The 355th Wing (355 WG) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command's Fifteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, where it operates the A-10 Thunderbolt II. The wing's mission is to provide close air support (CAS), air interdiction (AI), forward air control (FAC), combat search and rescue (CSAR), ground-based tactical air control, and airbase operations.
History
World War II
The 355th Fighter Group was first activated 12 November 1942. Originally equipped with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, the group began using North American P-51 Mustangs in Spring, 1944.
The group was under the command of the 65th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command, Eighth Air Force. The aircraft group identification was white spinners and cowling bands.
The group consisted of the following squadrons:
354th Fighter Squadron (WR) 357th Fighter Squadron (OS) 358th Fighter Squadron (YF)
The 355 FG flew its first combat mission, a fighter sweep over Belgium, on 14 September 1943 and afterwards served primarily as escort for Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress/B-24 bombers that attacked industrial areas of Berlin, marshalling yards at Karlsruhe, an airfield at Neuberg, oil refineries at Misburg, synthetic oil plants at Gelsenkirchen, locks at Minden, and other objectives. The group also flew fighter sweeps, area patrols, and bombing missions, striking such targets as air parks, locomotives, bridges, radio stations, and armoured cars.
The 355th quickly gained acclaim as the "Steeple Morden Strafers," a reference to its base in England and its lethal accuracy at low level. The fighter group destroyed or damaged 1,500 enemy planes, making it the top strafing outfit in the VIII Fighter Command during World War II.
On 5 April 1944, shortly after converting from Thunderbolts to Mustangs, the group successfully bombed and strafed German airfields during a snow squall, only 2 aircraft were lost during this mission for which the group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation.
The group provided fighter cover for Allied forces landing in Normandy on 6 June 1944, and afterwards hit transportation facilities to cut enemy supply lines. Hit fuel dumps, locomotives, and other targets in support of ground forces during the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July.
The 355th Fighter Group flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945. On 3 July the group transferred to Gablingen, Germany for duty with United States Air Forces in Europe as part of the army of occupation. Transferred, without personnel and equipment, to Mitchel Field New York on 1 August 1946. It was inactivated on 20 November due to the Air Force's policy of retaining only low-numbered groups on active duty after the war, and its mission, personnel and equipment transferred to the 14th Fighter Group which was simultaneously activated.
Aces of the 355th Ftr Gp
Cold War
In August 1955, the group was redesignated the 355th Fighter Group (Air Defense) and reactivated as part of Air Defense Command's Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list the fighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars. The group replaced the 516th Air Defense Group and assumed its mission, personnel and equipment at McGhee Tyson Airport, near Knoxville Tennessee. The 516th's 469th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was reassigned to the group, while the 354th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron moved on paper from Oxnard Air Force Base, California to take over the aircraft of the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which moved without personnel or equipment to Portland International Airport, Oregon. The group served as the United States Air Force host organization for active duty units at McGhee Tyson and was assigned a number of maintenance and support units to carry out this function.
The 354th and 469th Squadrons both flew the radar equipped and Mighty Mouse rocket armed North American F-86D Sabre. The group focused on defending the Oak Ridge atomic plant and Alcoa aluminum production site. In July 1957 the 355th was reduced to a single fighter squadron when the 469th was inactivated. Regular Air Force operations at McGhee Tyson ended on 8 January 1958 when the 355th Group and the 354th Squadron inactivated, and the base was turned over to the Tennessee Air National Guard, which had organized the 134th Fighter Group there the previous month.