544th Fighter Squadron

544th Fighter Squadron
Bell P-39 Airacobra as flown by the 544th Fighter Squadron
Active	1943-1944
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces
Role	Fighter training

The 544th Fighter Squadron is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 478th Fighter Group at Paine Field, Washington, where it was disbanded on 31 March 1944 in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces training and support units. During World War II the squadron served as a Bell P-39 Airacobra Replacement Training Unit.

History

The squadron was first activated in late 1943 as the 544th Fighter Squadron (Twin Engine) at Hamilton Field, California. ^[1] It was one of the four original squadrons of the 478th Fighter Group, ^[2] which drew its original cadre from the 328th Fighter Group. ^[3]

The squadron moved twice in the first two months of its existence, to Santa Rosa Army Air Field in December 1943, and to Paine Field in January 1944 as its parent group dispersed its component squadrons to separate bases in California, Oregon, and Washington. ^{[1] [4]}

The group and squadron experienced delays and were not fully manned or equipped until March 1944, when they began operations as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) using single engine Bell P-39 Airacobras despite their designation as a two engine units. ^[2] RTUs were oversized units whose mission was to train individual pilots or aircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters. ^[5] However, the Army Air Forces found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving less well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit, ^[6] while the groups and squadrons acting as RTUs were disbanded or inactivated. ^[7] The squadron was replaced, along with other units at Paine Field, by the 465th AAF Base Unit, ^[8] which absorbed its mission, personnel and equipment.

Lineage

• Constituted as the 544th Fighter Squadron (Twin Engine) on 12 October 1943

Activated in December 1943

Disbanded on 31 March 1944 ^[1]

Assignments

• 478th Fighter Group, 1 December 1943 - 31 March 1944 ^[1]

Stations

• Hamilton Field, California, 1 December 1943
• Santa Rosa Army Air Field, California, 12 December 1943
• Paine Field, Oregon, 27 January 1944 - 31 March 1944 ^[1]

Aircraft

• Bell P-39 Airacobra, 1944 ^[1]

References

Notes

1. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 648
2. Maurer, Combat Units, p. 350
3. No byline. "Abstract, History 478 Fighter Group Dec 1943-Mar 1944". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
4. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 569, 649-650
5. Craven & Cate, Introduction, p. xxxvi
6. Craven & Cate, The Organization and its Responsibilities, Chapter 2 The AAF, p. 75
7. Maurer, Combat Units, p. 7
8. SeeNo byline (1 March 1944). "Abstract, History Paine Field, Mar 1944". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 2 December 2024.

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. LCCN   48003657.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN   0-912799-02-1. LCCN   61060979.
• 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.