The 70th 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 ...

squadron. The Squadron was constituted on 14 Dec 1940 as the 70th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor). This squadron was activated on 1 Jan 1941 and patrolled the airspace around Fiji. After the war, the squadron was declared inactivated on 26 Dec 1945. The 70th Tactical Fighter Squadron was reinstated on 8 Sep 1975 and serve the 70th Fighter Squadron was retired on 1 Nov 1991. It was most recently part of the 347th Wing at

Moody Air Force Base Moody Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation near Valdosta, Georgia. Geography The base is in northeastern Lowndes County, Georgia, with the eastern border of the base following the Lanier County line. Georgia State Rout ...

, Georgia. It operated

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republ ...

aircraft conducting ground attack missions.

History

World War II

The 70th provided air defense for

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

from, February–December 1942. It then went on to fly combat missions in South and Southwest

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

from, 21 December 1942 – 21 July 1944 and 9 September 1944 – 9 August 1945.

Tactical fighter operations

It deployed aircraft and personnel to

Southwest Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Anat ...

from, 10 January – 16 September 1992.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 70th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 14 December 1940 : Activated on 1 January 1941 : Redesignated: 70th Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942 : Redesignated: 70th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine on 20 August 1943 : Redesignated: 70th Fighter Squadron, Two Engine on 24 May 1944 : Inactivated on 26 December 1945 * Redesignated 70th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 8 September 1975 : Activated on 30 September 1975 : Redesignated 70th Fighter Squadron on 1 November 1991Lineage, including stations, assignments and aircraft, through 1991 in AFHRA Factsheet, 70 Fighter Squadron : Inactivated on 30 June 2000

Assignments

35th Pursuit Group Military units * 35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force * 35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I * 35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 Jul ...

, 1 January 1941 – 15 January 1942 * US Army Forces in Fiji, 28 January 1942 * 347th Fighter Group, 3 October 1942 * 18th Fighter Group, 30 March 1943 * 347th Fighter Group, 1 November – 26 December 1945 * 347th Tactical Fighter Wing, 30 September 1975 (attached to

86th Tactical Fighter Wing The 86th Airlift Wing (86 AW) is a United States Air Force wing, currently assigned to the Third Air Force, United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. The 86th AW is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The wing's primary m ...

29 August – 28 September 1989) * 347th Operations Group, 1 May 1991 – 30 June 2000

Stations

* Hamilton Field, California, 1 January 1941 – 12 January 1942 *

Nadi Airfield Nadi International Airport is the main international airport of Fiji as well as an important regional hub for the South Pacific islands, located by the coast on the western side of the main island Viti Levu. Owned and operated by Fiji Airpor ...

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian P ...

Fiji Islands Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

, 29 January 1942 (operated from

Carney Airfield Carney Airfield is a former World War II airfield on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. It is located near Koli Point about six miles from Henderson Field, close to the Metapona River to the east and the Naumbu River to the wes ...

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

after 21 December 1942) * Carney Airfield, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 6 April 1943 *

Munda Airfield Munda Airport is an international airport adjacent to the town of Munda, Western Province in Solomon Islands. Originally built by Japanese forces during World War II and further developed by the U. S. Naval Construction Battalions 24 and 73 f ...

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of ...

, Solomon Islands, 18 October 1943 * Sansapor Airfield, Netherlands East Indies, 23 August 1944 (operated from

Wama Airfield Leo Wattimena Airport, formerly known as Pitu Airport is a private airport located on the southern coast of Morotai Island, North Maluku, Indonesia. History World War II Morotai island was the final island invasion in Netherlands New Guinea be ...

Morotai Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...

, Netherlands East Indies, 9 November 1944 – 16 January 1945) * Lingayen Airfield,

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, Philippines, 19 January 1945 * McGuire Field,

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

, Philippines, 26 February 1945 * San Roque Airfield Zamboanga, Philippines, 4 May 1945 *

Puerto Princesa Airfield Puerto Princesa International Airport ( fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Puerto Princesa; ) is an airport serving the general area of Puerto Princesa, located in the province of Palawan in the Philippines. It is classified as an international airport ...

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...

, Philippines, 10 November – 26 December 1945 *

, Georgia, 30 September 1975 – 30 June 2000 (Deployed at

Ramstein Air Base Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...

, Germany, 29 August – 28 September 1989)

Aircraft

Curtiss 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) *

Bell P-39 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 ...

(1942–1944) *

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 an ...

(1943) *

Lockheed 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 ...

(1943–1945) *

Douglas RA-24 Banshee The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/d ...

(1944) *

McDonnell F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bowe ...

(1975–1987) *

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

(1987–1995) *

(1995–2000)

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

USAF 70th Fighter Squadron History
{Dead link, date=September 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes 070 Fighter 070 070