The Norfolk Fighter Wing is a disbanded

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

unit. Its last assignment was with the

I Fighter Command I Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces intermediate command responsible for command and control of the fighter operations within the First Air Force during World War II. It was initially established in June 1941 as the 1st Inte ...

, stationed at Norfolk Airport,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The wing reported to First Air Force and was responsible for the air defense of the Norfolk area during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The unit was not manned after July 1944, and inactivated after the end of the war on 3 April 1946.

History

The unit was constituted as the "Norfolk Air Defense Wing" on 6 August 1942 and activated on 11 August 1942 as part of the First Air Force, stationed in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. The wing was responsible for the air defense of the Norfolk area, operating with attached Army Air Force organizations and co-operating naval aircraft. The wing was commanded by Colonel Malcolm N. Stewart. On 24 September 1942, Colonel Murray C. Woodbury took command. After Woodbury was promoted to command of the 5th Air Defense Wing, Major Earl H. Dunham became the wing commander in April 1943. On 30 June, Colonel Burton M. Hovey became the unit's commander. He was soon transferred to command the Philadelphia Fighter Wing, and now-Lieutenant Colonel Dunham commanded the wing again from 14 August. In July it was redesignated as the Norfolk Fighter Wing. Around 25 November Lieutenant Colonel Otis F. Tabler became wing commander. Lieutenant Colonel Charles A. Gayle became the wing's last commander around 2 April 1944. The wing was unmanned, without personnel, from July. It was inactivated on 3 April 1946 and disbanded on 8 October 1948. For the period it was active it was assigned to

and stationed at Norfolk Airport,

References

* {{USAAF 1st Air Force World War II Fighter wings of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946