| 329th Armament Systems Group | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1942–1944, 1955–1959, 2005–2007 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Systems development |
| Part of | Air Force Materiel Command |
| Insignia | |
| 329th Armament Systems Group[a][1] |  |
The 329th Armament Systems Group is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit, last assigned to theAir Armament Center atEglin Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated in 2007.
Thegroup was first activated in July 1942 as the329th Fighter Group. It acted as anOperational Training Unit for fighter units and as aReplacement Training Unit forLockheed P-38 Lightning pilots deploying to overseas theaters until 1944, when it was disbanded in a major reorganization of theArmy Air Forces training units.
The group was activated again as part of Project Arrow, a program byAir Defense Command (ADC) to reviveWorld War II fighter units to replace its Air Defense Groups. It was inactivated in 1959 when ADC realigned its fighter force.
TheAir Armament Systems Group was activated in 2005 as part of the Air Force Materiel Command Transformation, in whichAir Force Materiel Command replaced its traditional directorates with wings, groups, and squadrons. The following year it was consolidated with the 329th Group as the329th Armament Systems Group. It was inactivated in 2007 when theAir Armament Center combined its units into the308th Armament Systems Wing.
Thegroup was activated atHamilton Field in June 1942 underFourth Air Force as the329th Fighter Group, with the330th,[2]331st,[3] and332d Fighter Squadrons[4] assigned. Four days after its activation, the group moved toPaine Field, Washington.[5] The group initially acted as anOperational Training Unit (OTU). The OTU program involved establishing an oversized parent unit which would providecadres to organize "satellite groups."[6] The group later served as aReplacement Training Unit, trainingLockheed P-38 Lightningpilots in the final phases offighter pilot training before shipping overseas.[5][7]
In September 1942 the group headquarters moved toGrand Central Air Terminal, California along with the 330th Squadron,[2] while the 331st Squadron moved toInglewood, California,[3] and the 332d toSanta Ana Army Air Base.[4] From this time until it was disbanded, the group'ssquadrons would be dispersed over several bases in California and Washington.[5] November 1942 saw another shuffle of squadrons as the 331st moved toVan Nuys Army Air Field.[3] The group was expanded the same month when it was joined by the337th Fighter Squadron. The 337th returned to the United States fromIceland, where its place was taken by the50th Fighter Squadron. It took the place of the 330th at Grand Central.[8] The 330th moved toLindbergh Field, where it assumed anair defense mission in 1943.[2] Most of the group eventually found itself atOntario Army Air Field, California. The 331st and 337th Squadrons moved there in December 1943, and were joined by group headquarters in February 1944.[3][5][8]
The group was disbanded in 1944[5] and its personnel and equipment at Ontario were transferred to the 442d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter)[9] as part of anArmy Air Forces (AAF) reorganization in which units not programmed to deploy overseas were replaced by AAF Base Units in order to free up manpower for overseas assignment because standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were not proving well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each AAF base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[10]
The group was reconstituted in 1955 as the329th Fighter Group (Air Defense) and activated[5] byAir Defense Command (ADC) as part of Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list fighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars.[11] The group replaced the4700th Air Defense Group[12] atStewart Air Force Base and absorbed the 4700th's personnel and equipment. The 330th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was reassigned to the 329th,[2] and the 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the539th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which moved toMcGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey,[3][13] since another purpose of Project Arrow was to reunite fighter groups with their traditional squadrons.[11] The group was tasked with air defense in the northeastern United States, flyingradar equipped andMighty Mouse rocket armedNorth American F-86D Sabres.[1][14] The group also served as the host organization for all USAF units stationed at Stewart and was assigned a number of support organizations to fulfil this mission.[15][16][17]
In December 1956, both of the group's squadrons began to receive upgraded Sabres equipped withdata link communications equipment to interface with theSemi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense system.[14] The group was reduced to a single operational squadron in August 1958, when the 331st Squadron moved toWebb Air Force Base, Texas and was reassigned.[3] In July of the following year, its remaining operational squadron was inactivated[2] and the group followed the next month and its support functions at Stewart were assumed by the 4603d Air Base Group.[5][15][17][18][19][20]
In 2005, theAir Combat Support Systems Group was established as a systems development unit atEglin Air Force Base, Florida[1] as part of theAir Force Materiel Command Transformation, which replaced traditional program offices with named wings, groups, and squadrons. In May 2006, this named group was consolidated with the 329th Group and on 15 May became the329th Armament Systems Group.[1] Its subordinate squadrons were simultaneously given numbers to replace their previous squadron names.[21]
The 329th Armament Systems Group was responsible for developing air combat test and training systems, expeditionary support equipment, munitions handling equipment and armament subsystems,explosive ordnance disposal support equipment, and realisticelectronic warfare threat simulators for the United States and allied forces worldwide.[22] In 2007 it began a study to develop a common instrumentation system for allDepartment of Defense ranges to ease the transfer of information among ranges, increase instrumentation accuracy and data transfer rates, and improve the encryption of transferred data.[23]
The group was inactivated in September 2007, when theAir Armament Center combined its armament systems units into the308th Armament Systems Wing.[24]
329th Fighter Group
Air Combat Support Systems Group
Operational Squadrons
| Support Units
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Systems Squadrons
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
.png) | American Theater without inscription | 10 July 1943 – 31 March 1944 | 329th Fighter Group[5] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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