| 76th Fighter Squadron | |
|---|---|
 The 76th is represented by the red marking on the rudder of this 23d Tac Fighter WingA-10 damaged in battle by aSA-16 missile duringDesert Storm. | |
| Active | 17 December 1941–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Fighter |
| Part of | Air Force Reserve Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Moody Air Force Base, Georgia |
| Engagements | World War II Gulf War Operation Joint Endeavor Operation Deny Flight Operation Desert Fox Operation Allied Force |
| Insignia | |
| 76th Fighter Squadron emblem(approved 1 August 2000)[1] |  |
| Patch with 76th Fighter Squadron emblem(approved 24 July 1944)[2] |  |
The76th Fighter Squadron is aUnited States Air Force Reserve unit. It is assigned to the476th Fighter Group and stationed atMoody Air Force Base, Georgia. The squadron is equipped with theFairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II attack fighter.
DuringWorld War II, the 76th Fighter Squadron was one of the three original squadrons (74th, 75th, 76th) of the23d Fighter Group.
The history of the 76th dates to the earliest days ofWorld War II. During the summer of 1941,Claire Lee Chennault formed a small group of American pilots into three fighter squadrons, theAmerican Volunteer Group, of the Chinese Air Force.[3] The unit immediately garnered international attention for their combat successes while defendingChina andBurma, and they became known as the "Flying Tigers."[3] Some members of the AVG joined or rejoined theUnited States Air Force after the AVG was disbanded.[4][5][6]
The 76th squadron remained in combat in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater from 18 July 1942 to 11 August 1945, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation for missions in China in June 1944.[1]
After World War II, the squadron performed air defense intercept operations in Guam, 1946–1949, in Panama, 1949, and at various bases in the eastern United States, 1955–1963.[1]
By 1960 the squadron was stationed atMcCoy Air Force Base, Florida. In 1960, "in order to position its diminishing interceptor force as nearly astride enemy approaches as possible",Air Defense Command received approval to move the squadron from McCoy toWestover Air Force Base in Massachusetts. It disposed of itsNorthrop F-89 Scorpions by the end of 1960. Between February and April 1961, the squadron had re-equipped withConvair F-102 Delta Daggers.[7] Following theCuban Missile Crisis, the Air Force decided to station a full squadron of interceptors atHomestead Air Force Base, Florida. This squadron was to be equipped withF-104A Starfighters, but the Air Force had transferred all its F-104 interceptors to theAir National Guard. F-104s were withdrawn from the159th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of theSouth Carolina Air National Guard and sent to Homestead. In turn, the F-102s at Westover were used to re-equip the 159th and the 76th was inactivated.[8]
The squadron trained in and conducted close air support operations, 1972–1992.[1] A portion of the squadron deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990 and took part in operations against Iraq in early 1991.[1]
Lessons fromDesert Storm on space power convinced Air Force leaders to reactivate the squadron as the76th Space Operations Squadron in December 1995. The squadron was activated at theNational Test Facility atFalcon Air Force Base, Colorado as a component of the14th Air Force on 1 December 1995.[9]
The mission of the76th SOPS was to assist air component commanders in understanding and applying space systems in support of air operations. The unit's aim was to ensure that command and control, communications, weather, navigation, and other space assets were used to most effectively multiplyUS and allied combat forces capabilities against an adversary.[1]
The 76th deployed Air Force Space Support Teams to bring "space expertise" to expeditionary air forces and air operations centers around the world. Over their tenure, the 76th Space Operations Squadron deployed to make significant contributions duringOperation Joint Endeavor,Operation Deny Flight,Operation Desert Fox, Operation Desert Thunder, andOperation Allied Force.[1] It was inactivated in 2008[1] and its place taken by a newly constituted unit with the same designation.[10]
In 2009, the squadron was redesignated76th Fighter Squadron and moved toMoody Air Force Base, Georgia, while
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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