351st Fighter Squadron
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. Its last assignment was with 353d Fighter Group
353d Fighter Group
The 353d Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Army Service Forces, being stationed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 18 October 1945....
stationed at Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
On 24 May 1946, the unit was redesignated as the 158th Fighter Squadron and allocated to the Georgia Air National Guard
Georgia Air National Guard
The Georgia Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is, along with the Georgia Army National Guard, an element of the Georgia National Guard...
.
History
Activated in late 1942. Trained under First Air ForceFirst Air Force
The First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
in northeastern United States with P-40 Warhawks, also performing Air Defense as part of Norfolk
Norfolk Fighter Wing
The Norfolk Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the I Fighter Command, stationed at Norfolk Airport, Virginia It was inactivated on 3 April 1946....
and Philadelphia Fighter Wing
Philadelphia Fighter Wing
The Philadelphia Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the I Fighter Command, stationed at Philadelphia Airport, Pennsylvania It was inactivated on 3 April 1946....
s. Deployed to European Theater of Operations, June 1943, being equipped with P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
s in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Assigned as a heavy bomber escort squadron under VIII Fighter Command
VIII Fighter Command
The VIII Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, being stationed at RAF Honington, England. It was inactivated on 20 March 1946....
. Re-equipped with long-range P-51D Mustangs, July 1944, Thunderbolts being transferred to IX Fighter Command
IX Fighter Command
The IX Fighter Command is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Erlangen, Germany. It was inactivated on 16 November 1945....
as tactical fighter-bombers supporting ground forces in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Performed bomber escort missions until the end of the war in Europe, April 1945.
Squadron demobilized in England during the summer of 1945, inactivated in United States as a paper unit, October 1945. Became part of postwar Georgia Air National Guard
Georgia Air National Guard
The Georgia Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is, along with the Georgia Army National Guard, an element of the Georgia National Guard...
in May 1946.
Lineage
- Constituted 35ist Fighter Squadron on 29 September 1942
- Activated on 1 October 1942
- Inactivated on 18 October 1945.
- Redesignated 158th Fighter Squadron, and allotted to Georgia ANG, on 24 May 1946
Assignments
- 353d Fighter Group353d Fighter GroupThe 353d Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Army Service Forces, being stationed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 18 October 1945....
, 1 October 1942-18 October 1945
- Assigned Fuselage Code: YJ
Stations
- Mitchel Field, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, 1 October 1942 - Richmond Army Air Base, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, c. 7 October 1942 - Norfolk Army Airfield, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, 23 October 1942 - Millville Army Airfield, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, 16 February-27 May 1943 - RAF GoxhillRAF GoxhillRAF Goxhill is a former Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force station in England. It is located just to the east of the village of Goxhill, on the south bank of the Humber estuary, opposite the city of Kingston upon Hull, in north Lincolnshire....
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 8 June 1943 - RAF Metfield, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 5 August 1943 - RAF RaydonRAF RaydonRAF Raydon is a former United States Army Air Force station in England. It is located just to the northeast of the village of Raydon, about 6 miles from Ipswich on the B1070 in Suffolk.-Origins:...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 14 April 1944-11 October 1945 - Camp KilmerCamp KilmerCamp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, 16–18 October 1945
Aircraft
- P-40 Warhawk, 1942–1943
- P-47 ThunderboltP-47 ThunderboltRepublic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
, 1943–1944 - P-51 MustangP-51 MustangThe North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
, 1944–1945