383d Fighter Squadron

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383d Fighter Squadron
120th Fighter Squadron F-16 Fighting Falcons[note 1]
Active	1943–1945; 2016-
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	fighter
Part of	Air Combat Command
Garrison/HQ	Buckley Space Force Base
Engagements	European Theater of Operations[1]
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation[1]
Insignia
383d Fighter Squadron emblem[note 2][2]

The 383d Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit assigned to the 495th Fighter Group. It is stationed at Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado, where it is an active duty associate unit of the 120th Fighter Squadron. The squadron was first activated in 1943. After training in the United States, it deployed to the European Theater of Operations. It flew combat missions until 1945, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions on 27 December 1944, defending a heavy bomber formation during a raid on Frankfurt am Main. Following V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, the port of embarkation.

History[]

World War II[]

383d Squadron Lockheed P-38J Lightning^{[note 3]}

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 and Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.

P-51s of the 383d Fighter Squadron at RAF Honington, England, 1944

It patrolled the English Channel during the D-Day Normandy landings 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 Lockheed P-38 Lightning aircraft to North American P-51 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, carried out patrols, and continued to support ground forces as the battle line moved through France and into Germany.

Most squadron members transferred to other units during the late summer and fall of 1945, and its aircraft were transferred to depots in September. The remaining personnel returned to the United States on the RMS Queen Elizabeth. The 383d was inactivated at the port of embarkation, Camp Kilmer, New Jersey in November, 1945.^[1][3]

Active associate unit[]

The squadron was activated on 1 February 2016 and assigned to the 495th Fighter Group at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado.^[1] It is an active duty associate of the Colorado Air National Guard's 120th Fighter Squadron, flying the 120th's General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons.

Lineage[]

• Constituted as the 383d Fighter Squadron (Twin Engine) on 25 May 1943

Activated on 1 June 1943

Redesignated 383d Fighter Squadron c. 28 July 1944

Inactivated on 10 November 1945

• Activated on 1 February 2016^[1]

Assignments[]

• 364th Fighter Group, 1 June 1943 – 10 November 1945.
• 495th Fighter Group, 1 February 2016 – present^[1]

Stations[]

• Glendale Airport, California, 1 June 1943
• Van Nuys Army Air Field, California, 12 August 1943
• Oxnard Flight Strip, California, c. 1 October 1943
• Santa Maria Army Air Field, California, 27 December 1943 – 14 January 1944
• RAF Honington (Sta 375),^[4] England, 10 February 1944-c. 4 November 1945
• Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, 9–10 November 1945
• Buckley Air Force Base (later Buckley Space Force Base), Colorado, 1 February 2016 – present^[5]

Aircraft[]

• Lockheed P-38 Lightning, 1943–1944
• North American P-51D Mustang, 1944–1945
• General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, 2021-present^[1]

References[]

Notes[]

Explanatory notes

Citations

Bibliography[]

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• 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. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
• Freeman, Roger A. (1970). The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London, England, UK: Macdonald and Company. ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2.
• 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. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
• 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.