| 71st Tactical Missile Squadron | |
|---|---|
 A squadron BGM-109G missile being readied for a simulated launch | |
| Active | 1941–1949; 1953–1969; 1972–1973; 1973–1975; 1984-1989 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | cruise missile |
| Nickname(s) | Wolf Pack (World War II)[1] |
| Motto(s) | Semper Primus (Latin for 'Always First')[2] |
| Engagements | Southwest Pacific Theater |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Philippine Presidential Unit Citation |
| Insignia | |
| patch with 71st Tactical Missile Squadron emblem[note 1][2] |  |
| 71st Bombardment Squadron emblem (World War II)[1] |  |
The 71st Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 485th Tactical Missile Wing at Florennes Air Base, Belgium, where it was inactivated on 30 September 1989 with the implementation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
The squadron was first activated as the 71st Bombardment Squadron in 1941 as the United States built up its military forces prior to World War II. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the squadron deployed to the Southwest Pacific Theater, participating in combat until V-J Day, moving forward from Australia to Okinawa. It earned four Distinguished Unit Citations for its actions during the war. The 71st moved to Japan as part of the occupation forces, although it was only partly manned and equipped for some of this time. The squadron was inactivated in 1949 as the Defense budget was reduced.
The squadron was again activated in France in 1953, when it replaced an Air National Guard unit that had been mobilized for the Korean War and was being returned to state control. In 1958, the squadron moved on paper to Germany, where it became the 71st Tactical Missile Squadron, taking over the missiles and personnel of another squadron, which was inactivated. It upgraded to the TM-76B Mace in 1962 and continued to operate the missile until the Mace was removed from operations in 1969.
The squadron briefly trained pilots for the Air Force as the 71st Pilot Training Squadron in the 1970s, but returned to the cruise missile mission with the BGM-109G in 1984.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).