383d Fighter Squadron
383d Fighter Squadron | |
---|---|
![]() Emblem of the 383d Fighter Squadron | |
Active | 1943–1945 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
Type | Fighter |
![](../I/m/361fg-p-38-lightnings.jpg)
![](../I/m/P-51s_of_the_383d_Fighter_Squadron_at_RAF_Honington%2C_England%2C_1944.png)
The 383d Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 364th Fighter Group stationed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.
History
The 383rd Fighter Squadron, organized and trained in California in 1943, was assigned to the 364th Fighter Group. It arrived England in February 1944 and was assigned to VIII Fighter Command at RAF Honington, East Anglia.
It initially flew escort, dive-bombing, strafing and patrol missions in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. It initially operated primarily as an escort for B-17/B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.
It patrolled the English Channel during the Normandy invasion in June 1944, and, while continuing escort operations, supported ground forces in France after the invasion by strafing and bombing locomotives, marshalling yards, bridges, barges and other targets. It switched from P-38 aircraft to P-51C/D Mustangs in the summer of 1944, and from then until the end of the war flew many long-range missions, escorting heavy bombers that attacked oil refineries, industries and other strategic objectives in Berlin, Regensburg, Merseburg, Stuttgart, Brussels and elsewhere. It also flew air-sea rescue missions, engaged in patrol activities, and continued to support ground forces as the battle line moved through France and into Germany.
The squadron demobilized in England during the late summer and fall of 1945, and its personnel returned to the United States. It was officially inactivated in November, 1945.
Lineage
- Constituted 383d Fighter Squadron on 25 May 1943
- Activated on 1 June 1943
- Inactivated on 10 November 1945 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey
Assignments
- 364th Fighter Group, 1 June 1943 – 10 November 1945.
- Assigned Fuselage Code: N2
Stations
- Glendale Airport, California, 1 June 1943
- Van Nuys Airport, California, 12 August 1943
- Oxnard Flight Strip, California, c. 1 October 1943
- Santa Maria Army Airfield, California, 27 December 1943 – 14 January 1944
- RAF Honington, England, 10 February 1944-c. 4 November 1945
- Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, 9–10 November 1945
Aircraft
- P-38 Lightning, 1943–1944
- P-51D Mustang, 1944–1945