The 52nd Fighter Squadron is an active

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

unit of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, assigned to the 944th Operations Group,

944th Fighter Wing The 944th Fighter Wing is an Air Reserve component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The 944th is an associate unit of the 56th Fighter Wi ...

. Stationed at

Luke Air Force Base Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States., effective 20 December 2007 It is located west of the central business district of Glendale, Arizona, Glendale, and west of Phoenix, Arizona, P ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, the squadron was most recently activated on 6 August 2021. Previously, it was with the

Western Air Defense Force The Western Air Defense Force (WADF) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 July 1960. History WA ...

, based at

Hamilton Air Force Base Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

until its inactivation on 8 June 1951.

History

World War II

Activated on 1 January 1941 as one of the three squadrons assigned to the 32nd Pursuit Group as part of the United States buildup of forces after the eruption of World War II. The squadron was equipped with

Curtiss P-36A 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 ...

s and

Boeing P-26A Peashooter The Boeing P-26 "Peashooter" is the first American production all-metal fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane to enter squadron service with the United States Army Air Corps. Designed and built by Boeing, the prototype first flew in 1 ...

s drawn from the

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. It is the fourth power of two. In English speech, the numbers 16 and 60 are sometimes confused, as they sound similar. Mathematics 16 is the ninth composite number, and a sq ...

and 37th Pursuit Groups. After being formed at

Albrook Field Albrook Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force facility in Panama. It was closed on 30 September 1997 as a result of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties which specified that United States military facilities in the former Panama Canal Zon ...

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

, the squadron was moved to

Río Hato Army Air Base Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. Following its stay at Rio Hato, the unit was ordered to

France Field France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 1 January 1942, and the squadron was equipped with

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by th ...

s. In early 1942, the Squadron was actively engaged in anti-submarine patrols, for which duty the aircraft were each armed with a 350 pound depth charge. Either 75-foot or 150-foot hydrostatic fuses were used, but, in every case, these were always dropped prior to returning to base. On 12 May 1942, "C" Flight of the Squadron was sent to

Seymour Island Airfield Seymour Galapagos Ecological Airport (Spanish: ''Aeropuerto Ecológico Galápagos Seymour'') is an airport serving the island of Baltra, one of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. Name The airport preserves part of Baltra's other name, South ...

in the Galapagos Islands (just before the unit was redesignated as the 52nd Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942), becoming one of the first fighter detachments stationed there, although the main squadron remained at France Field. The Galapagos Detachment was redesignated as "E" Flight on 31 October. The detachment's stay on the Galapagos lasted until 1 December 1942. By 18 January 1943, the 52nd was at France Field. However, by 16 June, detachments were located at Rio Hato Army Air Base, Corozal (Canal Zone) and David Field, Panama, with Squadron Headquarters at France Field. The unit ended its assignment to France Field on 23 March 1944 and, with the gradual wind-down of

Sixth Air Force Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six. * The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution * A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel * The fraction Music * Sixth interval (music)s: ** major sixth, a musical interval ** minor sixth ...

, was one of the units slated to be disbanded. The unit was subsequently disbanded on 25 May 1944.

Air Force Reserve

Activated in the reserve in June 1949 to train as an interceptor corollary squadron of the

78th Fighter-Interceptor Wing The 78th Air Base Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. The 78th acts as the host unit at Robins. The wing was first activated as the 78th Fighter Wing in September 1948 as part of the wing ...

Hamilton AFB Hamilton Field (Hamilton AFB) was a United States Air Force base, which was inactivated in 1973, decommissioned in 1974, and put into a caretaker status with the Air Force Reserve Command, Air Force Reserve until 1976. It was transferred to the ...

. it was brought to active duty in June 1951 as a result of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, and inactivated a week later after its personnel were reassigned to become "fillers" in other USAF units. The unit was reactivated at

, Arizona on 6 August 2021 by transitioning the 944th Operations Group's Detachment 2 to full squadron status.

Lineage

* Constituted 52nd Pursuit Squadron (Fighter) on 22 November 1940 : Activated on 1 January 1941 : Redesignated 52nd Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942 : Disbanded on 25 May 1944 * Reconstituted on 16 May 1949 : Activated in the reserve on 27 June 1949 : Redesignated 52nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 8 March 1950 : Ordered to active service on 1 June 1951 : Inactivated 8 June 1951 * Redesignated 52nd Fighter Squadron and activated in the reserve on 6 August 2021

Assignments

* 32nd Pursuit (later Fighter) Group, 1 January 1941 *

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

, 8 April – 25 May 1944 *

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 ...

, 27 June 1949 *

, 1 August 1950 – 8 June 1951. * 944th Operations Group, 6 August 2021 – present

Stations

* Rio Hato AAB,

, 1 January 1941 *

Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending on each side o ...

, 1 January 1941 * Rio Hato AAB,

, 21 August 1941 *

, 13 December 1941 – 23 March 1944 : Detachment at Seymour Island Army Airfield,

Baltra Baltra Island () is a small island in the Galápagos Archipelago in Ecuador. It is a small flat island located near the center of the chain and includes Seymour Airport (GPS), originally established by the United States Air Force to help monit ...

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

, 5 June – 1 December 1942 * Lincoln Army Airfield,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, 8 April – 25 May 1944 *

, 27 June 1949 – 8 June 1951 *

, 6 August 2021 – present

Aircraft

P-26 Peashooter The Boeing P-26 "Peashooter" is the first American production all-metal fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane to enter squadron service with the United States Army Air Corps. Designed and built by Boeing, the prototype first flew in 1 ...

, 1941 *

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 ...

, 1941–1942 *

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 ...

, 1942–1944 *

P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by th ...

, 1943–1944 *

F-35A Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...

, 2021–present

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Hagdedorn, Dan (1995), Alae Supra Canalem: Wings Over the Canal, Turner Publishing,

External links

{{USAAF 6th Air Force World War II 052