367th Fighter Squadron

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367th Fighter Squadron
Air Combat Command.png
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Active 1943-1945; 2015-present
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Role Fighter
Size 150[1]
Part of Air Combat Command
Garrison/HQ Homestead Air Reserve Base
Nickname(s) Vultures[1]
Engagements European Theater of Operations
Decorations Distinguished Unit Citation
French Croix de Guerre with Palm
Commanders
Current
commander		 Lt Col Henry Jefress[1]
Insignia
367th Fighter Squadron emblem (approved 1 March 1944)[2] 150px
World War II Fuselage code[3] CP
Tail code FM

The 367th Fighter Squadron is an reverse associate United States Air Force unit, stationed at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, where it operates and maintains the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons of the 482d Fighter Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command. Its parent is the 495th Fighter Group at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.

The squadron was first activated at the beginning of 1943. After training in the United States, it moved to England and entered combat in the European Theater of Operations. The squadron earned the Distinguished Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm during its combat missions. After VE Day, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was inactivated on 7 November 1945.

History

World War II

Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons

Squadron P-47 at High Halden

The 367th Fighter Squadron was activated on 1 January 1943 at Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia as one of the original squadrons of the 358th Fighter Group. The squadron initially began training with the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. Later that year, the unit replaced its Warhawks with the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, which it flew for the remainder of the war. The squadron left the United States in September 1943.[2][4]

The 367th arrived in England during October 1943, where it began operations with Eighth Air Force on 20 December 1943. The unit engaged primarily in missions escorting bombers attacking targets on the continent of Europe until April 1944. The squadron was transferred to Ninth Air Force. The squadron then dive bombed marshalling yards and airfields and attacked enemy communications during April and May to help prepare for the invasion of Normandy.[4]

The squadron escorted troop carrier formations on D Day and the following day as they dropped paratroopers on the Cotentin Peninsula. For the remainder of June, it attacked rail lines, troop concentrations, bridges and transport. The squadron moved to France in July and, from its base at Cretteville took part in operations that resulted in the Allied breakthrough at St Lo. The squadron continued to fly escort, interdiction and close air support missions during the Allied drive across France and into Germany.[4]

The squadron received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions between 24 December 1944 and 2 January 1945, when it supported Seventh Army attacking railroads and rolling stock, other vehicles and enemy artillery formations. It also destroyed numerous Luftwaffe fighters while defending against Operation Bodenplatte, an attack concentrating on forward Allied air bases in an attempt by the Luftwaffe to attain air superiority in the area of the Battle of the Bulge. In March, the squadron attacked German forces attempting to withdraw across the Rhine River, destroying motor transport and hampering the withdrawal efforts, earning a second Distinguished Unit Citation. The following month, the squadron attacked enemy airfields near Munich and Ingolstadt, engaging aircraft and supporting the advance of ground forces in the area, earning a third award of the Distinguished Unit Citation. The squadron was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Palm by the Government of France for its assistance in the liberation of France.[4]

The squadron remained in Germany after VE Day until July 1945, when it returned to the United States, where it was inactivated on 7 November 1945.[4]

Associate unit

The 367th Fighter Squadron was reactivated at Homestead Air Reserve Base during a ceremony on 23 October 2015, replacing Detachment 93 of the 495th Fighter Group. Under the "Total Force Integration" program, the squadron, a regular unit, will operate and maintain the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft of the 482d Fighter Wing of Air Force Reserve Command as an associate unit.[1]

Lineage

  • Constituted as the 367th Fighter Squadron (Single Engine) on 20 December 1942
Activated on 1 January 1943
Inactivated on 7 November 1945[5]
  • Redesignated 367th Fighter Squadron
Activated c. 23 October 2015

Assignments

  • 358th Fighter Group: 1 February 1943 – 7 November 1945[5]
  • 495th Fighter Group: c. 23 October 2015 – present[1]

Stations

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Aircraft

  • Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1943
  • Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1943-1945[5]
  • General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, 2015–present

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Aircraft is General Dynamics F-16C Block 30H Fighting Falcon serial 87-290 at Homestead Air Reserve Base.

Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 455
  3. ↑ Watkins, pp. 28-29
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 240-241
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Lineage, including assignments, stations and aircraft through 1945 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 455
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Station number in Anderson.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Station number in Johnson.

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

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External links

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