“107th Fighter Squadron”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

The 107th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Michigan Air National Guard 127th Wing. It is assigned to Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan and is equipped with the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.

The squadron is a descendant organization of the World War I 107th Aero Squadron, established on 27 August 1917. It was reformed on 7 May 1926, as the 107th Observation Squadron, and is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II.

History

World War I

The 107th Fighter Squadron traces its origins to 26 August 1917 with the organization of the 107th Aero Squadron. Forty recruits arrived at Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas from Vancouver Barracks, Washington. An additional 341 recruits arrived from Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and 110 men and along with the 40 from Vancouver were formed as the 107th. The squadron was initially indoctrinated into military service, performing drill, fatigue duties and also construction work at the field. Once basic indoctrination training was completed, the 107th was ordered for overseas duty, being ordered to report to the Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City, Long Island on 26 October. It was there that final arrangements were made for the trip overseas, complete equipment was drawn and a final few transfers were made.^[3]

On 7 December, the 107th was ordered to proceed by train to St. John's, Newfoundland. On the 10th it boarded the {{SS|Tuscania|1914}} for the cross-Atlantic voyage, arriving on Christmas morning at Liverpool, England. After a brief rest, the squadron arrived at Southampton, England on the 29th, and crossed the English Channel to Le Havre, France. There, it then traveled by train to the Replacement Concentration Center, American Expeditionary Forces, St. Maixent Replacement Barracks, France, arriving on 2 January 1918. At St. Maixent the squadron was redesignated as the 801st Aero Squadron, and placed on camp duty for nearly two months. Finally, it was ordered to proceed to the Third Aviation Instruction Center at Issoudun Aerodrome, in central France, arriving on 21 February. Initially the squadron was assigned to the main airfield, working in the aircraft assembly and test departments. On 7 June, help was needed at Field No. 2, and the 801st was ordered to send 100 men to help put the field in better shape. Cooperating with another squadron, Field No. 2 was placed on an efficient basis as any field in the AEF.^[3]

The squadron remained at Issoudun until after the Armistice with Germany in November 1918, then returned to the United States in March 1919. Arrived at Mitchel Field where the squadron members were demobilized and returned to civilian life.^[3]^[4]

Intra-War period

After the war the squadron was reorganized in 1925 as the Michigan National Guard's first flying unit, the squadron consisted of 20 officers and 90 enlisted men meeting weekly in a Detroit garage. It received Federal recognition in May 1926 as the air section of the Michigan National Guard's 32d Division. Its primary mission was artillery spotting and observation of troop movements.^[5]

In March 1938, elements of the 107th Observation Squadron performed gunnery training at Eglin Field, Florida, for fifteen days, deploying from Wayne County Airport at Detroit, Michigan. Twenty-three officers and 111 men arrived on 1 March. One detachment flew in eight aircraft while the rest arrived by rail over the Louisville and Nashville Railroad at Crestview, Florida.^[6]

World War II

Called to active duty with Douglas O-38 and North American O-47 observation planes on 15 October 1940, the 107th was sent to DeRidder Army Air Base, Louisiana for unit training on 28 October 1940. For many years this airfield was simply called the Artillery Range Airport Camp.

On 11 April 1941, Lieutenant Wilmer Esler was killed in the crash of his O-47 when it experienced an engine failure on take off.^[7]

The War Department announced on 19 June 1941 that the Air Corps field at Camp Beauregard would be named Esler Field in honor of his sacrifice.^[8]

In 1941, the 107th was joined by two other National Guard observation units to form the 67th Observation Group. The 67th Group did anti-submarine patrolling off the East Coast of the US from mid-December 1941 to March 1942, when it returned to Louisiana for training in fighter aircraft.

The 67th Group was sent to RAF Membury, England, in August 1942 and flew Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vs and De Havilland Tiger Moths for a year until equipped with North American F-6 Mustangs. Pre-invasion missions began in December 1943. For successful photo missions of the French invasion coastline without loss of a single aircraft, the 107th was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation on 7 April 1945. The 67th Group advance detachments landed in Normandy 13 days after D-Day. The Belgian Fourragere was awarded for conspicuous action during the Battle of the Bulge.

Michigan Air National Guard

The wartime 107th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was redesignated as the 107th Bombardment Squadron (Light), and was allotted to the National Guard on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Wayne County Airport, Michigan on 9 June 1946 and was extended federal recognition in September. It was assigned to the newly organized Michigan National Guard's 127th Fighter Group. The squadron was equipped with F-51H Mustang.

In 1950, the unit was converted to Republic F-84B Thunderjet jets and on 1 February 1951, the unit was activated as part of the 127th Pilot Training Group and moved to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The 107th was inactivated and returned to Michigan in November 1952.

F-16s from the 107th Fighter Squadron deployed to Kirkuk Air Base in February 2004 to replace the 354th Fighter Squadron. The 107th became the first General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon unit to be based in Iraq. The unit returned home in early June 2004.

As a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decision, the 107th converted from the F-16 to the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II.^[11] The 107th flew its last sortie with F-16s on 16 December 2008. The three remaining F-16s on the base were scheduled to be transferred to Fort Wayne Air National Guard Station, Indiana, and twenty-four A-10s are scheduled to arrive at Selfridge in May 2009.^[12]

Distinguished members

Among the distinguished former members of the 107th Fighter Squadron is former World War II 361st Fighter Group ace Urban "Ben" Drew, who was a F-51 instructor pilot assigned to the 107th Fighter Squadron in Detroit from 1947 to 1950. During World War II, while flying a P-51 named "Detroit Miss" Lt. Drew was credited with being the only pilot to shoot down two German Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters on a single mission. He was also credited with destroying the sole German Blohm & Voss BV 238 seaplane, the largest aircraft to see service during World War II.

Lineage

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft

See also

References

1. ^¹Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 336–337
2. ^Hubbard, p. 719
3. ^¹²Gorrell, {{page needed|date=August 2017}}
4. ^Maurer and Clay both say Gardem City was the demobilization location. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 336, Clay, p. 1446. There were several installations there, including Fort Mills, Kindley Field and Hazelhurst Field in addition to Mitchel.
5. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹{{cite web |url= http://www.aviamagazine.com/factsheets/orbat/107FS/index.aspx |last1=Jongerman|first1=Fritz|title=Order of Battle: 107th FS|date=January 2004|publisher=Aviamagazine.com|accessdate=19 August 2017}}
6. ^Crestview, Florida, "Aerial Squadron Flies Eight Planes To Val-P For Gunnery Practice", Okaloosa News-Journal, Crestview, Florida, Friday 4 March 1938, Volume 24, Number 10, page 6.
7. ^{{cite web | title = April 1941 USAAF Accident Reports | publisher = Aviation Archaeological Investigation and Research | url = http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Apr1941.htm | accessdate =9 January 2007}}
8. ^{{cite web |title=Louisiana Maneuver Camps and Bases |work=Louisiana: World Renown Involvement in World War II |publisher=Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism |url=http://www.crt.state.la.us/tourism/lawwii/Maneuvers/Robertson/Camps.htm#Esler_Field |accessdate=9 January 2007 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207000900/http://www.crt.state.la.us/tourism/lawwii/maneuvers/robertson/Camps.htm#Esler_Field#Esler_Field |archivedate=7 December 2008 |deadurl=yes |df=dmy-all }}
9. ^Aircraft is RF-84F Thunderstreak serial 51-1925, about 1960
10. ^Aircraft is General Dynamics F-16C Block 30 serial 86–235 at Selfridge ANGB with the pilot and crew chief right going over the forms during preparations to deploy on 24 February 2004.
11. ^"Red Devils Return to Michigan." Press Release. Michigan.gov. Retrieved 4 November 2007. New Page 2
12. ^"F-16s fly away from Selfridge" Chad Selweski, Macomb Daily. Retrieved 19 December 20087. F-16s fly away from Selfridge – macombdaily.com {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218151953/http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2008/12/19/news/srv0000004311506.txt |date=18 February 2012 }}
13. ^This unit is not related to another 107th Aero Squadron that was activated in March 1918 at Rich Field, Waco, Texas, moved the same moth to Carlstrom Field, Florida, redesignated Squadron A, Carlstrom Field in July 1918 and demobilized in November 1918, with its personnel and equipment being transferred to the Flying School Detachment, Carlstrom Field.
14. ^¹²Lineage, including assignments, through May 1946 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 336–337, except as noted.
15. ^¹²³⁴⁵Clay, p. 1443
16. ^Clay, p. 1275
17. ^¹²³⁴Station number in Anderson.
18. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷Station number in Johnson.
19. ^Stations through 1945 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 336–337, except as noted.
20. ^{{cite journal|magazine=AAHS journal|date=Spring 2004|title=The Known North American O-47 Assigned to Pre-World War II Air National Guard Squadrons|author=William J Brenell}}