180th Airlift Squadron

180th Airlift Squadron
180th Airlift Squadron Lockheed C-130H2 Hercules 90-1794
Active	26 June 1942-Present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Missouri
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Squadron
Role	Airlift
Part of	Missouri Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, St. Joseph, Missouri
Tail Code	Grey Stripe "St Joseph" Black Letters
Engagements	World War II, Korean War, Desert Shield/Storm, Iraq War, Operation Enduring Freedom
Insignia
180th Airlift Squadron emblem

The 180th Airlift Squadron (180 AS) is a unit of the Missouri Air National Guard 139th Airlift Wing located at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, St. Joseph, Missouri. The 180th is equipped with the C-130H2 Hercules.

Activated in mid-1942 as a B-26 Marauder medium bombardment group. Trained under Third Air Force in Louisiana; reassigned to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), being assigned initially to VIII Air Support Command in England in September 1942. Flew several missions over France and Belgium from its base in England during October, then being reassigned to the new Twelfth Air Force in Algeria.

During the North African Campaign, engaged in tactical bomb strikes of enemy targets, primarily in eastern Algeria and Tunisia, including railroads, airfields, harbor installations, and enemy shipping along the Mediterranean Coast.

Squadron returned to French Morocco in March 1943, then returned to combat in June 1943, attacking enemy targets on Italian island in the Mediterranean, including Sicily, Sardinia, and Pantelleria. From bases in Algeria and Tunisia, the group supported the Allied invasion of Italy, bombing bridges and marshalling yards during the late summer and early autumn of 1943.