337th Fighter Group

Constituted as 337th Fighter Group on 16 Jul 1942 and activated on 23 Jul. Assigned to Third AF. Equipped with variety of aircraft, primarily P-40s (1942-1943) and P-51s (1944). Trained replacement crews for duty overseas. Disbanded on 1 May 1944.

The 337th Fighter Group was activated in July 1942 at Morris Field, North Carolina with the 98th, 303d, and 304th Fighter Squadrons assigned. It received its initial cadre from the 20th Fighter Group. However, two of its squadrons departed Morris Field the day they were activated, with the 303d moving to Spartanburg Army Air Field and the 304th to the Myrtle Beach Bombing Range, both in South Carolina, to be organized. The group's initial equipment was a mix of obsolescent fighter aircraft. Although these were mostly Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, the 304th Squadron also flew Bell P-39 Airacobras and Republic P-43 Lancers.

Two weeks later, the group and the 98th Squadron moved to Drew Field, near Tampa, Florida. The 303d Squadron joined them later that month, while the 304th moved to the Tampa Bay Area, but to Pinellas Army Air Field, on the other side of the bay. The group operated as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU), with the Warhawk. RTUs were oversized units which trained individual pilots or aircrews.

In January 1943 the group and the squadrons at Drew Field moved to Sarasota Army Air Field, where the following month the group added a fourth squadron, the 440th Fighter Squadron. In August, the 440th joined the 304th at Pinellas and the group maintained a split operation at Sarasota and Pinellas until it was disbanded. The group transitioned to North American P-51 Mustangs in early 1944.

However, the Army Air Forces (AAF) was finding that standard military units, which were based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were not proving to be well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. The group and its squadrons were disbanded in May 1944. The 336th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter) assumed the mission of the group at Sarasota, while the 341st AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter) took over the group's equipment at Pinellas.

Reconstituted and redesignated 337th Fighter Group (Air Defense), on 20 Jun 1955. Activated on 18 Aug 1955. Assigned to Air Defense Command. Equipped with F-86s.

303rd FS

WW2 USAAF 440th Air Base Unit Santa Maria CA P-38 Training Patch

The squadron was first activated as the 440th Fighter Squadron at Sarasota Army Air Field, Florida in 1943 when the 337th Fighter Group expanded from three to four squadrons. It served as a III Fighter Command North American P-51 Mustang Operational, later Replacement Training Unit. The squadron was disbanded in May 1944 and its personnel and equipment transferred to the 341st AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter).

303rd FS - 440th FS - 460th FS

Squadrons. 98th Fighter Squadron: 1942-1944. 303rd Fighter Squadron: 1942-1944. 304th Fighter Squadron: 1942-1944. 440th Fighter Squadron: 1943-1944. 460th Fighter Squadron: 1955-.

Stations. Morris Field, NC, 23 Jul 1942; Drew Field, Fla, 7 Aug 1942; Sarasota, Fla, c. 3 Jan 1943 1 May 1944. Portland Intl Aprt, Ore, 18 Aug 1955-.

Commanders. Lt Col James Ferguson, 27 Jul 1942; Col Charles Kegelman, 12 Nov 1943-1 May 1944. Col George F Ceuleers, 1955-.

Campaigns. American Theater.

Decorations. None.

Insigne. Shield: Per fess abaisse embattled, and per pale, in the first quarter two stylized delta wing aircraft flying in close formation, noses to dexter chief, a contrail from the two aircraft, bendwise across the shield to the embattlement; four stars arched over the sinister chief, all colors counterchanged, or and sable. (Approved 26 Jun 1957.)

98th Fighter Squadron

World War II

It was activated in the summer of 1942 as part of III Fighter Command. It became a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk replacement training unit (RTU). It was inactivated on 1 May 1944 as part of a reorganization of training units.