72d Tactical Fighter Training Squadron - General Dynamics F-16B Block 10B Fighting Falcon 80-0623

72d Tactical Fighter Squadron - F-100D-25-NA 55-3610

72d Fighter Squadron P-51 Mustang North Field Iwo Jima 1945

The 72nd Fighter Squadron is an inactive

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 ...

unit. Its last assignment was with the 56th Operations Group, based at

MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. It was inactivated on 19 June 1992.

History

World War II

Established as a defensive interceptor squadron for

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in late 1941. Suffered tremendous casualties and aircraft losses at

Wheeler Field Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii. It is a National H ...

during the

Pearl Harbor Attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the ti ...

. Re-equipped and used as

Seventh Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...

training unit; also flew reconnaissance patrols over Hawaii until late 1943. Deployed to Central Pacific as part of

island hopping campaign against Japanese in late 1943. Flew combat missions from Makin Island using P-39 Airacobra fighters until April 1944, returning to Hawaii and being re-equipped and trained with long-range

P-51 Mustangs The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...

. Re-deployed to Western Pacific, being stationed on

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

while battle for the island was still ongoing and engaged in long-range

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...

escort missions over Japan; continuing that mission until the end of hostilities in August 1945. Reassigned to

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, between the 12th and 21st pa ...

, as a Far East Air Force fighter squadron, inactivated 1946.

Cold War

Reactivated as

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Lang ...

F-86 The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

jet tactical fighter squadron, 1952 Deployed to France in 1954 as part of NATO; re-equipped with the

F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United ...

1957. Ordered out of France by host government as part of France's rejection of NATO's nuclear weapons policy. Reassigned to

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in 1958 for air defense of

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

. Inactivated 1959 as a result of budget reductions. Equipment reassigned to

510th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 510th Fighter Squadron is part of the 31st Operations Group at Aviano Air Base, Italy. It is a combat-ready F-16CM fighter squadron prepared to deploy and fly combat sorties as tasked by NATO and US combatant commanders. The squadron w ...

Pilot training

Reactivated 1 July 1982 at

MacDill AFB MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

, Florida as an F-16A/B Block 10 Fighting Falcon Replacement Training Unit Squadron, replacing the 13th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron when the 58th TFTS transitioned from

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

s. Tail coded "MC", black tail stripe outlined in white. Upgraded to the Block 25 and 30 F-16C/D in March 1990 and continued as a Replacement Training Unit. Inactivated in 1992 as part of the BRAC realignment of MacDill AFB.

Lineage

* Constituted 72nd Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 4 October 1941 : Activated on 5 October 1941 : Re-designated 72nd Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942 : Inactivated on 10 October 1946 * Redesignated 72nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 15 November 1952 : Activated on 1 January 1953 : Inactivated on 8 February 1958 * Re-designated 72nd Tactical Fighter Squadron on 19 May 1958 : Activated on 1 July 1958 : Inactivated on 9 April 1959 * Re-designated 72nd Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, and activated on 1 July 1982 : Re-designated 72nd Fighter Squadron on 1 November 1991 : Inactivated on 19 June 1992

Assignments

* 15th Pursuit (later Fighter) Group, 5 October 1941 * 318th Fighter Group, 15 October 1942 *

21st Fighter Group 069 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...

, 15 June 1944 – 10 October 1946 * 21st Fighter-Bomber Group, 1 January 1953 – 8 February 1958 * 6200th Air Base Wing, 1 July 1958 – 9 April 1959. *

56th Tactical Training Wing The 56th Fighter Wing is a fighter wing in the United States Air Force. It is the world's largest Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II wing and one of two Air Force F-35 training locations. Additionally, it is one of two active-duty F-16 training b ...

, 1 July 1992 * 56th Operations Group, 1 November 1991 – 19 June 1992

Stations

Hawaii Territory The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

, 5 October 1941 * Hilo Field,

, 25 July 1943 *

, 21 October 1943 * Makin Airfield,

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...

, 18 December 1943 *

Haleiwa Fighter Strip Haleiwa Fighter Strip was a military airfield on Oahu, Hawaii. It was used as part of the island's defense in World War II. History This obscure former military strip became famous during the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Originally ...

, 23 April 1944 *

Mokuleia Field Dillingham Airfield is a public and military use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) west of the central business district of Mokulēia, in Honolulu County. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective May 31, 2012. on the No ...

, 8 June 1944 * Central Field,

, 26 March 1945 * South Field,

, 15 July 1945 * Isley Airfield,

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

, 5 December 1945 *

Northwest Field Northwest Field (NWF; historically Northwest Guam Air Force Base) is a military airfield on the West Pacific island of Guam. Originally built during World War II, Northwest Field was closed as an airfield in 1949 but has been used for other mi ...

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, 17 April-10 October 1946 *

George AFB George Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, 8 miles northwest, of central Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. Established by the United States Army Air Co ...

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 ...

, 1 January 1953 – 26 November 1954 * Châteauroux-Déols Air Base,

France 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 ...

, 14 December 1954 *

Chambley-Bussières Air Base Chambley-Bussières Air Base is a former United States Air Force base in France. It is located in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département in France, département of France, about west of the French city of Metz, and about southwest of Chambley-Bus ...

, 9 July 1955 – 8 February 1958 * Clark AB,

, 1 July 1958 – 9 April 1959. *

, 1 July 1982 – 19 June 1992

Aircraft

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 ...

, 1941–1943 *

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 *

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 ...

, 1944–1945 *

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...

, 1944–1946 *

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

, 1946 *

F-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...

, 1953 *

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

, 1953–1957 *

, 1958–1959 *

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

, 1982-1992

Emblems

File:72d Fighter Squadron.png, World War II squadron emblem File:72d Fighter-Bomber Squadron - Emblem.png, 72nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron emblem File:72d Tactical Fighter Squadron - Emblem.png, 72nd Tactical Fighter Squadron emblem

References

Bibliography

* * Martin, Patrick. Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings. Schiffer Publishing, 1994. . * Rogers, Brian. ''United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978''. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications, 2005. {{ISBN, 1-85780-197-0. Military units and formations established in 1942 072 072