for the 190th Fighter Squadron said the U.S. Air Force had conducted its own investigation into the incident in 2003, but the results of that investigation or the names of the two 190th pilots involved were not publicly released. He added that the investigation, "did not result in a court-martial." [ [http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2852243&page=2 ABC News: ABC News ] ] In a further statement, Vincelli apologized for the incident and stated that no adverse action was taken against either pilot involved. On February 6, 2007 the "Sun" named one of the 190th pilots involved as "Colonel" Gus Kohntopp. [ [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2007060452,00.html The Sun Online | The Best for News, Sport and Showbiz | The Sun ] ] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6341055.stm BBC NEWS | UK | Friendly fire pilot 'experienced' ] ] "Sources" within the 190th Fighter Squadron have told reporters that they have been "threatened with court martial" if they speak about the friendly fire incident without permission. [Smith, Emily, "It wasn't my fault," "The Sun", February 9, 2007, [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007060633,00.html] .]

Assignments

Major Command

*Air National Guard/Air Combat Command (1992-Present)
*Air National Guard/Tactical Air Command (1975-1992)

Previous designations

*190th Fighter Squadron (1992-1995)
*190th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (1975-1992)

Bases Stationed

*Gowen Field, Idaho (1946-Present)

Aircraft OperatedWorld Airpower Journal. (1992). US Air Force Air Power Directory. Aerospace Publishing: London, UK. ISBN 1-880588-01-3

*A-10A Thunderbolt IIA (1996-Present)
*RF-4G Phantom II (1991-1996)
*RF-4C Phantom II (1975-1992)
*F-102 Delta Dagger (1964-1975)
*F-86L Sabre (???-1964)
*F-89 Scorpion (1956-???)
*F-94 Starfire (???-1956)
*F-86A Sabre (1953-???)
*P-51D Mustang (1946-1953)

References

Notes

Web

*cite web
last = 124th Communications Flight
first =
year = 2006
url = http://www.idaho.ang.af.mil/Pages/190th.html
title = Idaho Air National Guard - 190th Fighter Squadron
format =
work =
accessdate = 2007-02-07
*cite web
last = British Army
first =
year = 2005
url = http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/887DE696-1DB9-4512-AF8E-2ECFED455356/0/boi_lcpl_hull.pdf
title = Board of Inquiry Report Into the Death of the Late 25035018 Lance Corporal of Horse Matthew Richard Hull
format = PDF
work = Official British investigation of the "friendly fire" incident
accessdate = 2007-02-16
*cite web
last = Mundt
first = Peter
year = 2005
url = http://www.farmhouse.org/p&r/P&R_v100_i3.pdf
title = From Stealth to Southwest Airlines
format = PDF
work = Pearls & Rubies
accessdate = 2007-02-09- Article on Colonel Gus Kohntopp, a 190th pilot identified by the media as one of the pilots involved in the friendly fire incident in Iraq.
*cite web
last = National Guard
first =
year = 2000
url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3731/is_200002/ai_n8895489
title = Air National Guard pilot killed in A-10 crash
format =
work =
accessdate = 2007-02-07
*cite web
last = Vincelli
first = Tony
year = 2006
url = http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123024809
title = Air Guard pilots train in escape, evasion
format =
work = Air Force Link
accessdate = 2007-02-07

External links

* [http://www.operations.mod.uk/telic/hull.htm MoD statement on death of L/Cpl Hull]
* [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007060133,00.html The Sun video article]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6326193.stm BBC News profile of Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker]