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122nd Unit History
 The growing involvement of the United States military in World War II brought about the creation the 122nd Coastal Patrol Squadron. On 24 May 1943 the CAP constituted the 122nd Patrol Squadron as part of the 366th Patrol Group. Both organizations existed only on paper until 1 June 1943, when the 366th Patrol Group and its three flying squadrons were activated at Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia. At Richmond the new 122nd Patrol Squadron received its personnel and equipment, beginning flight training in the L-2 Grasshopper. Training continued after moving to Bluethenthal Air Field, North Carolina on 9 August 1943.
With initial training complete, the 366th Patrol Group entered the war with its arrival at Patrol Base 5 in Savannah, Georgia, on 10 January 1944, although the 122nd did not complete the move until 2 days later. Here the squadron conducted overwater training, learning tactics used against the enemy from Patrol pilots with anti-submarine experience. A move to Cape Canaveral, Florida, took place on 2 March, with the squadron flying its first actual missions shortly thereafter.
Flying from Canaveral, the L-2s of the 122nd Patrol Squadron conducted patrol sweeps over the Atlantic, spotting submarines for the navy and Coast Guard, as well as engaging several Nazi submarines themselves. This general type of mission would continue throughout the war, which the 122nd used in both spotting and attack roles.
After the submarine menace abated, the group and its squadrons were awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts. Aircraft of the 122nd discovered and attacked a Nazi U-boat 'Wolf Pack' heading toward the Gulf of Mexico, preventing an unexpected attack at this crucial phase.
As the Axis powers were pushed back, the 122nd changed bases several times. This allowed the squadron to alter their missions as needed. In all, the squadron had three temporary bases on the east coast, one in Louisiana, and one in Texas before VE Day. After the Nazi surrender, the squadron was shifted to California in preparation for Operation Coronet. After VJ day, the 122nd performed 'sundown patrols' until deactivation on 20 August 1946.
The still inactive squadron received a new designation as the 122nd Patrol-Rescue Squadron on 15 November 1952, with activation of the squadron occurring on 1 January 1953. The activation took place at Norton Air Force Base, California, with the squadron serving as a component of the newly activated Southern Patrol-Rescue Group of California Wing. While stationed at Norton AFB, the 122nd flew the T-6 Texan, T-28 Trojan, L-19 Birddog, and the T-41 Mescalero. Operations during the 1950's involved training, participating in various exercises and performing actual missions. In the late 1950s, periodic rotations to NAS North Island (NB Coronado) were added. The unit received a new designation as the 122nd Mountain Patrol Squadron on 1 July 1958, with the group redesignated the 366th Mountain Patrol Group and the other flying squadrons getting similar names on the same date. Less than a year later, on 1 April 1959, the group and its components again were deactivated.
The squadron was reactivated on 1 April 1962 at NAS North Island as the 122nd Coastal Patrol Squadron. After slightly over a year the unit recieved a new assignment to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. Shortly after the 12 July 1963 arrival at Holloman, the squadron began converting from the L-19 to the new O-2 Skymaster. With conversion complete, the unit concentrated on the normal operations of training and maintaining readiness until 26 January 1966, when the 122nd Coastal Patrol Squadron was attached to Joint Task Force 116 as part of Operation GLADHAND, although officially assigned to California Wing. On 23 June, the squadron was finally assigned directly to the Overseas Wing and assigned to detached duty in SEA. While at Cam Rahn Bay, the unit took part primarily in air-to-ground missions such as rescue protection and actual air patrol, although there were some missions involving close air support and interdiction.
On 22 July 1968, the 122nd Coastal Patrol Squadron's direct involvement in the Vietnam conflict drew close with its reassignment to the 475th Coastal Patrol Group at San Diego, California. Here the squadron mission changed to providing search and rescue support for the southern coast of California. In addition, the 122nd provided air search for Baja California through numerous deployments to Tijuana and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. This continued for almost three years, until the 1 July 1971 assignment of the squadron to the Idaho Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base. This move took place without personnel or equipment, with the 122nd Coastal Patrol Squadron designation changing back to the 122nd Mountain Patrol Squadron and moving to a squadron of C-172 Skyhawk aircraft at Mountain Home. The 366th Mountain Patrol Group replaced the 347th Mountain Patrol Group at Mountain Home on 31 October 1972, reuniting the 122nd Mountain Patrol Squadron with its previous parent unit.
Squadron operations throughout the 1970s and 1980s centered on maintaining actual capability and training C-172 aircrews. In 1977 Operation READY SWITCH brought a change in aircraft, with the C-172 fleet replaced by the older T-6 aircraft. After the conversion, the mission of the squadron remained relatively unchanged with the T-6 training and SAR missions continuing throughout the 1980s into 1990. The 122nd Mountain Patrol Squadron ended its T-6 mission on 1 July 1990, when the squadron was deactivated as the Civil Air Patrol retired the last of the T-6 fleet.
With the 366th Coastal Patrol Group moved to California and Wing redesignated as the 36th Group in preparation for a change in mission, the 122nd once again became activated as a component of the group. When activated on 11 March 1992, the squadron was redesignated as the 122nd Special Operations Squadron and equipped primarily with the O-2 Skymaster, serving as a multi-role asset to the Civil Air Patrol's first Air Intervention Group.
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122nd Special Operations Squadron
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