378th Fighter Squadron

378th Fighter Squadron
378th Fighter Squadron P-47D Thunderbolt, 1944
Active	10 February 1943 – 1 August 1946, 8 November 2015 - present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Forces
Type	Fighter
Fuselage Code	"G8"
Insignia
378th Fighter Squadron
Aircraft flown
Fighter	F-16 Fighting Falcon

The 378th Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 495th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force, stationed at Truax Field, Wisconsin. It was last activated on 8 November 2015.

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.

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.

Lineage

• Constituted 378th Fighter Squadron on 11 February 1943

Activated on 1 March 1943

Inactivated on 1 August 1946

Activated on 8 November 2015

Assignments

• 362d Fighter Group, 1 March 1943 – 1 August 1946
• 495th Fighter Group, 8 November 2015

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

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.

Aircraft

• P-47D Thunderbolt, 1943–1945
• P-51H Mustang, 1945–1946
• F-16 Fighting Falcon, 2015-present

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.