In 1946, thegroup was allotted to theAir National Guard as the127th Fighter Group. In 1951, as a result of theKorean War, the group wascalled to active duty, and trained pilots for theUnited States Air Force as the127th Pilot Training Group. In November 1952, it was returned to theMichigan Air National Guard as the127th Fighter-Bomber Group. in 1955, it became the127th Fighter-Interceptor Group and in 1958 converted to theaerial reconnaissance mission as the127th Tactical Reconnaissance Group. It resumed the fighter mission in 1972 as the127th Tactical Fighter Group, but was inactivated two years later. With the implementation of the Objective Wing organization, the group was again activated as the127th Operations Group.
The group arrived at theFirth of Clyde on 29 November and moved toRAF Bottisham, England the following day. It would be the last P-47 Thunderbolt group to joinEighth Air Force. The 361st flew its first combat mission with its P-47 aircraft on 21 January 1944. The weight of the heavy P-47 fighters soon began to tell on the wet surface making take-offs tricky. A team of American engineers were called in during January 1944 and, in three days, they constructed a 4410 foot long runway withpierced steel planking (PSP). This feat was considered a record for laying this type of prefabricated surfacing. The runway, which was aligned NE-SW, became the main at Bottisham the other also being constructed of PSP.[citation needed] However, the group converted toNorth American P-51 Mustangs in May 1944 and flew them for the remainder of the war.[2][6]
The unit served primarily as an escort organization, covering the penetration, attack, and withdrawal ofBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress andConsolidated B-24 Liberator bomber formations that theArmy Air Forces sent against targets on the Continent. The group also engaged in counter-air patrols, fighter sweeps, andstrafing anddive bombing missions. Attacked such targets asairdromes,marshaling yards, industrial areas, ordnance depots, oil refineries, trains, and highways. It participated inOperation Crossbow, the attacks on German missile launch sites.[2]
During its operations, the unit participated in the assault against the German Air Force and aircraft industry during theBig Week, 20–25 February 1944, and the attack on transportation facilities prior toD-Day and support of the invasion forces thereafter, includingOperation Cobra, the breakout atSaint Lo, in July. In September 1944, the 361st moved toRAF Little Walden.[2]
From its new base, the group supportedOperation Market-Garden, the airborne attack onRhine River crossings in the Netherlands in September 1944. In December 1944, the group deployed a detachment to France to support ground troops in theBattle of the Bulge. The detachment remained until January 1945. In February, the entire group deployed toChievres Airfield, Belgium, flying tactical ground support missions duringOperation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine in Germany and remained until April.[2]
The unit returned to RAF Little Walden and flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945. FollowingV-E Day, many personnel were transferred from the unit, and in September and October, the group's aircraft were transferred to depots. The group's remaining personnel sailed fromSouthampton on theRMS Queen Mary on 4 November. On 9 November the 361st arrived atCamp Kilmer, New Jersey and was inactivated the following day.[2][6]
In May 1946, the group was allotted to theNational Guard and redesignated as the127th Fighter Group.[2] Two months later, the State of Michigan activated it atWayne County Airport, nearDetroit, and it received federal recognition in September. Its initial component was the107th Bombardment Squadron, which had been an element of the Michigan Guard since 1926, except for periods when it wasmobilized. By 1947, the group had added two of its World War II squadrons, the 374th (now the 171st) and 375th (now the 172nd) Fighter Squadrons. Although the 107th and 171st Squadrons were stationed with the group, the 172nd was atKellogg Field, Michigan. The 172nd formed an acrobatic team, called the "Michigan Acro-Guards" and flew their F-51 Mustangs in aerial demonstrations.[7]
In the fall of 1950, theAir National Guard reorganized under theWing Base Organization and the group was assigned to the new127th Fighter Wing, which has remained as its higher headquarters under various designations since then. In February 1951, thewing and group were called to active duty. Unlike other National Guard wings called to active duty for theKorean War, however, the 127th became part ofAir Training Command and moved toLuke Air Force Base, Arizona,[8] along with its 107th and 171st Squadrons,[7][note 7] becoming the127th Pilot Training Group.[2] Seventeen members of the 172nd Squadron had volunteered for duty overseas as members of the regular Air Force the previous month.[7] The197th Pilot Training Squadron of theArizona Air National Guard, which was already at Luke, became the group's third squadron. The 197th was equipped withRepublic F-84 Thunderjets.[7] The group trained fighter pilots with North American F-51 Mustangs,Lockheed F-80 Shooting Stars and F-84 Thunderjets.
The 127th was inactivated in November 1952 and returned to the Michigan Guard as the127th Fighter-Bomber Group,[2] with the 107th and 171st Squadrons assigned. Its equipment, mission, and most of its personnel at Luke were transferred to the newly formed 3600th Flying Training Group.[9] Despite its designation, it focused on theair defense mission. This was recognized in 1955, when the unit became the127th Fighter-Interceptor Group. When it became the127th Fighter Group (Air Defense) in April 1956, only the 107th Squadron remained with the group.
In 1958, its mission changed toaerial reconnaissance and it became the127th Tactical Reconnaissance Group. The 171st Squadron returned to the group, along with the117th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron of theKansas Air National Guard. In 1962, to facilitate mobilization of elements smaller than an entire wing, the 117th and 171st Squadrons were assigned to newly organized groups.[note 9] In 1970, the group made the short move toSelfridge Air Force Base. It returned to the fighter mission in 1972, but was inactivated in December 1974, when the Air National Guard eliminated group headquarters that were located on the same base as their parent wings.
As the Air Force implemented the Objective Wing organization in the 1990s, the group was again activated as the127th Operations Group.
197th Pilot Training Squadron, February 1951 – 1 November 1952[7]
374th Fighter Squadron (later 171st Fighter Squadron, 171st Pilot Training Squadron, 171st Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 171st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 171st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 171st Airlift Squadron), 10 February 1943 – 24 October 1945,[3] 13 December 1946 – 1 November 1952, 1 November 1952 – 16 April 1956, c. 1 January 1958 – 1 October 1962, 1 April 1996 – 1 May 1999
375th Fighter Squadron (later 172nd Fighter Squadron), 10 February 1943 – 24 October 1945[4] 29 August 1947 – c. 10 February 1951
^Aircraft is Republic A-10, serial 80-255 at Selfridge ANGB.
^Originally approved as Parati StamusLatin. Maurer,Combat units, pp. 243-244.
^While assigned to the 127th Wing, the group uses the wing emblem with the group designation on the scroll. AF Instruction 84-105, Organizational Lineage, Honors and History, 27 April 2017, paragraph 3.3.3
^Aircraft is Republic P-47D-11-RE Thunderbolt, serial 42-75452 "Tika" (B7-R) of 1st Lt Vernon R. Richards of the 374th Fighter Squadron. Lost attacking theArras marshaling yards on 12 August 1944. MACR 7784)
^Aircraft is North American P-51D-5-NA Mustang, serial 44-13410 "Lou IV/Athelene" (E2-C) of Lt Col Thomas J. J. Christian Jr., commander of the 375th Fighter Squadron (KIA)
^Aircraft is Republic RF-84F-36-RE Thunderflash, serial 52-8756. This plane was retired 1971 and sold to Taiwan.
Freeman, Roger A. (1970).The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London, England, UK: Macdonald and Company.ISBN978-0-87938-638-2.
Watkins, Robert (2008).Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force In World War II. Vol. II (VIII) Fighter Command. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd.ISBN0-7643-2535-3.
Further reading
Cora, Paul B.Yellowjackets! The 361st Fighter Group in World War II P-51 Mustangs over Germany. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 2002.ISBN0-7643-1466-1.
United States
United States Air Force
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