72nd Fighter Wing (World War II)
Encyclopedia
The 72d Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. Its last assignment was with Second Air Force
, based at Colorado Springs Army Air Base, Colorado
. It was inactivated on 9 April 1946.
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 Second Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
, based at Colorado Springs Army Air Base, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. It was inactivated on 9 April 1946.
Lineage
- Constituted as 72d Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Heavy) on 12 August 1943
- Activated on 20 August
- Redesignated 72d Fighter Wing in September 1943
- Inactivated on 9 April 1946.
Units assigned
- 36th Fighter Group: 1943–1944
- 84th Fighter Group84th Fighter GroupThe 84th Fighter Group is an active United States Air Force organization. It is assigned to the 84th Combat Sustainment Wing, stationed at Hill Air Force Base, California. It was last active as a Fighter Group on 15 July 1963.-History:...
: 1943–1944 - 357th Fighter Group357th Fighter GroupThe 357th Fighter Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. The 357th operated P-51 Mustang aircraft as part of the U.S. Eighth Air Force and its members were known unofficially as "The Yoxford Boys" after a village near their base...
: 1943. - 407th Fighter Group: 1943–1944
- 408th Fighter Group408th Fighter GroupThe 408th Fighter Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 25th Air Division , based at Kingsley Field, Oregon. It was inactivated on 1 January 1970-History:...
: 1943–1944 - 476th Fighter Group476th Fighter GroupThe 476 Fighter Group is a United States Air Force Reserve unit, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.-Overview:Assigned to the 442d Fighter Wing, at Whiteman AFB, Missouri, the 476th Fighter Group is an Air Force Reseve associate unit linked to the 23d Fighter Group at Moody...
: 1944 - 507th Fighter Group: 1944–1945
- 508th Fighter Group: 1944
Stations
- Rapid City AAB, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, 20 August 1943 - Colorado Springs AAB, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, 7 October 1943 - Peterson FieldPeterson FieldPeterson Field is a public-use airport located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Plains, a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. It is privately owned by G. Thomas Peterson.- Facilities and aircraft :...
, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, November 1943; - Colorado Springs AAB, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, December 1945-9 April 1946