The Seattle Fighter Wing was a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

unit. The

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

provided

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

of the Northwestern United States and trained fighter units and pilots. It was stationed at

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, where it was disbanded on 7 June 1944.

History

Along the Pacific coast,

Western Defense Command Western Defense Command (WDC) was established on 17 March 1941 as the command formation of the United States Army responsible for coordinating the defense of the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast region of the United States during Wo ...

established a "vital air defense zone", extending from the coast approximately inland and to sea. To carry out this mission,

Fourth Air Force The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Reserv ...

organized regional air defense wings in August 1942. The Seattle Air Defense Wing was organized to provide

for the northwest Pacific coast and train fighter groups and pilots.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 426-427 Its air defense responsibility was to provide protection primarily for the

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

plants and military facilities in the northwest from

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. The

consisted of fighter groups assigned to airfields in the northwest engaged in training and would, if necessary, provide a defensive unit in case of, presumably, a Japanese attack. The

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

later found that standard military units like the wing, whose manning was based on relatively inflexible

tables of organization A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of military units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of a unit as well ...

were not well adapted to the training mission, even more so to the replacement mission. Accordingly, the

adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit, with similar flexible units established for headquarters. In this reorganization, the wing's headquarters squadron was replaced by the 412th AAF Base Unit (Fighter Wing) on 1 April 1944. Maurer writes that the wing itself was disbanded on 7 June 1944. and the 412th was redescribed as the 412th AAF Base Unit (Air Defense Region). Other air force documents say that the June 1944 action was a redesignation to the Seattle ADR, 412 AAFBU.''See'' In 1946, it became the 412th AAF Base Unit (Seattle Control Group).''But see'' , where this change is supposed to have taken place in July 1944. On 1 January 1947, it became the 412th AAF Base Unit (Western Aircraft Warning and Control Group). It moved to

McChord Field McChord Field (formerly and still commonly known as McChord Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord AFB is the home of the 62nd Airlift Wing, ...

the following month. It was discontinued at McChord on 20 May 1947 and its personnel and assets used to form the

505th Aircraft Control and Warning Group 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

Lineage

* Constituted as the Seattle Air Defense Wing on 6 August 1942 : Activated on 11 August 1942 : Redesignated the Seattle Fighter Wing c. 2 July 1943 : Disbanded on 7 June 1944Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 429-430 or redesignated Seattle Air Defence Region, 412th AAF Base Unit.

Assignments

IV Fighter Command The IV Fighter Command is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. It was activated under Fourth Air Force at March Field, California in June 1941, when it replaced a provisional organization. It was responsible for training fighter units and ...

, 11 August 1942 *

, 31 March – 7 June 1944

Components

* 55th Fighter Group: 22 June 1942 – 23 August 1943 * 372d Fighter Group: 7 December 1943 – 29 March 1944 *

478th Fighter Group 478th may refer to: * 478th Aeronautical Systems Wing (478 ASW), wing of the United States Air Force based out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio * 478th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 478th Tactical Fighter Squ ...

: 3 February – 31 March 1944Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 429-430. (years only)

Stations

, Washington, 20 August 1942 – 7 June 1944

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{USAAF 4th Air Force World War II Fighter wings of the United States Army Air Forces 1942 establishments in Washington (state)