162nd Fighter Squadron

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 162nd Fighter Squadron


caption= 162nd Fighter Squadron Squadron Emblem
dates= 19??-Present
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Air Force
type= Squadron
role= Fighter
size=
command_structure= Air National Guard/Air Education and Training Command
current_commander=
garrison= Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=
anniversaries=

The 162nd Fighter Squadron flies the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon. It is a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard. Its parent unit is the 178th Fighter Wing.

Mission

As of 2008 the 162d Fighter Squadron (FS), is equipped with F-16 aircraft, and

provides instructor pilots and support personnel for academic and flying training programs in basic and advanced courses in the F-16 for the United States Air Force and the Air National Guard. The unit trains students to assume positions as mission ready F-16 pilots and instructors. The 162 FS also provides its own pilots to augment other F-16 fighter squadrons for contingency operations. [178th Fighter Wing [http://www.ohspri.ang.af.mil/organizations.htm#162d_Fighter_Squadron] ]

History

The unit was previously designated the 362nd Fighter Squadron (357th Fighter Group) during the Second World War, and was formed and activated in Hamilton Field, CA, in December 1942. Initially in December 1943 the squadron was based in Raydon Wood Airdrome, Army Air Field Station 157, in Suffolk England where it flew the P-51 while training in escorting long range bombers. The squadron was soon relocated to the RAF Leiston Airfield. While stationed there, the Group became known as the 'Yoxford Boys' from

the area to the north of the airfield, Middleton Moor, was bombed and Lord Haw Haw, the German propagandist broadcast that 'we gave those Yoxford Boys a welcome tonight' indicating that the airfield had been attacked. [ [http://www.madonna.edu/pages/mmtrain.cfm#_edn7 Madonna University - Article by Ellen Oliver Smith ] ]

While serving in the UK the squadron provided very long range escort for the B-17's and B-24's flying to refuelling bases in the northern USSR, with bombing targets en route. The squadron's P-51 Mustangs also escorted the bombers to targets in Rumania before landing in southern Italy. After refuelling and rearming the bombers and escorts then returned to UK, bombing southern France targets en-route. The hazardous duty of the squadron may explain the adoption of the unit patch on May 14, 1943 that incorporated the clover leaf, horse shoe and dice as the official emblem of the 362d Fighter Squadron. History of the 178th Fighter Wing [http://www.ohspri.ang.af.mil/history.htm] ] On August 20, 1946 the 357th was deactivated.

On November 2, 1947 the 162d Fighter Squadron was reactivated and stationed at Cox-Dayton Municipal Airport, Vandalia, Ohio. [History of Dayton Municipal Airport [http://www.daytonairport.com/pages/airport_history.htm] ] In 1955, the 162d Fighter Squadron begun operating F-84 Thunderjet aircraft and became known as the "Cougars" because of their unit patch emblem originated by Captain Joe Catron in 1957, when the squadron moved to its new and current location, the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport. The 162d Fighter Squadron participated in the Berlin crisis, and in 1963, the 162d Fighter Squadron and support units were formed into the 178th Tactical Fighter Group. During 1970 the squadron converted to the F-100 aircraft, and in 1978 converted again to the A-7 Corsair II light attack aircraft.

The squadron converted to the F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighter in 1993, and since 1997 the squadron has been known as the "Sabres". In the same year on 27 March, 1997, eight F-16s from the 162nd Fighter Squadron were reported as participants in a UFO incident that was later explained to have been a part of participation in the "night intercept air combat exercises" over ClermontCounty. The orange globes that were seen from the ground by civilian observers, were military flares used to "divert enemy aircraft sensors and heat-seeking missiles" during combat.

Campaigns

* Air Offensive Europe 1942-1944
* Normandy Campaign 1944
* Northern France 1945
* Ardennes-Alsace 1944-1945
* Central Europe 1945
* Rhineland 1945

Unit decorations

* Distinguished Unit Citation: Germany, 6 Mar and 29 June 1944 (Special Order #WD GO 29)
* Distinguished Unit Citation: Derben, Germany, 14 Jan 1945 (Special Order #WD GO 25)
* French Croix De Guerre with Palm: 11 Feb 1944-15 Jan 1945 Foreign Decoration

Assignments

Major Command

*Air National Guard/Air Combat Command (1992-Present)
*Air National Guard/Tactical Air Command (1962-1992)
*Air National Guard/Aerospace Defense Command (???-1962)

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

*162d Fighter Squadron (1992-Present)
*162d Tactical Fighter Squadron (1958-1992)
*362d Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group (1942-1945)

Bases Stationed

*Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport (1955-Present)
*Cox-Dayton Municipal Airport (1947-1955)

Aircraft OperatedWorld Airpower Journal. (1992). US Air Force Air Power Directory. Aerospace Publishing: London, UK. ISBN 1-880588-01-3

*F-16C/D Fighting Falcon (1993-Present)
*A-7D/K Corsair II (1978-1993)
*F-100 Super Sabre (1970-1978)
*F-84F Thunderstreak (1957-1970)
*P-51 Mustang (1944-1945)
*P-39 Airacobra (1942-1943)

References

ources

* Rogers, B., "United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978", 2006 ISBN 1-85780-197-0
* World Airpower Journal, "US Air Force Air Power Directory", Aerospace Publishing, London, 1992 ISBN 1-880588-01-3

External links