394th Fighter Squadron

394th Fighter Squadron
Emblem of the 394th Fighter Squadron
Active	1943-1945
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Fighter

Lockheed P-38 Lightning of the 394th Fighter Squadron wearing D-Day invasion markings, June 1944.

394th Fighter Squadron P-47D Thunderbolt 1945

The 394th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 367th Fighter Group, IX Fighter Command, stationed at Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945.

History

Organized and trained in California during 1943 on P-39 Airacobras. Moved to England in April 1944, being assigned to IX Fighter Command, but were assigned P-38 Lightnings upon arrival. Entered combat in May 1944, flying fighter sweeps, bomber escorts and dive bombing missions over Occupied France.

Supported the invasion of Normandy during June 1944 by maintaining low aerial cover over the invasion troops. Moved to France in late July, engaging enemy aircraft over France and supporting ground forces as they advanced, attacking the German Seventh Army which, to prevent being surrounded, was withdrawing eastward through the gap between Falaise and Argentan. Five convoys and 100 Tiger Tanks were destroyed on one day.

Continued combat operations until the German capitulation in May 1945. On 1 July it was announced the squadron was to go to the Pacific Theater of Operations, and returned to the United Staters to be re-equipped with long range P-47N Thunderbolts. Japanese Capitulation in August led to the unit becoming excess to requirements, and was demobilzed at Seymour Johnson field, North Carolina. Was inactivated as a paper unit in November 1945

Operations and Decorations

• Combat Operations: Combat in ETO, 9 May 1944 – 8 May 1945

• Campaigns: Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe; Air Combat, EAME Theater.

• Decorations: Distinguished Unit Citations: France, 25 Aug 1944; Germany, 19 Mar 1945. Cited in the Order of the Day, Belgian Army: 6 Jun – 30 Sep 1944; 16 Dec 1944 – 25 Jan 1945. Belgian Fourragere.

Lineage

• Constituted 394th Fighter Squadron on 26 May 1943

Activated on 15 Jul 1943

Inactivated on 7 Nov 1945.

Assignments

• 367th Fighter Group, 15 Jul 1943 – 7 Nov 1945.

Stations

• Hamilton Field, California, 15 July 1943
• Santa Rosa Army Airfield, California, 11 October 1943
• Oakland Municipal Airport, California, 10 December 1943 – 8 March 1944
• RAF Stoney Cross (AAF-452) England, 5 April 1944
• RAF Ibsley (AAF-347), England, 6 July 1944
• Beuzeville Airfield (A-6), France, 22 July 1944
• Cricqueville Airfield (A-2), France, 14 August 1944

• Peray Airfield (A-44), France, 4 September 1944
• Clastres Airfield (A-71), France, 8 September 1944
• Juvincourt Airfield (A-68), France, 28 October 1944
• St-Dizier Airfield (A-64), France, 1 February 1945
• Conflans Airfield (A-94), France, 14 March 1945
• Eschborn Airfield (Y-74), Germany, 20 April – July 1945
• Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina, September-7 November 1945

Aircraft

• P-39 Aircobra, 1943-1944
• P-38 Lightning, 1944-1945
• P-47 Thunderbolt, 1945.

References

 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 (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/Publications/fulltext/combat_sq_of_the_af_wwii.pdf.