110th Bomb Squadron The 110th Bomb Squadron ( 110 BS ) is a unit of the Missouri Air National Guard 131st Bomb Wing located at Whiteman Air Force Base , Knob Noster , Missouri . The 110th is equipped with the B - 2 Spirit . The 110 BS is the oldest unit in the Missouri Air National Guard , having over 90 years of service to the state and nation . It is a descendant organization of the World War I 110th Aero Squadron , established on 14 August 1917 . It was reformed on 23 June 1923 , as the 110th Observation Squadron , and is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II . History . World War I . Established at Kelly Field , Texas in August 1917 as the 110th Aero Squadron . Constructed facilities and engaged in supply and related base support activities . Later re - designated as 804th Aero Squadron ( 1 February 1918 ) , then " Squadron K , Kelly Field " in July 1918 . Demobilized 1918 shortly after the Armistice with Germany . Missouri National Guard . Established by the Militia Bureau on on 23 June 1923 , which authorized the immediate organization of the 110th Observation Squadron , 35th Division of Aviation , Missouri National Guard . First Headquarters was located in a filling station on Manchester Avenue . From there it was moved to a small room over a grocery store on Olive Street Road In St Louis County . Meetings were held at the Airport , then little more than a pasture , there were no airplanes and no uniforms for the enlisted men . The First flying Equipment was a Curtiss JN - 4 " Jenny " which was purchased by the officers of the squadron and used for flight training until early 1924 when three surplus wartime JN - 4 ' s were received . The planes were housed in a corrugated sheet metal hangar erected on the field during the National Air Race s in 1923 and later turned over to the squadron . Additional aircraft and equipment were received throughout 1924 and by the years end a well received training program was in effect . Only eighteen months had elapsed since the unit was formally organized . During the next few years the JN - 4 ' s were replaced by the PT - 1 , TW - 3 , O - 11 , and O - 2H aircraft and the unit assumed a mission of observation and reconnaissance . Their chief pilot on the " St . Louis to Chicago " airmail run was a lanky young man named Charles Lindbergh . Lindbergh soon became a member of the 110th and was a captain in 1927 when he made his historic Trans - Atlantic solo flight . Men , equipment and unit headquarters consolidated in a new hangar at Lambert Field in 1931 . Summer field training conducted in the 1930s allowed 110th members to hone their skills on the K - 17 Aerial Camera . The Douglas O - 38 aircraft was received in 1933 and replaced in 1938 by the North American O - 47A , an all metal mid - wing observation aircraft . The units first summer encampments were held in 1924 and 1925 at Camp Clark Nevada , Missouri . Subsequent encampments were at Fort Riley Kansas ; Lambert Field St Louis ; Eglin Field Florida ; Fort Sill , Oklahoma ; and St Cloud Minnesota . World War II . The Guardsmen were ordered into active service in 23 December 1940 as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps after the Fall of France . The unit was sent to Little Rock , Arkansas and initially flew antisubmarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico . After the Attack on Pearl Harbor , the squadron was sent to California where it flew patrols over the Southern California coast again performing antisubmarine patrols . In early 1943 , it was assigned to Third Air Force and trained as a combat reconnaissance unit , being equipped with a mixture of photo - recon A - 20 Havoc s and B - 25 Mitchell s . Was deployed to Fifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific in the fall of 1943 and flew reconnaissance missions over New Britain , New Guinea , and the Admiralty Islands from bases in New Guinea and Biak . Reinforced with armed P - 40 and P - 39 fighters , it also flew combat mission against Japanese installations , airfields , and shipping , while supporting Allied ground forces on New Guinea and Biak . During that time , it flew courier missions , participated in rescue operations , and hauled passengers and cargo . From November 1944 , the group flew reconnaissance missions over Luzon , supported ground forces , photographed and bombed airfields in Formosa and China , and attacked enemy shipping in the South China Sea . A Presidential Unit Citation awarded for the 12 / 26 / 44 attack on Japanese Naval Task Force . In all , the unit destroyed 122 aircraft and 11 ships . At the end of the war , the 110th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron moved to Japan and was part of the Occupation forces . It demobilized in the fall of 1945 and was inactivated in early 1946 . Missouri Air National Guard . The wartime 110th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was re - activated and re - designated as the 110th Fighter Squadron , and was allotted to the Missouri Air National Guard on 24 May 1946 . It was organized at Lambert Field , St Louis , and was extended federal recognition on 1 January 1947 by the National Guard Bureau . The 119th Fighter Squadron was bestowed the history , honors , and colors of the wartime 110th TRS . The squadron was equipped with F - 51D Mustang fighters and assigned to the Missouri ANG 131st Fighter Group . Its mission was the air defense of St Louis and the state of Missouri . Korean War activation . On 1 March 1951 the 110th was federalized and brought to active - duty due to the Korean War . It was initially assigned to Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) and transferred to Bergstrom AFB , Texas and assigned to the Federalized Missouri ANG 131st Fighter - Bomber Group . The 131st FBG was composed of the 110th FS , the 192d Fighter Squadron ( Nevada ANG ) , the 178th Fighter Squadron ( North Dakota ANG ) , and the 170th Fighter Squadron ( Illinois ANG ) . At Berstrom , its mission was a filler replacement for the 27th Fighter - Escort Group which was deployed to Japan as part of SAC ' s commitment to the Korean War . The unit was a Bergstrom until November when it was transferred to Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) and moved to George AFB , California . At George , the unit was scheduled to be re - equipped with F - 84D Thunderjet s and was programmed for deployment to Japan , however the F - 84s were instead sent to France and the 131st Fighter - Bomber Wing remained in California and flew its F - 51 Mustangs for the remainder of its federal service . The 110th Fighter - Bomber Squadron was released from active duty and returned to Missouri state control on 1 December 1952 . Tactical Air Command . Returning to Lambert Field , the 110th was re - formed as a light bombardment squadron in January 1953 and came under Tactical Air Command . It received B - 26 Invader s that returned from the Korean War and trained primarily in night bombardment missions , which the aircraft specialized in while in Korea . With the removal of the B - 26 from bombing duties in 1957 as neared the end of their service lives , the 110th entered the " Jet Age " . The 110th received its first jet aircraft in the spring of 1957 when it received some F - 80 Shooting Stars , then in June 1957 , it transitioned to the F - 84F Thunderstreak fighter - bomber . On 1 October 1961 , as a result of the 1961 Berlin Crisis , the mobilized Missouri Air National Guard ( ANG ) 131st Tactical Fighter Wing deployed to Toul - Rosières Air Base , France as the 7131st Tactical Fighter Wing ( Provisional ) . When activated as the 7131st TFW , it consisted of the 110 , 169 and 170 TFS , from Lambert Field , St . Louis MO , Peoria Municipal Airport , Peoria IL , and Capitol Airport , Springfield IL , respectively . The designation 7131st was used as the Wing , composed of three federalized ANG squadrons , only deployed the 110th Tactical Fighter Squadron to France . The 169th and 170th TFS rotated personnel to Toul during their period of activation due to budget restraints , however only one squadron ' s worth of aircraft and personnel were at Toul at any one time . While in France , the Guardsmen assumed regular commitments on a training basis with the U . S . 7th Army as well as maintaining a 24 - hour alert status . The 7131st exchanged both air and ground crews with the Royal Danish Air Force ' s 730th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Skydstrup Air Station , Denmark , during May 1962 . As the Berlin situation subsided , all activated ANG units were ordered to be returned to the United States and released from active duty . The 7131st TFW was inactivated in place in France on 19 July 1962 leaving its aircraft and equipment to USAFE . After returning to St Louis , the unit was re - equipped with F - 100C Super Sabre s in late 1962 . It trained with the F - 100s for the next 17 years , upgrading to the improved F - 100D in 1971 . Although not activated during the Vietnam War , many of the squadron ' s pilots were sent to F - 100 squadrons in South Vietnam between 1968 - 1971 . In 1977 , Charles Lindbergh ' s widow gave permission to designate 110th Tactical Fighter Squadron as " Lindbergh ' s Own " . In 1978 , the unit acquired the " home grown " McDonnell Douglas F - 4C Phantom II , the aircraft primarily being Vietnam War veterans returned from Southeast Asia . It again upgraded to the more advanced F - 4E Phantom II in 1985 and in 1991 was again upgraded to the F - 15A / B Eagle air superiority aircraft with the F - 4s being retired . The 110th was one of the last Air National Guard unit ' s to convert to the F - 15 . Air Combat Command . More than 500 members from the 131st Fighter Wing and the tenant units located at Lambert International Airport were called into service to battle the Great Flood of 1993 . In the post - Cold War era , the unit deployed to Incirlik AB , Turkey in support of Operation Northern Watch in 1996 , 1997 and 1998 . Members of the 131st returned in October 2000 from duty rotations in Southwest Asia and Europe , while other unit members were still stationed overseas . Eventually , a total of about 430 wing members were scheduled to deploy , with the majority leaving in October 2000 for Prince Sultan AB , Saudi Arabia , in support of Operation Southern Watch . A little more than half of the deployed 131st Fighter Wing members and 12 F - 15s made up the AEF - 9 ' s 110th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron ( EFS ) . The 110th EFS primarily provides air superiority for Operation Southern Watch . AEF - 9 was deployed from September through November 2000 . In 2004 , the improved F - 15C Eagle arrived , replacing the older aircraft . On Wednesday morning , 30 May 2007 , A Missouri National Guard F - 15 pilot ejected safely from his aircraft just before it crashed during a training mission in rural Knox county , Indiana . The plane went down just before 11 am EDT south of Vincennes , near the Illinois border , as it conducted standard training maneuvers , according to a release from the National Guard . Investigators said the plane was flying at about 20 , 000 feet prior to the crash . The pilot had been with the 131st Fighter Wing for 12 years and was highly experienced , officials said . The unit had most recently enforced no - fly zones in Iraq . This crash decreased the 131st ' s aircraft count from 20 to 19 . On 2 November 2007 , another F - 15C from the 131st crashed in Mark Twain National Forest , in Missouri . No property was damaged and no people on the ground were hurt , however the pilot broke an arm and a shoulder , despite ejecting from the plane . The pilot also was said to be in " shock " when landowners found him . The crash was due to a flaw in a part of the plane ' s fuselage ; this led to all F - 15 aircraft being grounded at one point between November and January 2008 . Since after the accidents , the 131st ' s flights have been reduced , also due to the wing slowly moving to flying B - 2s . However the 131st and the F - 15 ' s are still on active duty . In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations , DoD recommended to realign the 131st Fighter Wing . The 110th ' s F - 15s ( 15 aircraft ) would be distributed to the 57th Fighter Wing , Nellis Air Force Base , Nevada ( nine aircraft ) , and 177th Fighter Wing , Atlantic City International Airport AGS , NJ ( six aircraft ) . After which , the unit was moved to Whiteman AFB and became the first Air National Guard B - 2 Spirit Stealth Bomber unit . The F - 15 ' s began to leave Lambert on 15 August 2008 and by January 2009 , most of the 13 remaining aircraft were in the main hangar being stripped of markings or already had their markings removed . The final two F - 15C ' s departed on 13 June 2009 after a closing ceremony titled " The End Of An Era " , that was attended by over 2 , 000 people . Some pilots are taking B - 2 Training courses while others are changing units , or decided to retire early . The 131st Fighter Wing was the most experienced F - 15 Fighter Wing in the United States ; out of the four pilots that flew over 4 , 000 F - 15 flight hours , three of them were from the unit . The transition occurred on 4 October 2008 when the 131st Bomb Wing in a ribbon cutting ceremony at Whiteman , AFB . The ceremony celebrated the first official drill for traditional guardsmen at Whiteman and the grand opening of building 3006 , the 131st Bomb Wing ' s headquarters there . On 16 June 2009 , the last F - 16 departed Lambert Field .