517th Strategic Fighter Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 517th Strategic Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. Its last assignment was with the 407th Strategic Fighter Wing stationed at Great Falls AFB, Montana
. It was inactivated on 1 July 1957.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. Its last assignment was with the 407th Strategic Fighter Wing stationed at Great Falls AFB, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. It was inactivated on 1 July 1957.
Lineage
- Constituted as: 634th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) on 23 March 1943
- Activated on 28 March 1943
- Redesignated as: 517th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 10 August 1943
- Disbanded on 1 April 1944
- Reconstituted, and redesignated as: 517th Strategic Fighter Squadron, on 13 November 1953.
- Activated on 18 December 1953
- Inactivated on 1 July 1957.
Assignments
- 407th Bombardment(later Fighter-Bomber) Group, 28 March 1943-1 April 1944
- 407th Strategic Fighter Wing, 18 December 1953-1 July 1957
Stations
- Drew Field, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 28 March 1943
- Operated from Amchitka AAFAmchitka Army AirfieldAmchitka Army Airfield is an abandoned airfield located near Amchitka, in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska.-History:The airfield was used as a transit base by USAAF/RCAF for the defense of Dutch Harbor....
AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, July– August 1943- Lakeland AAF, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 2 October 1943 - Galveston AAF, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 9 November 1943 - Bruning AAFBruning Army AirfieldBruning Army Airfield was a flight training installation of the United States Army Air Forces used during World War II and located in northeast Thayer County, Nebraska, at coordinates 40°20'25" North, 97°25'42" West, approximately six miles east of Bruning....
, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, 3 March-1 April 1944 - Great Falls AFB, MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, 18 December 1953-1 July 1957.
- Lakeland AAF, Florida
Aircraft
- A-24 Dauntless, A-36 Apache, and P-51 MustangP-51 MustangThe North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
, 1943 - P-47 ThunderboltP-47 ThunderboltRepublic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
, 1943–1944 - F-84 ThunderjetF-84 ThunderjetThe Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 flew in 1946...
, 1954–1957