51st Fighter Squadron Curtiss P-40C 41-13442

51st Fighter Squadron Bell P-39Q-5-BE Airacobra 42-20397

The 51st Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 6th Fighter Wing, based at

Howard Field Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probab ...

Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

. It was inactivated on 15 October 1946.

History

Activated on 1 January 1941 as one of the three squadrons assigned to the

32d Pursuit Group 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many soci ...

as part of the United States buildup of forces after the eruption of World War II. This unit was organized, initially, to train new pilots sent directly from flight schools in the United States. The squadron was equipped with

Curtiss P-36A Hawk The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation ...

s and Boeing P-26A Peashooters drawn from the

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

and 37th Pursuit Groups. After being formed at

Albrook Field Albrook Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force facility in Panama. It was closed on 30 September 1997 as a result of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties which specified that United States military facilities in the former Panama Canal Zon ...

, Panama Canal Zone, the squadron was moved to

Río Hato Army Air Base Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

, Panama. After the Japanese Pearl Harbor Attack, the squadron x was moved to

near the Panama Canal to provide air defense of the Pacific side. At Howard, the squadron received more capable

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

s, with the squadron being moved to

France Field France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Just as soon as the squadron settled into France Field, a detachment was sent north to Guatemala City Air Base to perform air defense and coastal patrols. As the war threat to the Panama Canal diminished during 1942, the squadron was transferred to Seymour Island Army Airfield in the Galapagos Islands. In addition, a detachment was sent to Salinas Airport, Ecuador ("C" Flight);

Talara Airport Talara is a city in the Talara Province of the Piura Region, in northwestern Peru. It is a port city on the Pacific Ocean with a population of 91,444 as of 2017. Its climate is hot and dry. Due to its oil reserves, and ability to produce aviation ...

, Peru ("D" Flight) however the detachment at Guatemala City, Guatemala remained and was designed as "E" Flight. The aircraft in the Galapagos were transferred from the

52d Fighter Squadron 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

and flown from Salinas Airport, Ecuador with external fuel tanks, being escorted by a

B-24D Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models de ...

for navigational purposes. This was the first time Seymour Field had been equipped with fighters for air defense. It became apparent very quickly, however, that the dispersion wasn't a very good idea and, between 10 and 19 March 1943, the outlying flights were consolidated at

. The personnel at Seymour were re-designated as the 51st Fighter Squadron. By October 1943, the squadron began transitioning to

Bell P-39Q Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

s. In November, its parent 32d Fighter Group was disbanded and the squadron was assigned directly to the

XXVI Fighter Command The XXVI Fighter Command was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. It was assigned to Sixth Air Force throughout its existence. It was based at Albrook Field, Panama Canal Zone, where it was inactivated on 25 August 1946. It engage ...

. Moved to

in November 1944, the 51st began receiving Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. With the end of the war in Europe, the entire complement of P-38s was hangared and the unit activities ran down. The squadron ceased all flying activities in June, and the P-38s were stored in a hangar at Howard. By October 1945, the squadron was reduced to a non-operational administrative organization. Inactivated on 15 October 1946.

Heraldry

Over and through a light blue violet disc, border yellow orange, the head and shoulders of a caricatured, butting, wild, white goat, outlined black, horns tan, wearing brown boxing gloves, having a pugnacious attitude, and brushing nose with thumb of right glove. (Approved 6 April 1944. )

Lineage

* Constituted 51st Pursuit Squadron (Fighter) on 22 November 1940 : Activated on 1 January 1941 : Redesignated 51st Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942 : Inactivated on 15 October 1946

Assignments

* 32d Pursuit (later Fighter) Group, 1 January 1941 *

, 1 November 1943 * 6th Fighter Wing, 25 August 1945 – 15 October 1946

Stations

* Rio Hato AAB, Panama, 1 January 1941 *

, 1 January 1941 * Rio Hato AAB, Panama, c. 21 August 1941 *

, 10 December 1941 *

, 23 December 1941 : Detachment at Guatemala City AAB, Guatemala, January 1942 – 9 March 1943 * Seymour Island Army Airfield, Baltra,

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands ( Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

, c. 9 December 1942 : Detachments at Salinas Afld, Ecuador, and Talora Afld, Peru, December 1942 – 9 March 1943 * La Chorrera AAF, Panama, c. 4 March 1944 *

, c. 10 June 1944 – 15 October 1946

Aircraft

P-26 Peashooter The Boeing P-26 "Peashooter" was the first American production all-metal fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane to enter squadron service with the United States Army Air Corps. Designed and built by Boeing, the prototype first flew in ...

, 1941 *

P-36 Hawk The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation ...

, 1941–1942 *

P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

, 1942–1944 * P-39 Airacobra, 1943–1945 *

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

, 1944–1946

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Hagdedorn, Dan (1995), Alae Supra Canalem: Wings Over the Canal, Turner Publishing, {{USAAF 6th Air Force World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 051