The 11th Fighter Wing is a disbanded

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 ...

organization. Its last assignment was with

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

Drew Field Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective May 15, 2025. The airp ...

, Florida. It was constituted in late and disbanded in late .

History

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 ...

was constituted in late 1940 at Hamilton Field, California in the buildup of the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

in response to the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in Europe. It moved to Army Air Base, Portland in 1941, where it assumed responsibility for organizing two pursuit groups. It was inactivated later that year, and its personnel used as part of the cadre for headquarters units of

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 ...

. The wing was activated the following year at

, Florida. Although it was programmed for overseas deployment to the

European theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allies of World War II, Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the ...

and was assigned to

, it was attached to

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a Numbered Air Force, numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U ...

for training. It was never assigned any combat groups and was inactivated before deploying overseas. In 1985 the wing was reconstituted on paper as the 367th Electronic Warfare Group,Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 648q, 31 July 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Organizations but was never active before being disbanded again in 1992.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 11th Pursuit Wing on 19 October 1940 : Activated on 18 December 1940 : Inactivated on 2 October 1941 * Redesignated 11th Fighter Wing in October 1942 : Activated on 1 November 1942 : Inactivated on 1 May 1943 * Disbanded on 1 December 1943 * Reconstituted on 31 July 1985 and redesignated 367th Electronic Warfare Group (not active) * Disbanded on 9 September 1992

Assignments

* Northwest Air District 18 December 1940 – 2 October 1941 * Eighth Air Force, 1 November 1942 – 1 May 1943 (attached to Third Air Force)

Stations

* Hamilton Field, California, 18 December 1940 * Army Air Base, Portland, Oregon, June 1941 – 2 October 1941 *

, Florida, 1 November 1942 – 1 May 1943

Components

* 54th Fighter Group, 1941 – 2 October 1941 * 55th Fighter Group, 1941 – 2 October 1941

Aircraft

Curtiss P-36 Hawk The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation ...

, 1941Maurer, pp. 116–117Maurer, pp. 117–118 *

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

, 1941 *

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

, 1941 *

Republic P-43 Lancer The Republic P-43 Lancer was a single-engine, all-metal, low-wing monoplane fighter aircraft built by Republic, first delivered to the United States Army Air Corps in 1940. A proposed development was the P-44 Rocket. While not a particularly out ...

, 1941

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Further reading * {{cite book, editor=Maurer, Maurer, title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, origyear=1969, url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf, archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180455/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf, url-status= dead, archive-date= 20 December 2016, edition= reprint, year=1982, publisher=Office of Air Force History, location=Washington, DC, isbn=0-405-12194-6, oclc=72556, lccn=70605402 011 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943