The 66th Fighter Wing 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

Chicago Municipal Airport Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...

, Illinois. It was withdrawn from the

Illinois Air National Guard The Illinois Air National Guard (IL ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Illinois, United States of America. It is, along with the Illinois Army National Guard, an element of the Illinois National Guard. As state militia units, the units ...

and inactivated on 31 October 1950.

History

World War II

Established in March 1943 at

Norfolk Army Airfield Norfolk International Airport is seven miles (11 km) northeast of downtown Norfolk, an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Airport Authority: a bureau under the municipal government. The ai ...

Virginia. Supervised training of fighter units for overseas duty.Maurer, p. 403 Reorganized and deployed to England, became an intermediate-level command and control organization for

VIII Fighter Command The VIII Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit of command above the wings and below the numbered air force. Its primary mission was command of fighter operations within the Eighth Air Force. In the World War II European Thea ...

with responsibility for fighter-escort groups of

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

. Assigned groups provided fighter escort to B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator heavy bomber groups during combat missions over Occupied Europe July 1943 – May 1945. Inactivated in England, 21 November 1945.

Air National Guard

Allotted to the

to control ANG fighters and bombers in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. Extended federal recognition and activated on 26 November 1946. 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 Illinois ANG and was inactivated on 31 October 1950. The 126th 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 Illinois, recognized and activated 1 November 1950; assuming the personnel, equipment and mission of the inactivated 66th Fighter Wing.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 5th Air Defense Wing on 25 March 1943 : Activated on 27 March 1943 : Re-designated 66th Fighter Wing on 3 July 1943. : Inactivated on 21 November 1945. * Allotted to the National Guard on 24 May 1946 : Extended federal recognition and activated on 26 November 1946 : Inactivated, and returned to the control of the Department of the Air Force, on 31 October 1950 * Disbanded on 15 June 1983

Assignments

, 27 March 1943 *

, 3 July 1943 – 21 November 1945 *

, 26 November 1946 – 31 October 1950

Components

World War II

* 4th Fighter Group: 23 July – 4 November 1945 * 55th Fighter Group: 14 September 1943 – 23 July 1945 * 56th Fighter Group: 15 September – 11 October 1945 *

78th Fighter Group The 78th Fighter Group (78 FG) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 78th Fighter Wing, at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 February 1961. During World War II the group was an Eigh ...

: April 1943 – October 1945 * 339th Fighter Group: 4 April 1944 – October 1945 * 353d Fighter Group: 3 August 1943 – October 1945 *

357th Fighter Group The 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 Yoxfor ...

, 31 January 1944 – 8 July 1945 * 358th Fighter Group, 20 October 1943 – 3 July 1944 * 359th Fighter Group: October 1943 – November 1945 * 361st Fighter Group: 30 November 1943 – 1 February 1945; April 1945 * 479th Fighter Group: 15 May 1944 – 21 November 1945

Illinois Air National Guard

126th Bombardment Group The 126th Air Refueling Wing (126 ARW) is a unit of the Illinois Air National Guard, stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, Illinois. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Comman ...

, 29 June 1947 – 31 October 1950 * 169th Fighter Squadron, 21–29 June 1947 *

122d Fighter Group The 122nd Fighter Wing (122 FW sometimes 122nd) is a unit of the Indiana Air National Guard, stationed at Fort Wayne Air National Guard Station, Fort Wayne, Indiana. If activated to federal service, the wing is gained by the United States Air F ...

, 9 December 1946 – 7 December 1947 (Indiana ANG) *

127th Fighter Group The 127th Operations Group is a unit of the Michigan Air National Guard. It is stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and 1s one of two flying groups assigned to the 127th Wing. The group operates Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt ...

, 29 September 1946 – 31 October 1950 (Michigan ANG) * 128th Fighter Group, 29 June 1948 – 31 October 1950 (Wisconsin ANG) * 112th Bombardment Squadron, 2 December 1946 – 7 December 1947 (Ohio ANG) * 162d Fighter Squadron, 22 November-7 December 1947 (Ohio ANG) *

166th Fighter Squadron The 166th Air Refueling Squadron (166 ARS) is a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard 121st Air Refueling Wing located at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Columbus, Ohio. The 166th is equipped with the KC-135R Stratotanker. History World War ...

, 10 November-7 December 1947 (Ohio ANG)

Stations

* Norfolk Airport, Virginia, 27 March-c. 11 May 1943 *

RAF Duxford Duxford Aerodrome is located south of Cambridge, within the civil parish of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England and nearly west of the village. The airfield is owned by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and is the site of the Imperial War Mus ...

(AAF-357), England, c. 3 June 1943 * Sawston Hall (AAF-371), England, 20 August 1943 * RAF Troston (AAF-595), England, C. 25 October – 21 November 1945 *

, Illinois, 26 November 1946 – 31 October 1950

References

; Notes

Bibliography

* * {{Navboxes , list = {{USAAF 8th Air Force UK 066 0066 066 Military units and formations in Illinois Military units and formations disestablished in 1950