The 62d Fighter Wing (62 FW) is a disbanded unit of the

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 ...

, last stationed at

Van Nuys Airport : ''For the United States Air Force use of the airport (1942–1990), see Van Nuys Air National Guard Base'' Van Nuys Airport is a public airport in the Van Nuys neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. The airport is operated by Los Angeles Wo ...

, Van Nuys, California. It was withdrawn from the

California Air National Guard The California Air National Guard (CA ANG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Air Force, and part of the National Guard of the United States. As militia units, the units in the California ...

(CA ANG) and inactivated on 31 October 1950. This wing is not related to the 62d Troop Carrier Wing or subsequent units that was constituted on 28 July 1947 and activated on 15 August 1947.

History

World War II

Formed at Mitchel Field, New York in December 1942. Departed New York 13 January 1943 via

New York Port of Embarkation The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering the ...

. Arrived Casablanca, French Morocco on 30 January 1943 and assigned to Twelfth Air Force. Primary mission was fighter escort; air defense using night fighter units; harbor protection; homing of lost aircraft and air-sea rescue. Inactivated in Italy in September 1945.

Air National Guard

Allocated to the

for command and control origination for units in the Southwest Region (Southern California, Arizona) of the United States. Extended federal recognition and activated on 14 September 1950. At the end of October 1950, the Air National Guard converted to the wing-base

Hobson Plan The Hobson Plan was an organizational structure established by the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1948, following experimental organization in 1947. Known as the "Wing-Base Organization," it replaced the organization used by the United States A ...

organization. As a result, the wing was withdrawn from the California ANG and was inactivated on 31 October 1950. The 146th Composite Wing was established by the

National Guard Bureau The National Guard Bureau is the federal instrument responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was cre ...

, allocated to the state of California, recognized and activated 1 November 1950; assuming the personnel, equipment and mission of the inactivated 62d Fighter Wing.

Lineage

* Constituted as 1st Air Defense Wing on 12 December 1942 and activated the same day. : Redesignated 62d Fighter Wing in July 1943. : Inactivated in Italy on 12 September 1945 * Allotted to the California ANG on 24 May 1946 : Extended federal recognition and activated on 14 September 1950 : Inactivated, and returned to the control of the Department of the Air Force, on 31 October 1950 * Disbanded on 15 June 1983

Assignments

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 ...

, 12 December 1942 – 13 January 1943 *

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

, 30 January 1943 – 12 September 1945 *

, 14 September-31 October 1950

Components

World War II

* 414th Night Fighter Squadron, 21 September 1944 – 1 April 1945 *

415th Night Fighter Squadron 415th may refer to: * 415th Bombardment Group, inactive United States Air Force unit *415th Flight Test Flight (415 FLTF), squadron of the United States Air Force Reserves * 415th Tactical Fighter Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit Se ...

, 20 June – 7 August 1943; 27 September 1943 – 5 August 1944 *

416th Night Fighter Squadron 416th may refer to: * 416th Air Expeditionary Operations Group, provisional unit assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command * 416th Bombardment Wing, inactive United States Air Force unit * 416th Engineer Command (TEC), US Army Re ...

, 28 January – 27 June 1944

California Air National Guard

146th Fighter Group The 146th Airlift Wing (146 AW) is a unit of the California Air National Guard, stationed at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Oxnard, California. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Ai ...

, 16 September 1946 – 31 October 1950 * 115th Bombardment Squadron, 16 September 1946 – 31 October 1950

Stations

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, 12 December 1942 – 13 January 1943 *

Casablanca Airfield Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

, 30 January 1943 *

Sousse Airfield Sousse Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia, which was located in the vicinity of Sousse. It was a temporary airfield used by the United States Army Air Forces Twelfth Air Force 31st Fighter Group 31 (thirty-on ...

, Tunisia, 14 May 1943 *

Palermo Airfield Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

, Sicily, 25 July 1943 *

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Italy, 20 October 1943 *

Antignano Antignano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southwest of Asti. Antignano borders the following municipalities: Celle Enomondo, Costigliole d'Asti, Is ...

, Italy, c. 15 September 1944 *

Pomigliano Airfield Pomigliano Airfield (40°55'40"N / 14°23'20"E) was a military airfield and base established in 1938–39 in Pomigliano d'Arco, southern Italy near Naples. It was attacked on several occasions by the United States Army Air Force. The airfield was ...

, Italy, August-12 September 1945 *

, Van Nuys, California, 14 September-31 October 1950

References

* Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . {{Navboxes , list = {{USAAF 12th Air Force World War II 062 062 0062 Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1950