The 62d Fighter Wing (62 FW) is a disbanded 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 ...

, last stationed at

Van Nuys Airport Van Nuys Airport is a public airport in the Van Nuys neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. The airport is operated by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), a branch of the Los Angeles city government, which also operates Los Angeles Internat ...

, Van Nuys, California. It was withdrawn from the

California Air National Guard The California Air National Guard (CA ANG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Air Force, and part of the National Guard of the United States. As militia units, the units in the Californi ...

(CA ANG) and inactivated on 31 October 1950. This wing is not related to the 62d Troop Carrier Wing or subsequent units that was constituted on 28 July 1947 and activated on 15 August 1947.

History

World War II

Formed at Mitchel Field, New York in December 1942. Departed New York 13 January 1943 via

New York Port of Embarkation The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering th ...

. Arrived Casablanca, French Morocco on 30 January 1943 and assigned to Twelfth Air Force. Primary mission was fighter escort; air defense using night fighter units; harbor protection; homing of lost aircraft and air-sea rescue. Inactivated in Italy in September 1945.

Air National Guard

Allocated to the

for command and control origination for units in the Southwest Region (Southern California, Arizona) of the United States. Extended federal recognition and activated on 14 September 1950. At the end of October 1950, the Air National Guard converted to the wing-base

Hobson Plan The Hobson Plan was an organizational structure established by the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1948, following experimental organization in 1947. Known as the "Wing-Base Organization," it replaced the organization used by the United States A ...

organization. As a result, the wing was withdrawn from the California ANG and was inactivated on 31 October 1950. The 146th Composite Wing was established by the

National Guard Bureau The National Guard Bureau (NGB) is the federal agency responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was c ...

, allocated to the state of California, recognized and activated 1 November 1950; assuming the personnel, equipment and mission of the inactivated 62d Fighter Wing.

Lineage

* Constituted as 1st Air Defense Wing on 12 December 1942 and activated the same day. : Redesignated 62d Fighter Wing in July 1943. : Inactivated in Italy on 12 September 1945 * Allotted to the California ANG on 24 May 1946 : Extended federal recognition and activated on 14 September 1950 : Inactivated, and returned to the control of the Department of the Air Force, on 31 October 1950 * Disbanded on 15 June 1983

Assignments

First Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern & Air Forces Space; 1 AF-AFNORTH & AFSPACE) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission i ...

, 12 December 1942 – 13 January 1943 *

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

, 30 January 1943 – 12 September 1945 *

, 14 September-31 October 1950

Components

World War II

* 414th Night Fighter Squadron, 21 September 1944 – 1 April 1945 *

415th Night Fighter Squadron 415th may refer to: * 415th Bombardment Group, inactive United States Air Force unit * 415th Flight Test Flight (415 FLTF), squadron of the United States Air Force Reserves * 415th Tactical Fighter Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit S ...

, 20 June – 7 August 1943; 27 September 1943 – 5 August 1944 *

416th Night Fighter Squadron 416th may refer to: *416th Air Expeditionary Operations Group, provisional unit assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command *416th Bombardment Wing, inactive United States Air Force unit *416th Engineer Command (TEC), US Army Reser ...

, 28 January – 27 June 1944

California Air National Guard

* 146th Fighter Group, 16 September 1946 – 31 October 1950 * 115th Bombardment Squadron, 16 September 1946 – 31 October 1950

Stations

Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People and fictional characters *Mitchell (surname), including lists of both people and fictional characters *Mitchell (given name), lists of people and fictional characters Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Ca ...

, New York, 12 December 1942 – 13 January 1943 * Casablanca Airfield,

French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco, also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco that lasted from 1912 to 1956. The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when Sultan Abd al-Hafid signed the ...

, 30 January 1943 * Sousse Airfield, Tunisia, 14 May 1943 * Palermo Airfield, Sicily, 25 July 1943 *

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy, 20 October 1943 * Antignano, Italy, c. 15 September 1944 *

Pomigliano Airfield Pomigliano Airfield was a military airfield and base established in 1938–39 in Pomigliano d'Arco, southern Italy near Naples. It was attacked on several occasions by the United States Army Air Force. The airfield was later used by the USAAF Twel ...

, Italy, August-12 September 1945 *

, Van Nuys, California, 14 September-31 October 1950

References

* Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . {{Navboxes , list = {{USAAF 12th Air Force World War II 062 062 0062 Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1950