419th Night Fighter Squadron

419th Night Fighter Squadron
419th Night Fighter Squadron
	419th NFS 42-5506 taxiing at Carney Airfield, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, shortly after the P-61's arrival in early 1944
Active	1943–1947
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces
Type	Squadron
Role	Night Fighter Operations
Part of	Thirteenth Air Force
Engagements	; World War II Asia-Pacific Theatre;
Insignia
Emblem of the 419th Night Fighter Squadron

Last updated February 17, 2022

The 419th Night Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Thirteenth Air Force, being inactivated at Floridablanca, Luzon on 20 February 1947.

The unit was formed in 1943. After training, it was deployed to Thirteenth Air Force and ordered to New Guinea to provide air defense interceptor protection against Japanese night air raids on USAAF airfields. It later served in the Philippines Campaign where in addition to night interceptor missions it also flew day and night interdiction missions against enemy troop movements, brides and other targets of opportunity. It was inactivated in 1947.

History

Activated on 1 April 1943. Trained at Kissimmee, Florida and trained in Douglas P-70 Havoc night fighters due to non-availability of P-61 Black Widows. By the end of training, the night fighter pilots realized that the Black Widow would not be forthcoming and resigned themselves to the fact they would be going overseas with P-70s.^[1]

The squadron was deployed to the South Pacific Theater, arriving at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands on 15 November 1943, assigned to Thirteenth Air Force. It was the second dedicated night fighter squadron assigned to the Pacific. At Guadalcanal, the squadron absorbed Detachment B of the 6th Night Fighter Squadron. On 21 November 1943, the squadron was assigned to the 18th Fighter Group.^[1]

However, it was found that the P-70 was not very successful in actual combat interception of Japanese fighters at night. It was issued P-38H Lightnings stock day fighters with no radar or any other equipment for finding the enemy at night. The Lightning pilots would wait until the enemy was over a target and, hopefully, illuminated by the defender's searchlights. They would then try to pick out the outline of the enemy aircraft and intercept. This method had its dangers since the P-38 was subjecting itself to antiaircraft fire from defenders as well as gunners aboard the Japanese bombers. The squadron received the P-61 Black Widow to replace the P-38s/P-70s in May 1944. Then on 25 August 1944, the squadron was reassigned to the XIII Fighter Command.^[1]

The squadron flew numerous missions against Japanese night intruders, which were a real nuisance to American forces and which up to this time had been virtually immune from interception. On typical missions, the pilot would be directed to the vicinity of its target by ground-based radar. The onboard A/I radar under the control of the radar operator would then be used to direct the pilot to close with and intercept the enemy. As soon as the pilot had gotten close enough to its target to make a visual identification, the guns would be aimed and fired by the pilot or by the gunner. The appearance of the Black Widow in the night skies over the Pacific was a rude and unpleasant surprise for these night raiders. Engaged the enemy during the New Guinea, Northern Solomon Islands and Bismarck Archipelago Campaigns.^[1]

Moved the Philippines in 1945, operating primarily over the southern islands. During 1945 aerial targets became increasingly rare, the 419th turned to long range night-time intruding, carrying out the same mission as the aircraft they had originally been stalking ending the war being stationed on Palawan. Personnel demobilized at Clark Field and returned to the United States after the war; equipment remained in the Philippines for reclamation or sent to postwar units.^[1]

Inactivated on 20 February 1947 at Puerto Princess, Palawan, Philippines as an administrative unit.^[2]

Lineage

Constituted as: 419th Night Fighter Squadron on 24 March 1943

Activated on 1 April 1943

Inactivated on 20 February 1947^[2]

Assignments

Air Defense Department, Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics, 1 April 1943

Attached to 481st Night Fighter Operational Training Group, 17 July 1943

Thirteenth Air Force

XIII Fighter Command, 15 November 1943

18th Fighter Group, 21 November 1943

XIII Fighter Command, 25 August 1944

85th Fighter Wing, 10 January 1946 – 20 February 1947.^[2]

Stations

Orlando AAB, Florida, 1 April 1943
Kissimmee AAF, Florida, 22 April – 15 October 1943
Carney Airfield, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 15 November 1943

Detachment "A" operated from: Buka Airfield, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, 25 January – 27 May 1944

Detachment operated from: Nadzab Airfield, New Guinea, 26 June – 25 July 1944

Detachment operated from: Mokmer Airfield, Biak, Netherlands East Indies, 26 July – 27 November 1944

Detachment operated from: Momote Airfield , Los Negros Island, Admiralty Islands, 27 June – 18 August 1944

Middleburg (Toem) Airfield, Netherlands East Indies, 21 August 1944

Detachment operated from: Wama Airfield, Morotai, Netherlands East Indies, 27 November 1944 – 16 March 1945

Puerto Princesa Airfield, Palawan, Philippines, 6 March 1945

Detachment operated from: San Roque Airfield (Moret Field), Mindanao, Philippines 18 March – 20 July 1945

Detachment operated from: Sanga Sanga, Sulu, Philippines, 20 June – 24 July 1945

Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, 10 January 1946
Floridablanca Airfield (Basa Air Base), Floridablanca, Luzon, Philippines, 7 May 1946 – 20 February 1947.^[2]

Aircraft

A-20 Havoc (1943–1944)
P-38H Lightning (1943–1947)
P-61 Black Widow (1944–1947)^[2]

Related Research Articles

The Northrop P-61 Black Widow, named for the North American spider, was the first operational U.S. warplane designed as a night fighter, and the first aircraft designed to use radar. The P-61 had a crew of three: pilot, gunner, and radar operator. It was armed with four 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano M2 forward-firing cannon mounted in the lower fuselage, and four .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns mounted in a remote-controlled dorsal gun turret.

The Thirteenth Air Force was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It was last headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stationed in the continental United States. It was one of the oldest continuously active numbered air forces in the United States Air Force.

347th Rescue Group Search and rescue unit of the United States Air Force

The United States Air Force's 347th Rescue Group is an active combat search and rescue unit assigned to the 23d Wing at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.

The 415th Special Operations Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 58th Operations Group at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.

The 85th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Eastern Air Defense Force of Air Defense Command at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. It was inactivated on 1 September 1958.

The 68th Fighter Squadron was one of the longest-serving fighter squadrons in U.S. Air Force history, remaining active almost continually for 60 years. Known as the "Lightning Lancers", on the morning of 27 June 1950 pilots of the 68th Fighter-All Weather Squadron flying the North American F-82 Twin Mustang made history by achieving the first aerial kill of the Korean War.

The 421st Fighter Squadron is part of the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. It operates the Lockheed Martin F-35A aircraft conducting air superiority missions. The squadron is one of the most decorated fighter squadrons in the United States Air Force, being awarded three Presidential Unit Citations and seven Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards for Valor in Combat.

The 425th Fighter Squadron is part of the 56th Operations Group at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. It operates the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting advanced fighter training for Republic of Singapore Air Force F-16 pilots.

The 426th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force fighter squadron. Its last assignment was with the 405th Tactical Training Wing, being inactivated at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, on 19 November 1990.

The 427th Special Operations Squadron is a specialized, covert unit of the United States Air Force. After reporter Andreas Parsch filed a Freedom of Information Act request, the Air Force told him the unit "support[s] training requirements … for infiltration and exfiltration." That is, it prepares troops for secretly slipping into and out of dangerous territory. The squadron is not listed by the Air Force Historical Research Agency. It is reported by the press to be stationed at Pope Field, North Carolina.

The 6th Weapons Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the USAF Weapons School, based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. It was previously assigned to the Seventh Air Force, being inactivated at Yokota Airfield, Japan on 20 February 1947.

The 549th Combat Training Squadron is a non-flying United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 57th Operations Group, and is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. It conducts air support and air interdiction sorties in "Green Flag (West)" exercises to train USAF fighter pilots and the aerospace power component to the US Army's brigade combat training.

The 418th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing, being inactivated at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona on 1 October 1976.

The 547th Intelligence Squadron is an active United States Air Force (USAF) unit. It is assigned to the 365th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The squadron serves as the USAFs center for adversary tactics analysis; develops intelligence threat training programs; defines potential threats to the US, provides intelligence support to Air Combat Command's test and evaluation programs and live-fly exercises.

The 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 53d Test and Evaluation Group, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The squadron performs operational testing of all fighter aircraft and munitions entering and in operational use by Air Combat Command.

The 550th Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. Its current assignment is with 56th Operations Group, at Kingsley Field, Oregon.

The 71st Fighter Wing is a disbanded unit of the United States Air Force, last stationed at Lambert Field, St. Louis, Missouri. It was withdrawn from the Missouri Air National Guard and inactivated on 31 October 1950.

The 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group is a United States Air Force unit that reports to the 53rd Wing. It is stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The unit is part of Air Combat Command.

The 18th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 18th Wing, stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan.

The 481st Night Fighter Operational Training Group was a unit of the United States Army Air Forces. It was inactivated on 31 March 1944 at Hammer Field, California.

References

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

1 2 3 4 5 Pape, Garry R. (1991). Northrop P-61 Black Widow : the complete history and combat record. John M. Campbell, Donna Campbell. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub. ISBN 0-88740-738-2. OCLC 34022624.
1 2 3 4 5 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.