172nd Attack Squadron

P-51 Mustangs of the 375th Fighter Squadron, 361st Fighter Group 26 July 1944

North American P-51D-5-NA Mustang #44-13926 from the 375th Fighter Squadron. Aircraft crashed on 9 August 1944, and the pilot was killed

North American P-51D-10-NA Mustang 44-14164 "Detroit Miss" of the 375th Fighter Squadron of the 361st Fighter Group USAAF. Urban L. "Ben" Drew flew this aircraft in the autumn 1944 a shot down four German aircraft. Totally he claimed six victories

The squadron was first activated at Richmond Army Air Base as the 375th Fighter Squadron and equipped with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. The squadron trained under I Fighter Command in the mid-Atlantic states. It also flew air defense missions as part of the Philadelphia Fighter Wing. The squadron deployed to the European Theater of Operations, where it became part of VIII Fighter Command in England during November 1943.[1]

The unit served primarily as an escort organization, covering the penetration, attack, and withdrawal of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber formations that Eighth Air Force sent against targets on the European continent. The squadron also engaged in counter-air patrols, fighter sweeps, and strafing and dive bombing missions. It attacked such targets as airfields, marshalling yards, V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket launch sites, industrial areas, ordnance depots, oil refineries, trains, and highways. During its operations, the unit participated in the assault against the Luftwaffe and the German aircraft industry during Big Week, from 20 to 25 February 1944, and the attack on transportation facilities prior to Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion. Following the invasion it supported ground forces thereafter, including providing cover during Operation Cobra, the Saint-Lô breakout in July.

The squadron supported the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September 1944, and deployed to Chievres Airdrome, Belgium between February and April 1945, flying tactical ground support missions during the airborne assault across the Rhine. The unit returned to RAF Little Walden and flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945. The squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated at Camp Kilmer, part of the New York Port of Embarkation, in October.[1]

In May 1946, the squadron was allotted to the National Guard as the 172nd Fighter Squadron. It was organized and equipped with North American P-51D Mustangs at Kellogg Field, Battle Creek, Michigan in 1947. This was the same year the United States Air Force became an independent branch of the armed forces and the 172nd received its federal recognition as an Air National Guard squadron.

In February 1951 the squadron was called to active duty for the Korean War and assigned to Air Defense Command (ADC). Upon activation it was redesignated the 172nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and moved to Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan, where it was assigned to the 128th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, then to the 56th Fighter-Interceptor Group.[2][note 1] However, ADC experienced difficulty under the existing wing base organizational structure in deploying its fighter squadrons to best advantage.[3] As a result, in February 1952 the squadron was reassigned to the 4708th Defense Wing, a regional organization.[4] The squadron was released from active service and returned to the Michigan Air National Guard on 1 November 1952 and its mission, personnel and F-51 Mustangs were transferred to the 431st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which activated the same day at Selfridge.[5]

The 172nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron flew the F-51 Mustang until 1954. The 172nd transitioned into the North American F-86 Sabre and became the 172nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron. The Unit flew this aircraft only until 1955 before transitioned into the more sophisticated two seat Northrop F-89 Scorpion and returned to the interceptor. In 1956, the squadron became part of the newly created 110th Fighter Group. The Unit flew the F-89 Scorpion until 1958. That year the 172nd Squadron traded its F-89s for a new mission and a new aircraft, the Martin RB-57A Canberra. With the assumption of the reconnaissance mission the squadron became the 172nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron.

The 172nd flew RB-57A's until 1971. In 1971, the unit's mission changed again to forward air control, with the transition to the Cessna O-2 Skymaster, which it flew until 1980 when it transitioned to the Cessna OA-37 Dragonfly. The 172nd was the last Air Force or Air National Guard unit to fly the Dragonfly. The dedicated forward air control mission lasted until the 172nd transitioned to the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, or Warthog, in 1991 and was returned to its first name as a National Guard unit, the 172nd Fighter Squadron.

The squadron served in several United Nations operations and contingencies throughout the world. From Bosnia, to Kosovo, to Alaska and most recently Iraq and Afghanistan, in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In 2009, the squadron was realigned from a fighter squadron to become the 172nd Airlift Squadron flying the Learjet C-21. On 12 July 2013, the last C-21 departed, and the unit became a support unit as the 172nd Air Support Squadron as Battle Creek was named as the location of a control center for drone aircraft.[6]

• 361st Fighter Group, 10 February 1943 – 10 November 1945[1]
• 127th Fighter Group, 29 August 1947
• 128th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 10 February 1951[4]
• 56th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 1 May 1951[8]
• 4708th Defense Wing, 6 February 1952 – 1 November 1952[4]
• 127th Fighter-Bomber Group (later 127th Fighter-Interceptor Group), 1 November 1952
• 110th Fighter Group, 1 April 1956
• 127th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 1 July 1958
• 110th Tactical Reconnaissance Group (later 110th Tactical Air Support Group, 110th Fighter Group), 1 October 1962
• 110th Operations Group, 1 October 1995 – present

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

• Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
• Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
• Grant, C. L. "The Development of Continental Air Defense to 1 September 1954, USAF Historical Study No. 126" (PDF). Research Studies Institute, USAF Historical Division, Air University. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
• Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988). U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015.
• 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.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.

Further reading

• Rogers, B. (2006). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. ISBN 1-85780-197-0