181st Airlift Squadron

181st Airlift Squadron
181st Airlift Squadron Lockheed C-130H-LM Hercules 85-1365
Active	1943–1946; 1947–present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Texas
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Squadron
Role	Airlift
Part of	Texas Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas
Nickname(s)	Panzer Dusters (World War II)[1]
Engagements	European Theater of Operations
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Belgian Fourragère
Insignia
181st Airlift Squadron emblem
395th Fighter Squadron emblem
Tail stripe	Blue stripe inscribed Texas between two stars
World War II fuselage code	A7

The 181st Airlift Squadron is a unit of the 136th Airlift Wing of the Texas Air National Guard stationed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. The 181st is equipped with the Lockheed C-130J Hercules.

It was first activated in June 1943 as The 395th Fighter Squadron, assigned to the 368th Fighter Group. After training in the United States, it moved to the European Theater of Operations, where it served in combat until the spring of 1945 with Ninth Air Force, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation and a Belgian Fourragère for its actions. Following V-E Day, the squadron served in the army of occupation at AAF Station Straubing, Germany until was inactivated on 20 August 1946 and transferred its personnel and equipment to another unit, which was activated in its place.

The squadron was allotted to the United States National Guard as the 181st Fighter Squadron and was activated in 1947. It served in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex as a fighter squadron until the early 1960s, when it assumed an air refueling mission, which continued until 1978, and has been an airlift unit since then.