The 379th Fighter Squadron is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

unit. Its last was assigned to the

362d Fighter Group 36 may refer to: * 36 (number), the natural number following 35 and preceding 37 * One of these years of Gregorian or Julian calendars: ** 36 BC, 1st century BCE ** AD 36, 1st century ** 1936, 20th century ** 2036, 21st century Arts and entertain ...

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

, stationed at

Biggs Field Biggs Army Airfield (formerly Biggs Air Force Base) is a United States Army military airbase located on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. History Biggs Field/Biggs Army Airfield (1916–47) On 15 June 1919, following an attack b ...

, Texas. It was inactivated on 1 August 1946.

History

Established on 1 March 1943 at

Westover Field Westover may refer to: People * Al Westover (born 1954), American professional basketball player in Australia * Arthur Westover (1864–1935), Canadian sport shooter and 1908 Olympian * Charles Westover (1934–1990), better known as Del Shannon, ...

, Massachusetts as the 362d Fighter Group, equipped with

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

s. Deployed to the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

(ETO), and assigned to Ninth Air Force in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Engaged in combat operations until May 1945. Reassigned back to the United States in August–September 1945, and assigned to

First Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern; 1 AF-AFNORTH) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission is the air defense of the Co ...

Seymour Johnson Field Seymour Johnson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The base is named for U.S. Navy Lt. Seymour A. Johnson, a test pilot from Goldsboro who died in an airplane crash near Norbeck, Maryland, ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, being programmed for deployment to

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

to take part in the planned

Invasion of Japan Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ...

. As a result of the

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

and the sudden end of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, the deployment plans were canceled, however the unit was retained as part of the

under

Continental Air Forces Continental Air Forces (CAF) was a United States Army Air Forces major command, active 1944–1946. It was tasked with combat training of bomber and fighter personnel, and for Continental United States (CONUS) air defense after the Aircraft Warn ...

and reassigned to

, Texas, being equipped with

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

s. Inactivated on 1 August due to postwar budget restrictions.

Lineage

* Constituted 379th Fighter Squadron on 11 February 1943 : Activated on 1 March 1943 : Inactivated on 1 August 1946

Assignments

, 1 March 1943 – 1 August 1946

Stations

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, 1 March 1943 * Bradley Field,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, 22 June 1943 * Groton Field,

, 2 August 1943 *

Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territory ...

, New York, 19 October – 12 November 1943 *

RAF Wormingford Royal Air Force Station Wormingford (or RAF Wormingford) is a former Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, station located northwest of Colchester, Essex, England. During World War I Wormingford was a landing ground designated for use by ...

(AAF-159), England, 30 November 1943 *

RAF Headcorn Royal Air Force Headcorn or more commonly known as RAF Headcorn is a former Royal Air Force Advanced Landing Ground located northeast of Headcorn, Kent, England. Opened in 1943, Headcorn was a prototype for the temporary Advanced Landing Groun ...

(AAF-412), England, 13 April 1944 *

Lignerolles Airfield Lignerolles Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield near the commune of Lignerolles in the Normandy region of northern France. Located to the south and east of Lignerolles, the United States Army Air Force established a tempora ...

(A-12), France, 2 July 1944 * Rennes/St-Jacques Airfield (A-27), France, 10 August 1944 * Prosnes Airfield (A-79), France, 19 September 1944 * Verdun Airfield (A-82), France, 5 November 1944 * Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Airfield (Y-73), Germany, 8 April 1945 * Furth/Industriehafen Airfield (R-30), Germany, 30 April 1945 * Illesheim Airfield (R-10), Germany, 3 May 1945 *

AAF Station Straubing AAF may refer to: Aviation * Aigle Azur (ICAO code), a French airline * Apalachicola Regional Airport (IATA code), in Apalachicola, Florida Corporations * American Air Filter, today a part of HVAC-equipment-maker Daikin Military * Albanian A ...

, Germany, 12 May–August 1945 *

, 5 September 1945 *

, Texas, 3 December 1945 – 1 August 1946. * Joe Foss Field, aka

Sioux Falls Regional Airport Sioux Falls Regional Airport , also known as Joe Foss Field, is a public and military use airport three miles northwest of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. It is named in honor of aviator and Sioux Falls native Joe Foss, who later served a ...

, South Dakota, 2015 – present

Aircraft

P-47D Thunderbolt The P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II fighter aircraft built by Republic Aviation from 1941 to 1945. Early designs XP-47 (AP-10) In response to a USAAC requirement for a new fighter aircraft, Republic Aviation engineer Alexander Kartveli p ...

, 1943–1945 *

P-51H Mustang Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts. Allison-engined Mustangs NA ...

, 1945–1946

References

* {{cite book, editor=Maurer, Maurer, title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, origyear=1969, url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf , edition= reprint, year=1982, publisher=Office of Air Force History, location=Washington, DC, isbn=0-405-12194-6, oclc=72556, lccn=70605402 Fighter squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces