383d Fighter Squadron

The 383rd Fighter Squadron, organized and trained in California in 1943, was assigned to the 364th Fighter Group. It arrived England in February 1944 and was assigned to VIII Fighter Command at RAF Honington, East Anglia.

It initially flew escort, dive-bombing, strafing and patrol missions in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. It initially operated primarily as an escort for B-17/B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.

It patrolled the English Channel during the Normandy invasion in June 1944, and, while continuing escort operations, supported ground forces in France after the invasion by strafing and bombing locomotives, marshalling yards, bridges, barges and other targets. It switched from P-38 aircraft to P-51C/D Mustangs in the summer of 1944, and from then until the end of the war flew many long-range missions, escorting heavy bombers that attacked oil refineries, industries and other strategic objectives in Berlin, Regensburg, Merseburg, Stuttgart, Brussels and elsewhere. It also flew air-sea rescue missions, engaged in patrol activities, and continued to support ground forces as the battle line moved through France and into Germany.

The squadron demobilized in England during the late summer and fall of 1945, and its personnel returned to the United States. It was officially inactivated in November, 1945.

The squadron was reactivated on 1 February 2016 as part of the 495th Fighter Group at Buckley AFB, CO.[1]

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.