359th Fighter Squadron

155th Airlift Squadron
155th Airlift Squadron - Lockheed C-5 Galaxy taking off from Memphis International Airport
Active	12 December 1942-Present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Tennessee
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Squadron
Role	Airlift
Part of	Tennessee Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Memphis Air National Guard Base, Memphis, Tennessee
Nickname(s)	"Memphis Belle"
Tail Code	Red tail stripe, "Memphis" in white letters
Insignia
155th Airlift Squadron emblem

The 155th Airlift Squadron (155 AS) is a unit of the Tennessee Air National Guard 164th Airlift Wing. It is assigned to Memphis Air National Guard Base, Tennessee and is equipped with the Boeing C-17 aircraft.

Organized and trained in the Northeast United States by First Air Force. During training was part of the air defense of the northeast, being attached to the New York and Boston Fighter Wings.

Deployed to England aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth and served in combat as part of VIII Fighter Command from October 1943 to May 1945, participating in operations that prepared for the invasion of the Continent, and supporting the landings in Normandy and the subsequent Allied drive across France and Germany. The squadron flew P-47 Thunderbolts until they were replaced by P-51 Mustangs in November 1944.

From October 1943 until January 1944, operated as escort for B-17 Flying Fortress/B-24 Liberator bombers that attacked such objectives as industrial areas, missile sites, airfields, and communications.

Fighters from the 461st engaged primarily in bombing and strafing missions after 3 January 1944, with its targets including U-boat installations, barges, shipyards, aerodromes, hangars, marshalling yards, locomotives, trucks, oil facilities, flak towers, and radar stations. Bombed and strafed in the Arnhem, Netherlands area on 17, 18, and 23 September 1944 to neutralize enemy gun emplacements providing support to Allied ground forces during Operation Market-Garden. In early 1945, the squadron's P-51 Mustangs clashed with German Me 262 jet aircraft. The squadron flew its last combat mission, escorting B-17's dropping propaganda leaflets, on 7 May 1945.