131st Armored Division "Centauro", History, Post War, Cold War
On 31 October 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades came under direct command of the Army Corps. As the Armored Division "Centauro" carried a historically significant name, the division ceased to exist on 31 October in Novara, but the next day in the same location the Centauro Armored Brigade was activated as part of 3rd Army Corps. The new brigade took command of the units of the Curtatone Armored Brigade, whose name was stricken from the roll of active units of the Italian Army.


131st Aviation Regiment (United States)
The 131st Aviation Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army, constituted under the United States Army Regimental System.


131st Aviation Regiment (United States)
The 131st Aviation Regiment traces its history to the 31st Aviation Battalion. The battalion was organized 1 October 1986 from new and existing units in the Alabama, District of Columbia, and Florida Army National Guard as the 31st Aviation Battalion with headquarters at Montgomery, Alabama.


131st Aviation Regiment (United States)
Reorganized and redesignated 1 October 1987 as the 131st Aviation, a parent regiment under the United States Army Regimental System, to consist of the 1st Battalion and Companies E and F. Reorganized 1 September 1990 in the Alabama and Colorado Army National Guard to consist of the 1st Battalion and Companies E and F. Reorganized 1 September 1995 in the Alabama, Colorado, and Georgia Army National Guard to consist of the 1st Battalion and Companies E and F.


131st Aviation Regiment (United States)
The 1/131st flew the CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters in the late 1990s.


131st Aviation Regiment (United States), 1st Battalion
The 1st Battalion (Assault), 131st Aviation Regiment is a U.S. Army helicopter battalion. The unit first deployed to Kuwait in 1998 in support of "Operation Desert Fox." After several rotations in Kuwait the unit then entered Kosovo in 2003 (KFOR-5A) in support of "Operation Enduring Freedom". It deployed to Iraq in September 2006 as a subordinate unit of Task Force Mustang as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and also in June 2011 as a part of Task Force Nomad in support of Operation New Dawn. The battalion currently flies UH-60 Blackhawk aircraft. It is home based at Dannelly Field, Alabama, and Mobile, Alabama as part of the Alabama Army National Guard 122d Troop Command.


131st Aviation Regiment (United States), 1st Battalion
After several months of Theater Immersion Training at Fort Hood, Texas and Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the composite battalion deploying to Iraq were certified "Fit to Fight" by Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré, commanding general, First U.S. Army, on 30 July 2006. The unit shipped to Kuwait in late summer 2006, completed  "boots on the ground" training at Camp Buehring, and entered Iraq in September as one of five battalions of Task Force Mustang in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion principally flew out of Balad Air Base (AKA) Camp Anaconda) and flew missions all over Iraq.


131st Aviation Regiment (United States), 1st Battalion
As a unit of Task Force Mustang, the 1st Battalion 131st Aviation consisted primarily of Alabama Army National Guard personnel, but also includes Army aviation guard personnel from additional states including an entire company from Arkansas.


131st Aviation Regiment (United States), 1st Battalion
Whilst in Iraq their command chain included Combat Aviation Brigade, 36th Infantry Division  4th Infantry DivisionIII Corps (United States).


131st Battalion (Westminster), CEF
The 131st Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in New Westminster, British Columbia, the unit began recruiting in late 1915 in that city. After sailing to England in November 1916, the battalion was absorbed into the 30th Battalion, CEF on November 14, 1916. The 131st Battalion, CEF had one Officer Commanding: Lieut-Col. James Davis Taylor.


131st Bomb Wing
The 131st Bomb Wing is a unit of the Missouri Air National Guard, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, Missouri. If activated to federal service, the wing is gained by the United States Air Force Global Strike Command. It is an associate unit of the active-duty 509th Bomb Wing, which falls under the Eighth Air Force.


131st Bomb Wing
The 131st Bomb Wing is the only Air National Guard wing to fly the B-2 Spirit, as well as the only nuclear-capable Air National Guard bomb wing.


131st Bomb Wing
The 110th Bomb Squadron, which is assigned to the wing's 131st Operations Group, is a descendant organization of the World War I 110th Aero Squadron, established on 14 August 1917. Demobilized in November 1918, it was re-established on 23 June 1923 as the 110th Observation Squadron. The unit is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. It is the oldest unit in the Missouri Air National Guard, with over 90 years of service to the state and nation. Charles Lindbergh was a pilot of the 110th, Missouri National Guard, when he made his famous 1927 flight.


131st Bomb Wing, Mission
The 131st Bomb Wing's mission is to train and equip skilled and proud Airmen who provide full spectrum, expeditionary, B-2 global strike combat support capabilities to geographic commanders and the US Strategic Command combatant commander. The wing also organizes, trains, and prepares a community-based force of ready Citizen-Airmen to defend and serve the people of Missouri.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard
The 131st Composite Wing was activated on 1 November 1950, when Continental Air Command converted its Air National Guard combat units under the Wing Base organization. Its combat units remained under the 131st Composite Group, while former elements of the 231st Air Service Group were assigned to the wing's 131st Air Base Group and 131st Maintenance & Supply Group.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, 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. The 131st Fighter-Bomber Group was composed of the 110th Fighter Squadron, 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.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Korean War activation
The unit was at 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 Thunderjets 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.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
Returning to Lambert Field, the 131st was re-formed as a light bombardment squadron in January 1953 and came under Tactical Air Command. It received B-26 Invaders that returned from the Korean War and trained primarily in night bombardment missions, which the aircraft specialized in while in Korea.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
With the removal of the B-26 from bombing duties in 1957 as they 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.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
On 1 October 1961, as a result of the 1961 Berlin Crisis, the mobilized Missouri Air National Guard 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.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
While in France, 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 the month of 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, and left its aircraft and equipment to USAFE.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
After returning to St. Louis, the unit was re-equipped with F-100C Super Sabres in late 1962. It trained with the F-100s for the next 17 years, and upgraded 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 and 1971. In 1977, Charles Lindbergh's widow gave permission to designate 110th Tactical Fighter Squadron as "Lindbergh's Own."


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
In 1978, the unit acquired the "home grown" McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II, the aircraft primarily associated with the Vietnam War. 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 retirement of the F-4s. The 131st was one of the last Air National Guard units to convert to the F-15.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, 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.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
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.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
On 16 March 2006, the Air Force announced that elements of the 131st Fighter Wing would become an associate unit assigned to the active duty 509th Bomb Wing. Consequently, the 131st Fighter Wing transitioned from flying and maintaining the F-15C Eagle fighter to the B-2 Spirit bomber. The final flight of the F-15C Eagle by the 131st occurred in June 2009 from Lambert International Airport in St. Louis. The unit was redesignated as the 131st Bomb Wing on 1 October 2008. The 509th and the 131st joined forces according to what is known as a "classic associate wing" structure.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
In a classic association, the active duty 509th retains ownership of the operational assets, including aircraft, maintenance facilities, and so on. However, each wing maintains its own chain-of-command and organizational structure, while the members of each unit perform their duties in a fully integrated manner. As a result, active duty and Air National Guard pilots and maintainers fly B-2 missions and sustain the aircraft as though they were one unit.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
On the morning of Wednesday, 30 May 2007, a Missouri Air 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 strength from 20 to 19.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
On 2 November 2007, another F-15C from the 131st crashed in Mark Twain National Forest near Boss, 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" by the landowners who found him. After investigation, the crash was attributed to a flaw in a part of the plane's fuselage; this led to all F-15 aircraft being grounded between November and January 2008. After the accidents, the 131st's flights were reduced, which was also due to the wing's transition to flying B-2s.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
In its 2005 BRAC recommendations, the Department of Defense recommended realignment of the 131st Fighter Wing. The 110th's F-15s (15 aircraft) were to be distributed to the 57th Wing, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada (nine aircraft), and 177th Fighter Wing, Atlantic City International Airport AGS, New Jersey (six aircraft). The BRAC distribution recommendation to New Jersey was later rescinded and the 177th Fighter Wing remained equipped with F-16 aircraft. Following F-15 divestment, the 131st moved to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri and became the first Air National Guard B-2 Spirit bomb wing.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
The F-15s 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. The final two F-15Cs departed on 13 June 2009 after a closing ceremony titled "The End of an Era," which was attended by over 2,000 people. Some pilots had already begun B-2 training, while others chose to move to different units or 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.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Global Strike Command
The 131st Bomb Wing's transition to Air Force Global Strike Command occurred on 4 October 2008 when the 131st Bomb Wing held 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 first headquarters there. On 16 June 2009, the last F-15 departed Lambert Field.


131st Bomb Wing, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Global Strike Command
In August 2013, the 131st Bomb Wing was deemed fully mission-capable, meaning that it fully completed the transition to Whiteman Air Force Base.


131st Bomb Wing, References, Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website .


131st Cavalry Regiment (United States)
The 131st Cavalry Regiment was a regiment of the Alabama National Guard. It was authorized the special designation "Southern Leaders" and its motto was "Taught to Lead".


131st Cavalry Regiment (United States), History
The 131st Armor Regiment was activated in 1959 and was granted the coat of arms of its component unit, the 193rd Tank Battalion, the following year. The regiment was redesignated the 131st Cavalry Regiment in 2008.


131st Cavalry Regiment (United States), History
In 2015 the 1st Squadron of the 131st Cavalry deployed to Romania where it participated in the "Red Dragon" exercise with the 528th Light Reconnaissance Battalion of the Romanian Land Forces as part of the State Partnership Program.


131st Cavalry Regiment (United States), History
On September 11, 2016, the regiment was deactivated and its only component unit - the 1st Squadron - was redesignated the 1st Battalion of the 173rd Infantry Regiment. The 131st Cavalry Regiment's heraldry, special designation, and motto were subsequently reassigned to the newly created 173rd Infantry Regiment. The battalion was aligned with the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in December.


131st Delaware General Assembly
The 131st Delaware General Assembly was a meeting of the legislative branch of the state government, consisting of the Delaware Senate and the Delaware House of Representatives. Elections were held the first Tuesday after November 1 and terms began in Dover on the first Tuesday in January. This date was January 6, 1981, which was two weeks before the beginning of the fifth administrative year of Republican Governor Pierre S. du Pont, IV from New Castle County and the first year for Republican Lieutenant Governor Michael N. Castle, also from New Castle County.


131st Delaware General Assembly
Currently the distribution of seats for both houses was based on the interpretation of the federal 1970 census. It resulted in a large numbers of membership numbers in the New Castle County area and ruling that the election districts would abandonment of county lines for their boundaries, but would design whatever district boundaries that would accomplish such population equals.


131st Delaware General Assembly
In the 131st Delaware General Assembly session the Senate had a Democratic majority and the House had a Republican majority.


131st Delaware General Assembly, Members, Senate
About half the State Senators were elected every two years for a four-year term, except the decade district redesign year, when all served two years. They were designed for equal populations from all districts and its accomplishment occasionally included some territory from two counties.


131st Delaware General Assembly, Members, House of Representative
All the State Representatives were elected every two years for a two-year term. They were designed for equal populations from all districts and its accomplishment occasionally included some territory from two counties.


131st Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China)
The 131st Division (Chinese: 第131师) was created in November 1948 under the Regulation of the Redesignations of All Organizations and Units of the Army, issued by Central Military Commission on November 1, 1948, basing on the 20th Division, 7th Column of the PLA Northeastern Field Army. Its history can be traced to 2nd Security Brigade of Liaoji Military District formed in December 1946.


131st Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China)
The division is part of 44th Corps. Under the flag of 132nd division it took part in several major battles during the Chinese Civil War. The division was composed of 391st, 392nd and 393rd Regiments.


131st Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China)
In October 1952 the division was transferred to the Navy after 44th Corps' disbandment.


131st Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China)
In February 1953 the division was inactivated. Its division HQ was converted to HQ, 3rd Naval Aviation Division; its 391st Infantry was transferred to newly-formed 54th Corps as 391st Regiment, 134th Infantry Division.


131st Division (2nd Formation)(People's Republic of China)
27th Garrison Division({zh|守备第27师}) was formed in summer 1964 in Tunchang, Hainan. The division acted as a mobile defense force of northern Hainan island.


131st Division (2nd Formation)(People's Republic of China)
In 1970 the division was reorganized and renamed as 131st Army Division({zh|陆军第131师}). The division was then composed of:


131st Division (2nd Formation)(People's Republic of China)
In December 1979, 391st Infantry Regiment was detached and converted to 1st Marine Brigade.


131st Division (2nd Formation)(People's Republic of China)
From July 1982 to March 1983, 392nd Infantry Regiment was deployed to Guangxi to take part in the Sino-Vietnam War. During its deployment the regiment inflicted about 50 casualties to confronting PAVN units.


131st Division (2nd Formation)(People's Republic of China)
In 1985 the division was disbanded. All remnants were absorbed into 132nd Infantry Division.


131st Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Rich Farmbrough (talk | contribs) at 17:58, 19 November 2019 (→top: Date formats). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


131st Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
The 131st Division (第131師団, Dai-hyakusanjūichi Shidan) was an infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the Shusui Division (秋水兵団, Shūsui Heidan). It was formed 1 February 1945 in Wuhan as a type C(hei) security division, simultaneously with the 132nd and 133rd divisions. The nucleus for the formation was the small parts of the 27th and 40th divisions.


131st Division (Imperial Japanese Army), Action
Troops were battle-ready only 20 April 1945 in Qujiang District, Shaoguan and Hengyang. The 131st division was a primarily railroad defense force, stretched along rail lines from Anhui to Guangdong. It participated in the mopping-up phase of the Operation Ichi-Go. 17 June 1945, the 131st division was assigned directly to China Expeditionary Army, and reinforced by artillery company 10 July 1945. It then transfer guard duties to the 8th independent infantry brigade in Anqing and moved to the Xianning where it meet the day of surrender of Japan 15 August 1945.


131st Division (Imperial Japanese Army), Action
The division was disarmed 15 September 1945. The parts of 131st division were transported from Anqing to Shanghai 2 February 1946, and from Nanjing to Shanghai 16 February 1946. Over parts arrived to Shanghai 4 March 1946 and 8 March 1946. The majority of division except transport company was dissolved from 28 March 1946 to 13 May 1946. The last detachment of 131st division sailed from Shanghai 31 May 1946, and landed in Sasebo, Nagasaki 6 June 1946, to be dissolved immediately.


131st Fighter Squadron
The 131st Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Massachusetts Air National Guard 104th Fighter Wing located at Barnes Air National Guard Base, Westfield, Massachusetts. The 131st is equipped with the F-15C/D Eagle.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, World War II
The squadron was first established in August 1942 at Bellows Field, Hawaii Territory as the 333d Fighter Squadron. It was initially part of the air defense of Hawaii, equipped with P-39 Airacobras. It also served as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) and flew reconnaissance patrols over Hawaii until late 1943.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, World War II
The 333d deployed to the Central Pacific as part of the Thirteenth Air Force island hopping campaign against Japanese in late 1943. It engaged in combat with the Japanese until April 1944, returning to Hawaii and being re-equipped and trained with long-range P-51 Mustangs. The squadron redeployed to the Western Pacific, and was stationed on Iwo Jima while the battle for the island was still ongoing and engaged in long-range B-29 Superfortress escort missions over Japan. It continued that mission until the end of hostilities in August 1945. The unit was reassigned to the Mariana Islands, as a Far East Air Forces fighter squadron, and was inactivated there in 1946.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard
The wartime 333d Fighter Squadron was redesignated the 131st Fighter Squadron, and was allotted to the Massachusetts Air National Guard, on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Barnes Municipal Airport, Westfield, Massachusetts, and was extended federal recognition on 24 February 1947. The squadron was equipped with P-47D Thunderbolts and was assigned to the Massachusetts National Guard 102d Fighter Group.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard
In 1950, the Massachusetts ANG converted to the wing-base (Hobson Plan) organization. As a result, the 67th Fighter Wing was withdrawn from the Air National Guard and inactivated on 31 October 1950. In its place, the 102d Fighter Group was assigned to the newly activated 102d Fighter Wing, however there was no change in mission to the 131st and it remained assigned to the 102d Fighter Group.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Air Defense Mission
The mission of the 131st Fighter Squadron was the air defense of Massachusetts. With the surprise invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1950, and the regular military's lack of readiness, most of the Air National Guard was federalized placed on active duty. The 131st was retained by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to maintain the air defense mission. In 1951, the F-47s were retired to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and the 131st was re-equipped with the F-51H Mustang Very Long Range fighter. With its air defense mission, the 131st was redesignated as the 131st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Air Defense Mission
Beginning on 1 March 1953, the 131st placed two F-51H fighters and five pilots on air defense "runway alert" from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. The runway alert program was the first broad effort to integrate reserve forces into a major Air Force operational mission on a volunteer basis during peacetime. In 1954, the Mustangs were reaching the end of their service life, and the 131st entered the Jet Age when it received F-94A Starfire interceptors.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Air Defense Mission
After the Korean War, the Massachusetts Air Guard began to modernize and expand. On 1 May 1956 the 102d wing was redesignated as the 102d Air Defense Wing and the Guard units at Barnes were authorized to expand to a group level, and the 104th Fighter Group (Air Defense) was established, with the 131st becoming the group's flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 104th Material Squadron, 104th Air Base Squadron, and the 104th USAF Infirmary. The 104th, along with the 102d Fighter Group (Air Defense) at Logan Airport, Boston began attending annual training at Otis Air Force Base.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
The squadron's air defense mission ended on 10 November 1958 when the Massachusetts Air Guard and its units were reassigned to Tactical Air Command (TAC) and converted to F-86H Sabre fighter-bombers. During the 1950s and early 1960s, better training and equipment, and closer relations with the Air Force improved the readiness of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
During the summer of 1961, as the 1961 Berlin Crisis unfolded, the 131st Tactical Fighter Squadron was notified on 16 August of its pending federalization and call to active duty. On 1 October the 131st was federalized and assigned to the 102d Tactical Fighter Wing, which was federalized and placed on active duty at Otis Air Force Base.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
The mission of the 102d wing was to reinforce the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and deploy units to Phalsbourg-Bourscheid Air Base, France. In France, the units were to provide close air support and air interdiction to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ground forces. This involved keeping its aircraft on 24/7 alert. Between 28 and 30 October, wing elements departed Otis AFB for Phalsbourg. The wing deployed 82 F-86H Sabres. In addition 2 C-47 Skytrain and 6 T-33 Shooting Star aircraft were assigned to the wing for support and training purposes.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
Starting on 5 December, the 131st began deploying to Wheelus Air Base Libya for gunnery training. During its time in Europe, the squadron participated in several USAF and NATO exercises, including a deployment to Leck Air Base, West Germany near the Danish border. At Leck, ground and support crews from both countries exchanged duties, learning how to perform aircraft maintenance and operational support tasks.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
On 7 May 1962, Seventeenth Air Force directed that the elements of the 102d wing deploy back to the United States during the summer, and the unit returned to the United States in July 1962. Regular USAF personnel, along with a group of Air National Guard personnel who volunteered to remain on active duty formed the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the newly activated 366th Tactical Fighter Wing. The last of the ANG aircraft departing on 20 July.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
After the Berlin Crisis, the readiness status of the 104th Tactical Fighter Group improved under the "gaining command concept", whereby the regular Air Force Tactical Air Command was responsible for overseeing the training of the group. Operational readiness inspections also honed the edges of the wing.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
In 1964, the 131st switched from F-86H Sabres to the F-84F Thunderstreak. Exactly why this equipment change was made can not be determined. The F-86H was a viable aircraft in the ANG's inventory, with the Sabres from both the 101st and 131st Tactical Fighter Squadrons being sent to the New Jersey ANG, and the 119th and 141st Tactical Fighter Squadrons sending their F-84Fs to the Massachusetts squadrons. The 131st flew the Thunderstreaks throughout the 1960s, and although the squadron was not activated during the Vietnam War, several of its pilots volunteered for combat duty in Southeast Asia. In 1971, the 104th began re-equipping with the F-100D Super Sabre; the Air Guard was always one generation of fighter aircraft behind the Air Force during this time.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
The 104th remained as a tactical fighter unit flying the F-100 until July 1979 when the F-100s were retired and the unit was re-equipped with new A-10 Thunderbolt IIs as part of the "Total Force" concept which equipped ANG units with front-line USAF aircraft. This marked the first time the 131st had received new aircraft.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
For most of its existence, the Air Guard had been a reserve force for federal use only in wartime or national emergency. By the 1980s, the Air Guard was an integral part of daily Air Force operations in what was called "The Total Force Policy" of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). As a result, the Massachusetts Air Guard took on more missions. With the receipt of the A-10, the 131st began a commitment to USAFE, beginning frequent deployments to West Germany, England, Italy, Turkey, and other NATO bases.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
In 1990 the 131st was programmed to receive the specialized Block 10 F-16A/B Fighting Falcon, also referred to as the F/A-16 due to its close air support configuration. The 1990 Gulf Crisis, however, delayed this transition. During Operation Desert Storm, the F/A-16 was battle tested and it was discovered that the close air support F-16 project was a failure. Subsequently, the conversion of the squadron was cancelled in 1993, and the 131st remained an A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support squadron.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
In March 1992, the unit was redesignated as the 131st Fighter Squadron. In June, Tactical Air Command was inactivated and was replaced by Air Combat Command (ACC). In 1995, the 104th adopted the Air Force Objective Organization plan and the 104th Fighter Group became a Wing, and the 131st was assigned to the new 104th Operations Group.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
From August to October 1995, some 400 Airmen of the 104th Fighter Wing deployed to Aviano Air Base, Italy as part of the NATO mission to repel Serbian forces in Bosnia. This was the first time that the 131st Fighter Squadron flew combat sorties since World Wat II. Four years later, in 1999, elements of the 104th mobilized and flew sorties over the skies of the former Republic of Yugoslavia. As part of an Air Guard A-10 group, the 131st attacked Serb forces in Kosovo.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
In mid-1996, the Air Force, in response to budget cuts, and changing world situations, began experimenting with Air Expeditionary organizations. The Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) concept was developed that would mix Active-Duty, Reserve and Air National Guard elements into a combined force, instead of entire permanent units deploying as in the 1991 Gulf War, Expeditionary units are composed of "aviation packages" from several wings, including active-duty Air Force, the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard, would be married together to carry out the assigned deployment rotation.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
As a result of the Global War on Terrorism, in 2003, the 131st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron flew hundreds of combat missions with the A-10 in support of U.S. Army and Marine operations in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom). During March and April 2003, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 131st Fighter Squadron A-10s supported the U.S. Army by flying combat missions that interdicted enemy forces.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD recommended that the 131st send its A-10s to the Maryland Air National Guard 104th Fighter Squadron at Warfield Air National Guard Base, Middle River, Maryland. In return, the 131st received the F-15C/D Eagles of the 102d Fighter Wing at Otis AFB, which was to convert into a non-flying Intelligence Wing. The realignment marked the end for the 131st's nearly 30-year mission of flying close-air support missions with the A-10. The 131st took over the homeland security mission of the 102d. In 2007, the A-10s began flying to Maryland and the F-15s began arriving from Otis AFB. By the end of 2007, eighteen F-15C and a trainer F-15D had arrived at Barnes.


131st Fighter Squadron, History, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
In addition to the air defense mission, the men and women of the 131st Fighter Squadron deploy on air expeditionary missions to the Middle East in support of combat operations as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The last such deployment was completed in July 2012.


131st Fighter Squadron, References, Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website .


131st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
131st Heavy Anti- Aircraft Regiment was an air defence unit of Britain's Royal Artillery formed during World War II. It was organised as the first 'Mixed' regiment in which women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service were integrated into the unit's personnel, though it later reverted to an all-male organisation. It defended the United Kingdom against aerial attack for two years.


131st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Organisation
By 1941, after two years of war Anti- Aircraft Command, tasked with defending the UK against air attack, was suffering a manpower shortage. In April its commander-in-chief, Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick 'Tim' Pile, proposed to overcome this by utilising the women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). The ATS was by law a non-combatant service, but it was decided that Defence Regulations permitted the employment of women in anti-aircraft (AA) roles other than actually firing the guns. They worked the radar and plotting instruments, range-finders and predictors, ran command posts and communications, and carried out many other duties.


131st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Organisation
With the increasing automation of heavy AA (HAA) guns, including gun-laying, fuze-setting and ammunition loading under remote control from the predictor, the question of who actually fired the gun became blurred as the war progressed. The ATS rank and file, if not always their officers, took to the new role with enthusiasm and 'Mixed' batteries and regiments with the ATS supplying two-thirds of their personnel quickly proved a success.


131st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Organisation
The first of these new batteries took over an operational gun site in Richmond Park, south-west London, in August 1941, and the first full regiment of converted batteries soon followed: 131st (Mixed) Heavy Anti- Aircraft Regiment, whose regimental headquarters (RHQ) formed at Bitterne, near Southampton, on 25 August. On 4 September it was joined by three existing HAA batteries that had been converted to the Mixed organisation:


131st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Organisation
Following the departure of 251 HAA Bty, 458 HAA Bty (an unmixed unit) joined on 28 October 1941. It served with the regiment until 2 April 1942 when it was reduced to a cadre to form the basis of a mixed battery at 205th HAA Training Rgt, Arborfield, but once it had completed conversion 458 (M) HAA Bty did not return to the regiment and instead joined a new 160th (M) HAA Rgt forming at Fort Fareham, Hampshire. 428 HAA Battery, also all-male, joined 131st (M) HAA Rgt from 54th (City of London) HAA Rgt on 29 December 1941.


131st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Organisation
131st HAA Regiment supplied a cadre to 207th HAA Training Rgt at Devizes as the basis of a new 520 (M) HAA Bty formed on 15 January 1942; this joined 152nd (M) HAA Rgt.


131st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Deployment
After formation, 131st (M) HAA Rgt was assigned to 35th Anti- Aircraft Brigade, part of 5th Anti- Aircraft Division tasked with defending Southampton and Portsmouth. However, 310 and 368 (M) HAA Btys came under the control of 8th Anti - Aircraft Division defending the area west of Southampton. In late 1941 and early 1942 RHQ only had 428 and 458 HAA Btys under its direct command, and lost its 'Mixed' designation.


131st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Deployment
The Blitz had ended in May 1941 and there were fewer air raids thereafter. Even during the Baedeker Blitz of 1942, the Luftwaffe avoided heavily defended targets such as Portsmouth and Southampton. Southampton was raided on 17 April and 21 June, Portsmouth on 20 August. After 458 HAA Bty left for conversion, and 428 Bty came under the control of 72nd (Hampshire) HAA Rgt, RHQ had no batteries under its direct command until it was joined on 10 July 1942 by another all-male battery, 376 HAA Bty from 97th (London Scottish) HAA Rgt.


131st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Deployment
The regiment and its four batteries (310, 368, 376, and 428), now all-male, left for 37 AA Bde in 6th Anti- Aircraft Division in July 1942. 37 AA Brigade operated the 'Thames North' AA layout in Essex, a key part of the AA defences of London against raiders flying up the Thames Estuary; 376 HAA Bty was under the operational command of 71 AA Bde, which was newly forming in 6 AA Division.


131st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Deployment
However, this deployment did not last long, and in August 1942 the regiment moved again, to 70 AA Bde in 4th Anti- Aircraft Division in North West England, with 376 and 428 HAA Btys attached to 33 (Western) AA Bde in Liverpool, 376 later coming under 44 AA Bde at Manchester.


131st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Deployment
In October 1942, 4th AA Division had been replaced by 4 AA Group and by March 1943 the regiment had moved to 53 AA Bde within that group. North West England was hardly threatened by the Luftwaffe by this stage of the war, and AA Command began redeploying its inadequate manpower to other sectors. First 310 and then 428 HAA Btys were attached for a time to 5 AA Group in North East England and then on 3 August 1943 the regiment began to disperse. The four batteries became independent on 6 August and RHQ completed its disbandment by 31 August.


131st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Insignia
While the male members of the regiment wore the Royal Artillery's 'gun' cap badge, the women wore the ATS cap badge, but in addition they wore the RA's 'grenade' collar badge as a special badge above the left breast pocket of the tunic. Both sexes wore the white RA lanyard on the right shoulder.


131st IOC Session
The 131st IOC Session  took place between September 13 – September 16, 2017 at the Lima Convention Centre in Lima, Peru. The host cities for the 2024 Summer Olympics and the 2028 Summer Olympics were elected during the 131st IOC Session on September 13, 2017.


131st IOC Session, Bidders
Lima, Peru, was selected as session host by the IOC general assembly over Helsinki, Finland, by 54 votes to 30.


131st IOC Session, Host city elections
Two Olympic host city elections took place at the 131st IOC Session. The host cities of the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics were elected.


131st IOC Session, Host city elections, 2024 Summer Olympics
The only candidate city for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Paris, France, was elected during the 131st IOC Session. The two French IOC members, Guy Drut and Tony Estanguet were not eligible to vote in this host city election under the rules of the Olympic Charter.


131st IOC Session, Host city elections, 2028 Summer Olympics
The only candidate city for the 2028 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles, United States, was elected during the 131st IOC Session. The three American IOC members, Anita DeFrantz, Angela Ruggiero and Larry Probst were not eligible to vote in this host city election under the rules of the Olympic Charter.


131st IOC Session, Host city elections, 134th IOC Session
Milan was elected as the host city of the 134th IOC Session in 2019. The 134th IOC Session would decide the host city for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan eventually decided to bid along with Cortina D'Ampezzo for the 2026 Winter Olympics, thereby forfeiting the 134th Session to Lausanne, Switzerland, as under Olympic Charter rules, the IOC Session deciding the host city of an Olympic Games, cannot take place in the same country that is bidding to host the Olympic Games being decided at that session. Milan and Cortina, won the rights to host the 2026 Winter Games at the 134th Session in 2019.


131st IOC Session, Election of the new IOC Executive Board members
Two IOC members were elected to the IOC Executive Board at the session.


131st IOC Session, Election of the new IOC Executive Board members
Denis Oswald and Nicole Hoevertsz were elected to the executive board. Anita DeFrantz was elected to a four-year term as a vice-president, succeeding John Coates, who concluded his term as a vice-president.


131st Illinois Infantry Regiment
The 131st Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.


131st Illinois Infantry Regiment, Service
The 131st Illinois Infantry was organized at Old Fort Massac, Illinois, and mustered into Federal service on November 13, 1862, for a three-year enlistment.


131st Illinois Infantry Regiment, Service
The regiment was consolidated with the 29th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment on November 15, 1863.


131st Illinois Infantry Regiment, Total strength and casualties
1 enlisted man killed, 11 officers and 282 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 294 fatalities.


131st Illinois Infantry Regiment, Further reading
This article about a specific military unit of the American Civil War is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
The 131st Infantry Brigade, originally the Surrey Brigade was an infantry formation of Britain's Territorial Army that saw service during both the First and the Second World Wars. In the First World War the brigade was in British India for most of the war and did not see service as a complete unit but many of its battalions would see service in the Middle East.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
The brigade, assigned to the 44th (Home Counties) Division, saw extensive service in the Second World War, in France and was later evacuated at Dunkirk in May 1940. It later saw service in the North African Campaign in late 1942 at El Alamein and Tunisia, Salerno in Italy, both in late 1943, and the invasion of Normandy and throughout North-west Europe from June 1944 until May 1945. From late 1942, when 44th Division was broken up, the brigade served with the 7th Armoured Division. Some sources call the brigade the 131st (Queen's) Brigade, due it being composed solely composed of battalions from the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey).


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Origin
The Volunteer Force of part-time soldiers was created following an invasion scare in 1859, and its constituent units were progressively aligned with the Regular British Army during the later 19th Century. The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 introduced a Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Origin
The Surrey Brigade was one of the formations organised at this time. Brigade Headquarters was at 71 New Street in Kennington Park (later at 97 Barkston Gardens) and the commander was Colonel Alexander Hamilton (later 10th Lord Belhaven and Stenton), a retired officer in the Royal Engineers. The assembly point for the brigade was at Caterham Barracks, the Brigade of Guards' depot conveniently situated for the London Defence Positions along the North Downs. The brigade's original composition was:


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Origin
In the reorganisation after the end of the 2nd Boer War in 1902, separate East and West Surrey Brigades were formed, under command of the respective regimental districts.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Territorial Force
When the Volunteers were subsumed into the Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms in 1908, the battalions in North Surrey, whose recruiting areas had fallen in the County of London since its formation 1889, became part of the all-Territorial London Regiment. These became the 21st to 24th Battalions and constituted the 6th London Brigade in the 2nd London Division. The four remaining battalions became battalions of their parent regiments and formed a single Surrey Brigade once more, as part of the Home Counties Division.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), First World War, Order of Battle
On the outbreak of war the Surrey Brigade was composed as follows:


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), First World War, Moblisation
On the outbreak of the First World War, most of the men of the division accepted liability for overseas service to go to British India to relieve Regular Army troops for the fighting fronts. However, the brigade staffs and Regular adjutants of the battalions remained behind. The division embarked at Southampton and sailed on 30 October 1914, disembarking at Bombay on 1–3 December.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), First World War, Service in India
On arrival, the division's units were distributed to various peacetime stations across India, Aden and Burma to continue their training for war. For a time the two East Surrey battalions were attached to the Allahabad Brigade in 8th (Lucknow) Division, where they were joined by the 4th Queens. In May 1915, the division was numbered 44th (Home Counties) Division and the brigade formally became 131st (1/1st Surrey) Brigade (though without a commander or staff). The TF battalions had all taken the prefix '1' (1/4th Queen's etc) to distinguish them from their 2nd Line battalions forming in the United Kingdom.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), First World War, Service in India
During 1915 there was a regular drain on the battalions as they lost their best Non-Commissioned Officers for officer training, sent detachments to various places in India, and provided drafts to replace casualties among units fighting in Mesopotamia. 1/5th Queens was transferred to Mesopotamia at the end of the year, landing at Basra on 10 December and transferring to 15th Indian Division.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), First World War, Service in India
By early 1916 it had become obvious that the Territorial Divisions in India (there were two others in addition to the 44th, the 43rd (Wessex) Division and 45th (2nd Wessex) Division were never going to be able to reform and return to Europe to reinforce the Western Front as had been originally intended. They continued training in India for the rest of the war, providing drafts and detachments as required. 1/6th East Surreys served in garrison at Aden from February 1917 to January 1918, and 1/5th East Surreys was transferred to Mesopotamia at the end of 1917, landing at Basra on 27 December and joining 55th Indian Brigade, 18th Indian Division.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), First World War, Service in India
The only battalion of the 131st Brigade that had not deployed outside India at any time during the war, 1/4th Queen's, finally saw active service in 1919 during the Third Anglo-Afghan War.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Between the wars
During 1919 the remaining units were gradually reduced and was finally disbanded, along with the rest of the Territorial Force, which was reformed as the Territorial Army in 1920. The division was also reconstituted as the 44th (Home Counties) Division. The brigade reformed as the 131st (Surrey) Infantry Brigade with the same composition it had before the First World War, with two battalions of the Queen's and two of the East Surreys.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Between the wars
However, in the late 1930s there was an increasing need to strengthen the anti-aircraft defences of the United Kingdom, particularly in London and Southern England. As a result, in 1938, the 4th Battalion, Queen's was converted into the 63rd (Queen's) Searchlight Regiment. In the same year, all infantry brigades in the British Army were reduced from four to three battalions and so the 5th East Surreys was transferred to the Royal Artillery, converted into the 57th (East Surrey) Anti -Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, becoming the anti-tank regiment for the division.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Between the wars
The 6th East Surreys were at the same time transferred to 132nd (Middlesex and Kent) Infantry Brigade. They were replaced in the brigade by the 6th (Bermondsey) and 7th (Southwark) battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment, previously the 22nd and 24th battalions of the London Regiment, both from the now disbanded 142nd (6th London) Infantry Brigade of 47th (2nd London) Infantry Division (converted into 1st AA Division). In 1939 the brigade was redesignated the 131st Infantry Brigade.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War
The brigade was mobilised in late August 1939, as was most of the rest of the Territorial Army, due to the worsening situation in Europe. The German Army invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 and the Second World War began two days later, on 3 September 1939.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War
Upon mobilisation in September 1939, 131st Brigade HQ became HQ Eastern Sub-Area in the United Kingdom and the units of the brigade were temporarily under the command of other formations until the brigade reassembled in 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division on 7 October 1939. Initially, it comprised the three 1st Line Territorial Army battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey).


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War, Service
The 131st Infantry Brigade, commanded at the time by Brigadier John Utterson-Kelso, landed in France with the rest of 44th Division on 3 April 1940 to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France. The division came under command of III Corps, serving alongside the 5th and 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Divisions. Both the 42nd and 44th Divisions had been kept back from strengthening the BEF sooner for potential operations in Northern Europe which, as it turned out, did not come to anything.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War, Service
In early May the brigade was bolstered by the 2nd Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), a Regular Army unit, replacing the 1/7th Queen's which transferred to 25th Infantry Brigade, under 5th Division at the time. This was one of the BEF's official policies and was intended to strengthen the inexperienced Territorial divisions, giving them much-needed experience.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War, Service
After fighting in the Battle of France in May 1940, the brigade retreated to Dunkirk and was evacuated on 31 May 1940, after the German Army threatened to cut off the BEF from the French Army. During the fighting the brigade, together with the rest of 44th Division, had sustained heavy losses, with 1/6th Queen's losing 9 officers and 400 other ranks, 3 of the officers and 130 men taken as prisoners of war (POWs) and 1/5th 125 casualties. Back in England, the brigade was reformed in numbers and re-equipped and positioned in Southeast England to defend what the divisional commander, Major-General Brian Horrocks, regarded as 'the No 1 German invasion area, stretching from the Isle of Thanet to Dover and on to Folkestone'.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War, Service
The brigade (now with 1/7th Queen's reunited), along with the rest of the 44th Division, now under Major-General Ivor Hughes (who had commanded the 1/6th Queen's at Dunkirk), was sent to North Africa in May 1942 where, shortly after arrival in August, they became part of the British Eighth Army, under Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery, and fought at the Battle of Alam el Halfa in late August. In late September the brigade fought in Operation Braganza with fairly light casualties, except the 1/5th Queen's which suffered heavy casualties of 12 officers and 260 other ranks killed, wounded or missing. The brigade later played a large part in the Second Battle of El Alamein and, again, suffered heavy casualties: 1/5th Queen's had 118 casualties, 1/6th had 197 and the 1/7th had had similar losses.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War, Service
When the 44th Division was broken up to provide infantry for other units (and Headquarters disbanded on 31 January 1943) 131st Brigade was redesignated as, on 1 November 1942, 131st Lorried Infantry Brigade and transferred to the 7th Armoured Division, nicknamed "The Desert Rats", and would remain with them for the rest of the war. The 7th Armoured was under command of XXX Corps, under Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese. The brigade, now under command of Brigadier Lashmer Whistler (nicknamed "Private Bolo" by men of the brigade), fought throughout the rest of the Tunisian Campaign until it ended in mid-May 1943, when the Germans and Italians fighting in North Africa finally surrendered, with the Allies capturing over 230,000 POWs.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War, Service
After the victory in Tunisia, the brigade did not take part in the Allied invasion of Sicily but instead the whole division rested at Homs and trained in amphibious warfare for the invasion of Italy.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War, Service
The brigade landed in Italy on 16 September 1943 during the early stages of fighting in the Italian theatre with British X Corps, commanded by Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery, temporarily under command of U.S. Fifth Army during the Battle for the Salerno beachhead where the brigade relieved its duplicate 169th (London) Infantry Brigade (consisting of the three 2nd Line duplicate battalions: 2/5th, 2/6th, and 2/7th, formed when the TA was doubled in size in 1939), part of the 56th (London) Infantry Division. The assembly of six battalions of a single regiment in two brigades is believed to be a unique event in the history of the British Army and is now a special Regimental Day, called Salerno Day, in the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (the successor regiment to the Queen's).


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War, Service
The brigade later helped breach the Volturno Line and saw little major action thereafter and, with the rest of the 7th Armoured Division, returned to the United Kingdom in early January 1944 and Brigadier Whistler was soon transferred to take command of the inexperienced 160th Infantry Brigade, part of the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division, and was replaced by Brigadier Maurice Ekins. With the rest of the 7th Armoured Division, the brigade was brought back up to strength again and began training for operations to open the Second Front. On 4 March 1944 the brigade was redesignated again as 131st Infantry Brigade.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War, Service
The brigade fought in North West Europe with the rest of 7th Armoured Division from June 7, the day after the D-Day landings, until Victory in Europe Day, fighting in particular throughout the Battle of Normandy in the Battle for Caen in Operation Perch, Villers-Bocage, Operation Goodwood and Operation Bluecoat.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War, Service
In December 1944, due to recent heavy losses suffered by the brigade, the 1/6th and 1/7th Queen's were exchanged for the 2nd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment (from 231st (Malta) Brigade) and 9th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (from 151st (Durham) Brigade), which were both formerly part of the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division that was being sent back to the United Kingdom to serve as a training division.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War, Service
Both the 1/6th and 1/7th Queen's were reduced to a small cadre, each of 100 officers and men, and the remainder of the men were transferred to fill gaps in the 1/5th Queen's, now commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Freeland, or transferred to the 4th King's Shropshire Light Infantry or 1st Herefordshire Light Infantry of 159th Infantry Brigade, 11th Armoured Division. The reorganised 131st Brigade then fought through the battles after Operation Blackcock and the Rhine crossing in March 1945. The brigade took part in the Berlin Victory Parade of 1945.


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War, Battles
131st Brigade participated in the following actions during the Second World War:


131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), Post-war
The brigade was disbanded after the war in 1946 and reformed in 1947, as the 131st (Surrey) Infantry Brigade, in the post-war reorganisation of the Territorial Army, consisting of the 5th, 6th (Bermondsey) and 7th (Southwark) battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), after amalgamating with the 2nd Line units. However, the 7th Queen's, after absorbing the duplicate 2/7th Battalion, was converted into 622nd Heavy Anti- Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (7th Battalion, The Queen's Royal Regiment). The 6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment replaced it but was disbanded in 1961 when the divisions amalgamated with the districts, and the 44th Division became 44th (Home Counties) Division/District.


131st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 131st Infantry Division (German: 131. Infanteriedivision) was a German Army infantry division in World War II.


131st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht), Operational history
The 131st Infantry Division was activated in October 1940, primarily out of other divisions - it included soldiers from the 31st and 269th Infantry Divisions, and cavalry from the 19th.


131st Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 131st Infantry Regiment is an Infantry Regiment in the Army National Guard.


131st Infantry Regiment (United States), Lineage
Constituted in the Illinois State Guard as the 1st Battalion of Infantry and organized 14 September 1874 in Chicago from the following companies raised entirely by subscription:


131st Infantry Regiment (United States), Distinctive Unit Insignia
A Silver color metal and enamel device 1 1/4 inches (3.18 cm) in height consisting of a shield blazoned:  Azure, a closet between two wavy barrulets, surmounted by a pairle, Argent; overall the old insignia of the First Regiment of Infantry, Illinois National Guard, (wheel within a diamond) Proper; in chief four fleurs-de-lis, three and one, of the second. Attached above the shield on a wreath, upon a grassy field the blockhouse of old Fort Dearborn, all Silver Gray. Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Silver scroll inscribed "DUCIT AMOR PATRIAE" in Blue letters.


131st Infantry Regiment (United States), Distinctive Unit Insignia
The shield is blue – the present Infantry color, and the main charges are silver or white – the old Infantry facing color. The pairle is taken from the Chicago seal:  the first wavy barrulets represents Spanish–American War service, the closet Mexican Border duty, and the second wavy barrulets the second time the organization was in Federal service overseas. The four fleurs-de-lis represent the engagements during World War I. The charge in the fess point is the insignia of the old First Regiment of Infantry, Illinois National Guard. The motto translates to "Led By Love Of Country."


131st Infantry Regiment (United States), Distinctive Unit Insignia
The distinctive unit insignia was approved for the 131st Infantry Regiment on 19 April 1927.


131st Infantry Regiment (United States), Coat of arms
Azure, a closet between two wavy barrulets, surmounted by a pairle, Argent; overall the old insignia of the First Regiment of Infantry, Illinois National Guard, (wheel within a diamond) Proper; in chief four fleurs-de-lis, three and one, of the second.


131st Infantry Regiment (United States), Coat of arms
That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Illinois Army National Guard:  On a wreath of the colors Argent and Azure, upon a grassy field the blockhouse of old Fort Dearborn Proper. Motto:   DUCIT AMOR PATRIAE (Led By Love Of Country).


131st Infantry Regiment (United States), Coat of arms
The shield is blue – the present Infantry color, and the main charges are silver or white – the old Infantry facing color. The pairle is taken from the Chicago seal:  the first wavy barrulets represents Spanish–American War service, the closet Mexican Border duty, and the second wavy barrulets the second time the organization was in Federal service overseas. The four fleurs-de-lis represent the engagements during World War I. The charge in the fess point is the insignia of the old First Regiment of Infantry, Illinois National Guard.


131st Infantry Regiment (United States), Coat of arms
The crest is that of the Illinois Army National Guard.


131st Infantry Regiment (United States), Coat of arms
The coat of arms was approved on 19 April 1927


131st Infantry Regiment (United States), Campaign streamers
Presidential Unit Citation (Navy), streamer embroidered GUADALCANALPhilippine Presidential Unit Citation, streamer embroidered 17 OCTOBER 1944 to 4 JULY 1945


131st Infantry Regiment (United States), Campaign streamers
Company B (Machesney Park), 1st Battalion is entitled to Presidential Unit Citation (Army), streamer embroidered BOUGAINVILLE


131st New York Infantry Regiment
The 131st New York Infantry Regiment (a.k.a. "1st Regiment Metropolitan Guard") was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.


131st New York Infantry Regiment, Service
The 131st New York Infantry was organized at New York City, New York beginning July 10, 1862, and mustered in for three-years service on September 6, 1862, under the command of Colonel Charles S. Turnbull.


131st New York Infantry Regiment, Service
The regiment was attached to District of Annapolis, Maryland, VIII Corps, Middle Department, to December 1862. Grover's Division, Department of the Gulf, to January 1863. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to February 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to July 1864, and Army of the Shenandoah, Middle Military Division, to January 1865. 2nd Brigade, Grover's Division, District of Savannah, Department of the South, to March 1865. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, X Corps, Army of the Ohio, Department of North Carolina, to April 1865. District of Savannah, Department of the South, to July 1865.


131st New York Infantry Regiment, Service
The 131st New York Infantry mustered out of service July 26, 1865 at Savannah, Georgia.


131st New York Infantry Regiment, Detailed service
Left New York for Annapolis, Maryland, September 14, 1862. Duty at Annapolis, Maryland, until November 18, 1862. Ordered to New Orleans, Louisiana, November 18; then moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, December, and duty there until March 1863. Operations against Port Hudson March 7–27. Moved to Donaldsonville March 27, then to Brashear City, Louisiana Operations in Western Louisiana April 9 – May 14. Bayou Teche Campaign, April 11–20. Fort Bisland, April 12–13. Madam Porter's Plantation, Indian Bend, April 13. Irish Bend, April 14. Bayou Vermillion, April 17. March to Opelousas, April 19–20. Moved to New Iberia, April 25.


131st New York Infantry Regiment, Detailed service
Siege of Port Hudson, May 24 – July 9. Assaults on Port Hudson, May 27 and June 14. Action at Plaquemine, June 18 (detachment). Surrender of Port Hudson, July 9. Kock's Plantation, Bayou LaFourche, July 12–13. Duty at Thibodeauxville until March 1864. Expedition from Brashear City, February 3–6, 1864 (detachment). Red River Campaign, March 25 – May 22. Alexandria, May 1. Construction of dam at Alexandria, April 30 – May 10. Retreat to Mansura, May 13–20. Mansura, May 16.


131st New York Infantry Regiment, Detailed service
Duty at Morganza until July 3. Moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, then to Fort Monroe, Virginia, and to Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, July 3–22. In the trenches at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, until July 28. Deep Bottom, July 28–29. Moved to Washington, D.C., then to Tennallytown, July 31 – August 2. Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign, August 7 – November 28. Battle of Winchester, September 19. Fisher's Hill, September 22. Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19. Duty at Kernstown and Winchester until January 1865. Moved to Savannah, Georgia, January 5–22, and duty there until March. At Morehead City and New Bern, North Carolina, until April. At Savannah, Georgia, until July.


131st New York Infantry Regiment, Casualties
The regiment lost a total of 194 men during service; two officers and 82 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, three officers and 107 enlisted men died of disease.


131st New York State Legislature
The 131st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 1 to June 11, 1908, during the second year of Charles Evans Hughes's governorship, in Albany.


131st New York State Legislature, Background
Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, re-apportioned in 1906 and 1907, 51 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts; senators for a two-year term, assemblymen for a one-year term. The senatorial districts were made up of entire counties, except New York County (twelve districts), Kings County (eight districts), Erie County (three districts) and Monroe County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of contiguous area, all within the same county.


131st New York State Legislature, Background
On April 27, 1906, the Legislature re-apportioned the Senate districts, increasing the number to 51. The apportionment was then contested in the courts.


131st New York State Legislature, Background
The Legislature also re-apportioned the number of assemblymen per county. Nassau County was separated from the remainder of Queens County; Albany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oswego and Rensselaer counties lost one seat each; Erie, Monroe and Westchester gained one each; and Kings and Queens counties gained two each.


131st New York State Legislature, Background
On April 3, 1907, the new Senate and Assembly apportionment was declared unconstitutional by the New York Court of Appeals.


131st New York State Legislature, Background
On July 26, 1907, the Legislature again re-apportioned the Senate districts, and re-enacted the 1906 Assembly apportionment.


131st New York State Legislature, Background
At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Independence League, the Socialist Party and the Prohibition Party also nominated tickets.


131st New York State Legislature, Elections
The New York state election, 1907, was held on November 5. The only two statewide elective offices up for election were two judgeships on the New York Court of Appeals which were carried by a Republican and a Democrat both of which had been endorsed by the other major party.


131st New York State Legislature, Sessions
The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 1, 1908; and adjourned on April 23.


131st New York State Legislature, Sessions
The Legislature met for a special session at the State Capitol in Albany on May 11, 1908; and adjourned on June 11. This session was called to consider enacting reform legislation which had been recommended by the governor at the beginning of the session, but was ignored by the Legislature. Among the measures advocated by the governor were an anti-horse-race-track-gambling bill (enacted as the Hart–Agnew Law), a plan to extend the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission to the telephone and telegraph companies, and a ballot reform.


131st New York State Legislature, State Senate, Districts
Note: The senators had been elected to a two-year term in November 1906 under the 1906 apportionment, as stated below. Although the Legislature re-apportioned the Senate districts in 1907, the first senatorial election under the new apportionment occurred in November 1908.


131st New York State Legislature, State Senate, Members
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.


131st New York State Legislature, State Assembly
Note: For brevity, the chairmanships mentioned omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."


131st Ohio General Assembly
The One Hundred Thirty-first Ohio General Assembly was a meeting of the Ohio state legislature, composed of the Ohio State Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives. It convened in Columbus, Ohio on January 5, 2015 and is scheduled to adjourn January 2, 2017. The apportionment of legislative districts is based on the 2010 United States Census and 2011 redistricting plan. Both the Ohio Senate and Ohio House of Representatives were retained by the Ohio Republican Party.


131st Ohio Infantry Regiment
The 131st Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 131st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 131st OVI) was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.


131st Ohio Infantry Regiment, History
The 131st OVI was mustered into the service at Camp Chase in Columbus on May 14, 1864, as an Ohio National Guard unit. It was a part of the Hundred Days Regiments commissioned by Ohio Governor John Brough as rear guard troops in an effort to free up veteran regiments for front-line combat duty in an all-out effort to seize Richmond, Virginia, and hasten the end of the war. Its commander was Col. John G. Lowe.


131st Ohio Infantry Regiment, History
On May 15, the new regiment traveled by train to Baltimore, Maryland, where it was assigned to the Second Separate Brigade of the VIII Corps. The 131st never saw any combat. Instead, it primarily served on garrison duty at Fort McHenry, then at Fort Marshall and Federal Hill. Detachments served at Washington, D.C., Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Fortress Monroe, and City Point, Virginia. On August 19 the regiment was ordered to return to Ohio because the soldiers were nearing the end of their short term of enlistment. The 865 remaining men mustered out at Camp Chase on August 25, 1864. The 131st Regiment lost two enlisted men by disease during its service, though others would succumb to complications of malaria in the years following.


131st Operations Group
The mission of the 131st Operations Group, 131st Bomb Wing, is to provide expeditionary, B-2 global strike combat support capabilities to geographic commanders and Commander, United States Strategic Command. This is done by training and equipping airmen to fly the aircraft of the 509th Bomb Wing. The group also organizes, trains, and prepares a force of citizen airmen to defend and serve the people of Missouri.


131st Operations Group, History, World War II
During World War II, the 131st Operations Group;s heraldic predecessor, the 364th Fighter Group, organized and trained in California during 1943 before moving to England in January 1944 where it was assigned to VIII Fighter Command. The 364th flew escort, dive-bombing, strafing, and patrol missions in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. At first the group operated primarily as escort for Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. The group patrolled the English Channel during the Normandy invasion in June 1944, and while continuing escort operations, supported ground forces in France after the invasion by strafing and bombing locomotives, marshalling yards, bridges, barges, and other targets.


131st Operations Group, History, World War II
In the summer of 1944, the 364th converted from Lockheed P-38 Lightnings to North American P-51 Mustangs and until the end of the war flew many long-range missions including escorting heavy bombers to attack oil refineries, industries, and other strategic objectives at Berlin, Regensburg, Merseburg, Stuttgart, Brussels, and elsewhere. The 364th received a Distinguished Unit Citation for an escort mission on 27 December 1944 when the group dispersed a large force of German fighters that attacked the bomber formation the group was escorting on a raid to Frankfurt.


131st Operations Group, History, World War II
The 364th also flew air-sea rescue missions, engaged in patrol activities, and continued to support ground forces as the battle line advanced through France and into Germany. It took part in Operation Market-Garden, the effort secure bridgeheads across the Rhine in the Netherlands by air, September 1944; the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 – January 1945; and Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945. Although the last mission by the 364th took place on 25 April 1945, the group did not depart until November, returning to Camp Kilmer New Jersey for inactivation


131st Operations Group, History, Missouri Air National Guard
The wartime 364th Fighter Group was allotted to the National Guard as the 131st Fighter Group on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Lambert Field, near St Louis, Missouri and was extended federal recognition on 15 July 1946. Assigned to the Missouri National Guard's 57th Fighter Wing, the 131st Group controlled the 110th Fighter Squadron in St. Louis and the 180th Bombardment Squadron at Rosecrans Memorial Airport, St Joseph. On 1 November 1950 the 71st Fighter Wing was inactivated and its personnel and equipment were assigned to the new 131st Composite Wing when Continental Air Command reorganized its combat units under the Wing Base organization. The 131st Wing has been the group's parent ever since.


131st Operations Group, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Korean War activation
On 1 March 1951 the 131st was federalized and brought to active duty due to the Korean War. It initially transferred to Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas as the 131st Fighter-Bomber Group was composed of the 110th Fighter Squadron, the 170th Fighter-Bomber Squadron (Illinois ANG) and the 192d Fighter-Bomber Squadron (Nevada ANG).


131st Operations Group, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Korean War activation
In November when the group was transferred to Tactical Air Command (TAC) and moved to George Air Force Base, California. At George, the unit trained for deployment overseas. On 1 December 1952, its period of federal service terminated and the group was relieved from active duty and returned to the Missouri Air National Guard, while its personnel and equipment at George were transferred to the 479th Fighter-Bomber Group.


131st Operations Group, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
Returning to Lambert Field, the 131st became a light bombardment group and came under TAC for mobilization. It received Douglas B-26 Invaders that returned from the Korean War and trained primarily in night bombardment missions. With the retirement of the B-26 in 1957, the 131st entered the "Jet Age." It received its first jet aircraft in the spring of 1957 when it received some Lockheed F-80 Shooting Stars, then in June 1957, with a mission of air defense. The group was inactivated in November 1958.


131st Operations Group, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command
After the 131st Wing returned to St. Louis after mobilization for the Berlin Crisis of 1961, the group was reactivated as the 131st Tactical Fighter Group and equipped with North American F-100C Super Sabres in late 1962. Although not activated during the Vietnam War, many of the group's pilots were sent to F-100 squadrons in South Vietnam between 1968 and 1971. The group was again inactivated in 1974, when Air National Guard tactical groups on the same base as their parent wings were discontinued and their squadrons assigned directly to the wing.


131st Operations Group, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
The Air Force again reorganized under the Objective Wing model and in 1993, the group again activated as the 131st Operations Group. Members were called into service to battle the Great Flood of 1993. In the post-Cold War era, the unit deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey in support of Operation Northern Watch in 1996, 1997 and 1998.


131st Operations Group, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
On 16 March 2006, the Air Force announced that elements of the group would become an associate unit of the active duty 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base. Consequently, the group transitioned from flying and maintaining the F-15C Eagle fighter to the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bomber. The final flight of the F-15C Eagle by the 131st occurred in June 2009. The 509th and the 131st joined forces according to what is known as a "classic associate wing" structure. As a result, active duty and Air National Guard pilots and maintainers fly B-2 missions and sustain the aircraft as though they were one unit.


131st Operations Group, History, Missouri Air National Guard, Global Strike Command
The 131st Bomb Wing's transition to Air Force Global Strike Command occurred on 4 October 2008 when the 131st Bomb Wing held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Whiteman. The ceremony celebrated the first official drill for traditional guardsmen at Whiteman and the grand opening of building 3006, the 131st Bomb Wing's first headquarters there. On 16 June 2009, the last F-15 departed Lambert Field. In August 2013, the 131st Bomb Wing was deemed fully mission-capable, meaning that it fully completed the transition to Whiteman Air Force Base.


131st Operations Group, References, Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website .


131st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment
The 131st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.


131st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, Service
The 131st Pennsylvania Infantry was organized at Camp Curtin near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and mustered in August 1862 for nine month's service under the command of Colonel Peter H. Allabach.


131st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, Service
The regiment was attached to 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, V Corps, Army of the Potomac.


131st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, Detailed service
Moved to Washington, D.C., August 20, and duty there until September 14. Moved to Sharpsburg, Md., and duty there until October 30. Movement to Falmouth, Va., October 30-November 19. Battle of Fredericksburg December 12-15. Burnside's 2nd Campaign, "Mud March," January 20-24, 1863. Duty at Falmouth until April. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5


131st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, Casualties
The regiment lost a total of 83 men during service; 2 officers and 36 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 44 enlisted men died of disease.


131st Regiment (XPCC)
The 131st Regiment of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (新疆生产建设兵团第131团), also known as the 131th Regiment of the XPCC (兵团131团), together with its reclamation area, commonly known as the 131st Regiment Farm (兵团131团场), is an economic and paramilitary formed unit that is part of the 7th Division (兵团第七师). The Regiment is headquartered at Junggar Road (准噶尔路) in Kuytun City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is composed of 21 agriculture construction companies. As of 2010 census, its population was 24,154.


131st Regiment (XPCC)
The 131th Regiment is located in the territories of Kuytun and Wusu cities. It is bordered by Kuytun River to the west, and to the south by the southwestern edge of Jungger Basin on the northern side of Tianshan. The regiment has plain farming areas and mountain pastures. It has an area of 779.846 square kilometers, of which 644.5767 square kilometers are in Kuytun and 129.2687 square kilometers in Wusu.


131st Regiment (XPCC), History
Based on Henan Zhibian Brigade (河南支边大队) with about a thousand people and some cadres and soldiers transferred from the 7th Division of the XPCC, Quytun Farm (奎屯农场) was incorporated in July 1956. The Quytun Farm was organized into the 131th Regiment, a separate paramilitary organization with serial number by Xinjiang Military District (新疆军区) in 1969.


131st Regiment of Foot
The 131st Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, created in 1793 and disbanded in 1796. The regiment was raised by General Henry Edward Fox, with the colonelcy being transferred to Lowther Pennington, 2nd Baron Muncaster shortly thereafter.


131st Rescue Squadron
The 131st Rescue Squadron (131 RQS) is a unit of the California Air National Guard 129th Rescue Wing located at Moffett Federal Airfield, Mountain View, California.


131st Rescue Squadron, Overview
The unit was established on 1 October 2003 by the Air Force Special Operations Command as part of a re-organization of Air National Guard rescue units which created separate squadrons for fixed-wing, helicopter, and pararescue elements of the 129th Rescue Squadron. All three squadrons are assigned to the 129th Operations Group. The HH-60 helicopter flight became 129th Rescue Squadron; the HC-130P Hercules flight become the 130th Rescue Squadron, and the pararescue flight became the 131st Rescue Squadron.


131st Rescue Squadron, Overview
The squadron consists of pararescue and support personnel, utilizing the helicopter and transport assets of the 129th Rescue Wing. All three rescue squadrons are assigned to the 129th Operations Group.


131st Rescue Squadron, Operations
When in a theater of combat, squadron members operate at the direction of the overall theater combatant commander and the theater's commander of air forces. In these situations, the 131st is primarily assigned to conduct personnel recovery operations—rescuing downed airmen or other isolated personnel from enemy territory, for example. In addition to combat search-and-rescue missions like these, the 130th may also conduct collateral missions: noncombatant evacuation operations, inter- and intra-theater airlift, and support of special operations forces, for example.


131st Rescue Squadron, Operations
Back at home, the 131st Rescue Squadron furnishes trained personnel to respond to state emergencies, such as natural disasters, and to assist civil authorities in the enforcement of the law. Other 131st missions include non-combat search and rescue (SAR), emergency aeromedical evacuations, humanitarian relief, international aid, counter-drug activities, and support for NASA flight operations.


131st Rescue Squadron, Operations
The 131st RQS has been assigned to support Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) in support of the Global War on Terrorism.


131st Rocket Brigade
The 131st Rocket Brigade was a tactical ballistic missile brigade of the Soviet Army and Russian Ground Forces from 1960 to 1993. Based at Luga, Leningrad Oblast, it was part of the Leningrad Military District. It was formed from an anti-aircraft artillery regiment.


131st Rocket Brigade, History
The 240th Anti- Aircraft Artillery Regiment was part of the 10th Guards Army at the beginning of August 1943, the first time it appears in the Combat composition of the Soviet Army. The regiment remained with the 10th Guards Army for the rest of the war.


131st Rocket Brigade, History
The regiment helped capture Rezekne in July 1944 under command of Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Petrovich Kazantsev. For its actions the regiment was awarded the honorific "Rezekne". During World War II, the regiment also received the Order of Suvorov 3rd class. Between 1945 and 1960 it was known as the 240th Anti- Aircraft Artillery Regiment.


131st Rocket Brigade, History
The brigade was formed in 1960 in Luga with the Leningrad Military District, apparently from parts of the 240th Anti- Aircraft Artillery Regiment. Other elements of the regiment became the 59th Anti- Aircraft Rocket Brigade. It included three separate rocket battalions and a technical battery. It was equipped with R-11 Zemlya and R-17 Elbrus tactical ballistic missiles. The brigade was disbanded in 1993.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade
The 131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade (Russian: 131-я отдельная мотострелковая бригада) was a motorised infantry unit of the Soviet Army and of the Russian Ground Forces.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade
The division traced its lineage back to the formation of the 1st Kursk Infantry Division in 1918 during the Russian Civil War. The division was redesignated as the 9th Rifle Division in October of that year, and fought as part of the Southern Front against the White Armed Forces of South Russia from late 1918 to early 1920. In late 1920 it fought in the Perekop–Chongar Operation, completing the defeat of the remaining White forces in Crimea, after which it participated in the Red Army invasion of Georgia in early 1921.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade
The division was stationed in Georgia after the end of the campaign, guarding a sector of the Soviet border with Turkey. In late 1921 it was broken up into two separate rifle brigades, which were combined into the 1st Caucasian Rifle Division in 1922. The division was converted into a mountain unit in 1931, and was renumbered as the 9th Mountain Rifle Division in 1936.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade
Following the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II, the division remained in its positions on the Turkish border, although elements of the 9th fought in the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula and the early stages of the Battle of the Caucasus. In late 1942 the entire division was relocated north to the front, fighting in the offensive that forced the withdrawal of German troops from the North Caucasus in early 1943, before spending most of the year fighting to capture the Kuban bridgehead. Reorganized as the 9th Rifle Division in September, the division transferred to Ukraine in early 1944, after which it fought in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive, Vistula–Oder Offensive, and Prague Offensive before the end of the war in May 1945.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade
Postwar, the division was relocated to Krasnodar in the North Caucasus and was reduced to a rifle brigade until 1949, when it became the 9th Mountain Rifle Division again. After moving to Maykop in 1950, the 9th became a regular rifle division again in 1954, and converted into the 80th Motor Rifle Division in 1957. In 1964 its historic World War II designation was restored, and the division spent the rest of the Cold War in Maykop.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade
After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, the 9th transferred to the Russian Ground Forces and reorganized as the 131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade in late 1992. The brigade fought in the Battle of Grozny during the First Chechen War, and elements of it served in the Second Chechen War. In 2009, after the Russo-Georgian War, it was relocated to Gudauta in the disputed territory of Abkhazia, and was redesignated the 7th Military Base.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Russian Civil War and Interwar period
The 9th Kursk Infantry Division was created on the 20 July 1918 as one of the first divisions of the Soviet Union during the Russian Civil War. The division was stationed in the Caucasus region, later the Transcaucasian Military District and soon renamed 9th Infantry, and later 9th Rifle division. In 1922 the division was renamed the 1st Caucasus ('Kavkaz') Rifle Division.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Russian Civil War and Interwar period
After service during the Civil War, during which the division changed its name numerous times, the division was awarded the honorific name "of the Central Executive Committee of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic" (Russian: ЦИК ССР Грузии) in 1928. For the 10th anniversary of Red Army on February 29, 1928, the division was awarded the Revolutionary Red Banner of Honor and added the Red Banner (Krasnoznamennaya) to its title.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Russian Civil War and Interwar period
During 1931 the division was reorganised into a mountain rifle division.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Russian Civil War and Interwar period
On 23 February 1936 the division was awarded the Order of the Red Star and on the 23 February the name was slightly changed to "of the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic". In July of the same year the division was renamed again as the 9th Red Banner Mountain Rifle Division.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Second World War combat history
Before the war the division consisted of the following units:


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Second World War combat history
The division began the war in the Transcaucasian Military District with the 40th Rifle Corps alongside the 31st Rifle Division. During the war the division was at various times serving as part of the 46th, 37th, 56th, Separate Coastal, 69th, 18th, 5th Guards Army and 60th Armies. The division took part in the Battle of the Caucasus. The division participated in the fighting for Feodosiya, Tuapse, in the Kuban and Taman Peninsula, and Krakow.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Second World War combat history
On September 3, 1943, for the liberation of Kuban region and the capital of the region, Krasnodar, the division was awarded the honorary name “Krasnodarskaya”, and the division was reformed again and became known as the 9th Plastunskaya  Krasnodar Red Banner, Order of Red Star Rifle Division (Russian: 9-я пластунская стрелковая Краснодарская Краснознамённая, ордена Красной Звезды дивизия). Its enlisted and non-commissioned personnel came largely from the cossacks of the Kuban region.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Second World War combat history
During the period 1944 – 1945 the division participated in the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive (13 July – 29 August 1944 also known as the 6th Stalin's Shock), and the liberation of Poland and Czechoslovakia for which in April 1945 the division was awarded the Order of Kutuzov 2nd class. With 60th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front in May 1945.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Second World War combat history
Its full title in 1945 was Кrasnodar Red Banner, Order of Kutuzov, Red Star Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Post-war service history
After the war the division was returned to Krasnodar, and in 1950 the division was relocated to Maykop. After the reforms of 1956 the division became the 9th Motor Rifle Division and was based at Maykop for many years.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Post-war service history
On 12 September 1992 the division was reorganised as the 131st Separate Motor Rifle order of Kutuzov and Red Star Brigade of the 67th Army Corps, North Caucasus Military District (Russian: 131 Отдельная мотострелковая орденов Кутузова и красной Звезды бригада (ОМСБ)). The brigade participated in the First Chechen War of 1994–96, including the New Year 1995 assault on Grozniy during the combat for the railway terminal where it suffered severe casualties in dead and wounded following an ambush by superior enemy numbers.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Post-war service history
The battle for Grozny cost 157 casualties, including 24 officers (including Colonel Savin), one warrant officer (Russian: прапорщик) and 60 NCOs and soldiers killed and 12 officers, one warrant officer and 59 NCOs and soldiers missing (presumed dead). The brigade also lost 22 T-72 tanks, 45 BMP-2s, and 37 cars and trucks. although other sources give higher losses attributed to the 81st Motor Rifle Regiment which participated in the operation. The brigade was forced to withdraw from combat, was surrounded, and forced to abandon all of its equipment, with the personnel escaping individually or in small groups. From March 1995 the brigade participates in the Gudermes operation. In all the brigade suffered 1,282 casualties during the campaign.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Post-war service history
On 26 April 1995 the brigade returned to Adygeya but was recalled to combat service three months later to participate in further operations in Chechnya, eventually as two manoeuvre groups from 20 February to 7 October 1996.


131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, Post-war service history
Since the Chechnya campaigns the brigade has remained in the Caucasus region, and has again changed its name to 131st Separate Motor-Rifle Krasnodar Red Banner, Order of Kutuzov and Red Star Kuban cossack brigade (Russian: 131-й отдельная мотострелковая Краснодарская Краснознаменная, орденов Кутузова и Красной Звезды Кубанская казачья бригада) Two of its battalions are participating in the peace-keeping missions in Georgia in the regions of Urta and along the Abkhazian-Georgian border. These battalions and the brigade's tank battalion are staffed completely with professional service personnel serving under the new contracts. The brigade has achieved first place in the performance assessment within the military district during 2005.


131st Tank Regiment (Italy)
The 131st Tank Regiment (Italian: 31° Reggimento Carri) is an inactive tank regiment of the Italian Army based in Persano in Campania. Originally, the regiment, like all Italian tank units, was part of the infantry, but on 1 June 1999 it became part of the cavalry. Operationally, the regiment was last assigned to the Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi".


131st Tank Regiment (Italy), History, World War II
The regiment was formed by the depot of the 31st Tank Infantry Regiment in Siena on 27 July 1941 as the 131st Tank Infantry Regiment with three tank battalions formed by the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment. All three battalions were equipped with captured French tanks. The regiment was formed with the following structure:


131st Tank Regiment (Italy), History, World War II
On 15 August 1941, the regiment arrived in the Friuli region and joined the 131st Armored Division "Centauro", which already fielded the 31st Tank Infantry Regiment. On 25 December 1941, the regiment ceded the CC Tank Battalion "S35" to the XIII Army Corps on Sardinia. On 2 January 1942, the regiment left the Centauro division and moved to Sicily, where the regiment's CII Tank Battalion "R35" was assigned to the XII Army Corps defending the island's West, while the regiment's headquarter with the CI Tank Battalion "R35" joined the XVI Army Corps defending the island's South.


131st Tank Regiment (Italy), History, World War II
In Sicily, the regiment's two battalions and the companies of the CXXXIII Semovente Battalion "47/32" were split into small tactical groups. When the allied invasion of Sicily began on 9 July 1943, the CII Tank Battalion "R35" was annihilated by the American 3rd Infantry Division on 21 July 1943 north of Agrigento, while remnants of the CI Tank Battalion managed to retreat to Messina and from there they were evacuated to Calabria. On 1 September 1943, the remnants of the 131st Tank Infantry Regiment arrived in Siena to be reformed, but after Italy changed sides with the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the 131st Tank Infantry Regiment was disbanded by the Germans.