Otis Air National Guard Base

Throughout this book, the 40th EOG will be synonymous with БЂњA-10s at Gioia.БЂ«Col Alan E. Thompson commanded the 40th EOG. \Photo: Col Al Thompson after flying a mission in the KEZ 104th Expeditionary Operations Group The 103d FS, Barnes Air National Guard (ANG) Base, Massachusetts; 172d FS, Battle Creek ANG Base, Michigan; and 190th FS, Boise ANG Base, Idaho, contributed six aircraft each to form the 131st EFS under the OPCON of the 104th EOG. With only a few daysБЂ™ warning, members of these three units organized an 18-aircraft EFS, deployed, and, by 19 May, established operations at Trapani AB, on the western coast of Sicily. Since the commonly used names of these three units all started with the same letter (Barnes, Battle Creek, and Boise), they collectively called themselves the БЂњKiller Bees.БЂ«Their two weapons-instructor pilots arrived at Gioia del Colle several days ahead of the rest of the advance team and flew their first combat missions with the Panthers and the Flying Tigers. They were able to get a first look at the target areas and gain experience working with numerous NATO aircraft ...»