358th Fighter Squadron
Encyclopedia
355th Fighter Wing
The 355th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force. It is stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, where in operates the A-10 Thunderbolt II...
at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
Davis–Monthan Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, and approximately south-southeast of downtown, Tucson, Arizona....
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. It operates A-10 Thunderbolt II
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
aircraft conducting close air support missions.
Mission
The 358th conducts all formal course directed aircraft transition, day and night weapons and tactics employment, day and night air refueling, and dissimilar air combat maneuversAerial warfare
Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare, including military airlift of cargo to further the national interests as was demonstrated in the Berlin Airlift...
. The squadron trains pilots to plan, coordinate, execute, and control day and night close air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
, air interdiction and battlefield surveillance and reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
.
History
Activated in late 1942 as a P-47D Thunderbolt Fighter Squadron; 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....
initially in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, them being reassigned for second and third stage training in Virginia
Virginia
The 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...
and lastly Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. While in training served in an air defense role over large cities and military installations in the eastern United States.
Deployed to the European Theater of Operations
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...
(ETO) in July 1943, being assigned to 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....
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...
. The squadron's primary mission was to escort B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
heavy bombers to and on the return flights over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. Engaged in numerous air battles on an almost daily basis with Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
day interceptor aircraft escorting the heavy bombers. Upgraded to long-range P-51D Mustangs in mid-1944, with the USAAF gaining air superiority with the P-51 and by 1945, almost complete air supremacy over the skies of Nazi Germany. In addition, the squadron conducted fighter sweeps over enemy airfields, destroying Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground as well as attacking enemy targets of opportunity over Germany and Occupied Europe. Remained in combat until the German Capitulation in May 1945, moving from England to various Occupation airfields in Germany as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe
United States Air Forces in Europe
The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...
army of occupation until April 1946 when the squadron returned to the United States and demobilized and inactivated.
Reactivated in 1951 as the 56th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. Replaced the 512th Reconnaissance Squadron, assuming its personnel and aircraft. Flew WB-29 Superfortress weather reconnaissance aircraft over North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
in highly hazardous, almost daily strategic weather reconnaissance missions over the combat zone. Through the end of the conflict, the squadron conducted shipping surveillance and flew two reconnaissance tracks to observe and report weather conditions in the area east of the Asian land mass, between Formosa
Formosa
Formosa or Ilha Formosa is a Portuguese historical name for Taiwan , literally meaning, "Beautiful Island". The term may also refer to:-Places:* Formosa Strait, another name for the Taiwan Strait...
and USSR's Kamchatka Peninsula
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
. Remained in Japan after the 1953 armistice and continued weather flights, which were sometimes ruses for strategic reconnaissance missions along the Northeast Asia coastline of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and along the border of Communist China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Upgraded to WB-50 Superfortress in 1956, continued operations from Japan, and later Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
with the RB-50s until 1962.
Beginning in 1963 was re-equipped with new high-altitude reconnaissance RB-57F Canberra aircraft modified for high altitude, long range intelligence gathering, assigned to the meteorological role. Part of their duties involved high-altitude atmospheric sampling and radiation detection work in support of nuclear test monitoring. Over the next decade the RB-57Fs were flown on a worldwide basis at very high altitudes at high speeds. Stress cracks began appearing in the wing spars and ribs of the RB-57Fs after a few years of service. Some were sent to General Dynamics for repairs. By 1971 the aircraft were basically worn out and they were flown to Davis-Monthan for storage. Squadron was then inactivated in early 1972.
Returned to the United States and was re-united with its World War II parent organization, and designation; its mission being a Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
tactical fighter squadron. Re-equipped with new A-7D Corsair II ground attack aircraft. After training and becoming operationally ready, was deployed to Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
after the end of United States combat in Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
. Mission was the defense of Thai airspace, and to intervene in Indochina if the terms of the 1973 Paris Peace Treaty were broken. Remained in Thailand until early 1974 when returned to the United States. Engaged in TAC training, exercises and deployments, being upgraded to the A-10 Thunderbolt II
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
aircraft in 1979. Has flown the A-10 for the past 30 years as part of Tactical Air Command and later Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
, engaging in combat with the aircraft as part of the Global War on Terrorism since 2001.
Lineage
- Constituted 358th Fighter Squadron, and activated, on 12 Nov 1942
- Redesignated: 358th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine, on 20 Aug 1943
- Redesignated: 56th Reconnaissance Squadron, Weather Scouting, on 3 Dec 1945
- Inactivated on 20 Nov 1946
- Redesignated 56th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Medium, Weather, on 22 Jan 1951
- Activated on 21 Feb 1951
- Redesignated 56th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron on 15 Feb 1954
- Inactivated on 15 Jan 1972
- Redesignated 358th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 18 May 1972
- Activated on 1 Jun 1972
- Redesignated: 358th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 1 Jan 1976
- Redesignated: 358th Fighter Squadron on 1 Nov 1991.
Assignments
- 355th Fighter Group, 12 Nov 1942-20 Nov 1946
- Attached to: Orlando Fighter WingOrlando Fighter WingThe Orlando Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics, stationed at Orlando Army Air Base, Florida It was inactivated on 1 April 1944- History:...
, 12 Nov 1942-17 Feb 1943 - Attached to: Norfolk Fighter WingNorfolk Fighter WingThe 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....
, 17 Feb-4 Mar 1943 - Attached to: Philadelphia Fighter WingPhiladelphia Fighter WingThe 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....
, 4 Mar-16 Jun 1943- 2143d Air Weather Wing, 21 Feb 1951
- 1st Weather Wing, 8 Feb 1954
- 9th Weather (later, 9th Weather Reconnaissance) Group, 1 Feb 1960
- 9th Weather Reconnaissance Wing9th Weather Reconnaissance WingThe 9th Weather Reconnaissance Wing is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Weather Service, being stationed at McClellan Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 31 August 1975.- History :...
, 1 Jul 1965-15 Jan 1972 - 355th Tactical Fighter (later, 355th Tactical Training; 355th Fighter) Wing, 1 Jun 1972
- Attached to 354th Tactical Fighter Wing (Deployed), c. 29 Dec 1973-c. 14 May 1974
- 355th Operations Group, 1 May 1992 – Present
Bases stationed
- Orlando Army Air Base, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 12 Nov 1942 - Norfolk Airport, 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...
, 17 Feb 1943 - Philadelphia AirportPhiladelphia International AirportPhiladelphia International Airport is a major airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and is the largest airport in the Delaware Valley region and in Pennsylvania...
, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, 4 Mar-16 Jun 1943 - RAF Steeple MordenRAF Steeple MordenRAF Steeple Morden is a former World War II airfield in England. The field was located 3½ miles W of Royston in Cambridgeshire, near the village of Steeple Morden.-RAF Bomber Command use:...
, 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 Jul 1943 - AAF Station Gablingen, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, 16 Jul 1945 - AAF Station Schweinfurt, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Apr 1946 - 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 Aug-20 Nov 1946
- Misawa AB, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 21 Feb 1951 - Yokota AB, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 14 Sep 1951-15 Jan 1972
- Detachment operated from Andersen AFB, GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, 11 Mar 1960-18 Apr 1962- Davis-Monthan AFB, ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, 1 Jun 1972–Present
- Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona
- Deployed at Korat RTAFB, ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, c. 29 Dec 1973-c. 14 May 1974
Aircraft Operated
- 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) - WB-29 Superfortress (1951–1957)
- WB-50 Superfortress (1956–1965)
- RB-57F Canberra (1962–1964, 1966–1972)
- C-130 HerculesC-130 HerculesThe Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
(1962–1964) - WB-47 Stratojet (1963–1966)
- WC-135 Constant PhoenixWC-135 Constant PhoenixThe WC-135 Constant Phoenix is a special purpose aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 and used by the United States Air Force. Its mission is to collect samples from the atmosphere for the purpose of detecting and identifying nuclear explosions...
(1964–1972) - A-7 Corsair IIA-7 Corsair IIThe Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II is a carrier-based subsonic light attack aircraft introduced to replace the United States Navy's Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, initially entering service during the Vietnam War...
(1972–1979) - A-10 Thunderbolt IIA-10 Thunderbolt IIThe Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
(1979–Present)