379th Fighter Squadron

379th Fighter Squadron
	379th Fighter Squadron P-47D Thunderbolt "Bonnie Lynn", 1945
Active	10 February 1943 – 1 August 1946
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces
Type	Fighter
Fuselage Code	"B8"
Insignia
379th Fighter Squadron
Aircraft flown
Fighter	P-47D Thunderbolt ; P-51H Mustang

Last updated November 04, 2019

The 379th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 362d Fighter Group, Second Air Force, stationed at Biggs Field, Texas. It was inactivated on 1 August 1946.

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the fourth in order of precedence. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The U.S. Air Force articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.

The Second Air Force is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended the Northwestern United States and Upper Great Plains regions and during the Cold War, was Strategic Air Command unit with strategic bombers and missiles. Elements of Second Air Force engaged in combat operations during the Korean War; Vietnam War, as well as Operation Desert Storm.

History

Established on 1 March 1943 at Westover Field, Massachusetts as the 362d Fighter Group, equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts. Deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), and assigned to Ninth Air Force in England. Engaged in combat operations until May 1945.

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

Reassigned back to the United States in August–September 1945, and assigned to First Air Force at Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina, being programmed for deployment to Okinawa to take part in the planned Invasion of Japan. As a result of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the sudden end of the Pacific War, the deployment plans were canceled, however the unit was retained as part of the Second Air Force under Continental Air Forces and reassigned to Biggs Field, Texas, being equipped with P-51 Mustangs. Inactivated on 1 August due to postwar budget restrictions.

The First Air Force 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 Contiguous United States (CONUS), United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

North Carolina is a U.S. state located in the southeastern region of the United States. North Carolina is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the 50 United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and South Carolina to the south, and Tennessee to the west. Raleigh is the state's capital and Charlotte is its largest city. The Charlotte metropolitan area, with an estimated population of 2,569,213 in 2018, is the most populous metropolitan area in North Carolina, the 23rd-most populous in the United States, and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City. The Raleigh metropolitan area is the second-largest metropolitan area in the state, with an estimated population of 1,362,540 in 2018, and is home to the largest research park in the United States, Research Triangle Park.

Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II in Asia. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet declaration of war and the invasion of Manchuria. The operation had two parts: Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet. Set to begin in November 1945, Operation Olympic was intended to capture the southern third of the southernmost main Japanese island, Kyūshū, with the recently captured island of Okinawa to be used as a staging area. In early 1946 would come Operation Coronet, the planned invasion of the Kantō Plain, near Tokyo, on the main Japanese island of Honshu. Airbases on Kyūshū captured in Operation Olympic would allow land-based air support for Operation Coronet. If Downfall had taken place, it would have been the largest amphibious operation in history.

Lineage

Constituted 379th Fighter Squadron on 11 February 1943

Activated on 1 March 1943

Inactivated on 1 August 1946

Assignments

362d Fighter Group, 1 March 1943 – 1 August 1946

Stations

Westover Field, Massachusetts, 1 March 1943
Bradley Field, Connecticut, 22 June 1943
Groton Field, Connecticut, 2 August 1943
Mitchel Field, New York, 19 October – 12 November 1943
RAF Wormingford (AAF-159), England, 30 November 1943
RAF Headcorn (AAF-412), England, 13 April 1944
Lignerolles Airfield (A-12), France, 2 July 1944
Rennes/St-Jacques Airfield (A-27), France, 10 August 1944

Massachusetts, officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named after the Massachusett tribe, which once inhabited the east side of the area, and is one of the original thirteen states. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, which is also the most populous city in New England. Over 80% of the population of Massachusetts lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. During the 20th century, Massachusetts's economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a global leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.

Bradley International Airport is a civil/military airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, it is the second-largest airport in New England.

Connecticut is the southernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. As of the 2010 Census, it has the highest per-capita income, Human Development Index (0.962), and median household income in the United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital is Hartford and its most populous city is Bridgeport. It is part of New England, although portions of it are often grouped with New York and New Jersey as the tri-state area. The state is named for the Connecticut River which approximately bisects the state. The word "Connecticut" is derived from various anglicized spellings of an Algonquian word for "long tidal river".

Prosnes Airfield (A-79), France, 19 September 1944
Verdun Airfield (A-82), France, 5 November 1944
Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Airfield (Y-73), Germany, 8 April 1945
Furth/Industriehafen Airfield (R-30), Germany, 30 April 1945
Illesheim Airfield (R-10), Germany, 3 May 1945
AAF Station Straubing, Germany, 12 May–August 1945
Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina, 5 September 1945
Biggs Field, Texas, 3 December 1945 – 1 August 1946.
Joe Foss Field, aka Sioux Falls Regional Airport, South Dakota, 2015 – present

Prosnes Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield which is located approximately 12 miles (19 km) east-southeast of Reims; 90 miles (140 km) northeast of Paris.

Sioux Falls Regional Airport, also known as Joe Foss Field, is a public and military use airport owned by the Sioux Falls Regional Airport Authority and located three nautical miles (6 km) northwest of the central business district of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. Named in honor of aviator and Sioux Falls native Joe Foss, it serves the greater Sioux Falls area, as well as communities throughout eastern South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa.

Aircraft

P-47D Thunderbolt, 1943–1945
P-51H Mustang, 1945–1946

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References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/ .

Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.

External links

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