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107th Fighter Squadron
An A-10 Thunderbolt II, flown by the 107th Fighter Squadron, 127th Wing, returns to Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, after a local training mission on December 28, 2022.
The 107th Fighter Squadron traces its origins to 26 August 1917 with the organization of the 107th Aero Squadron. Forty recruits arrived at
Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas from
Vancouver Barracks, Washington. An additional 341 recruits arrived from
Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and 110 men and along with the 40 from Vancouver were formed as the 107th. The squadron was initially indoctrinated into military service, performing drill, fatigue duties and also construction work at the field. Once basic indoctrination training was completed, the 107th was ordered for overseas duty, being ordered to report to the
Aviation Concentration Center,
Garden City, Long Island on 26 October. It was there that final arrangements were made for the trip overseas, complete equipment was drawn and a final few transfers were made.[4]
On 7 December, the 107th was ordered to proceed by train to
St. John's, Newfoundland. On 10 December it boarded the
SS Tuscania (1914) for the cross-Atlantic voyage, arriving on Christmas morning at
Liverpool, England. After a brief rest, the squadron arrived at
Southampton, England on the 29th, and crossed the English Channel to
Le Havre, France. There, it then traveled by train to the Replacement Concentration Center, American Expeditionary Forces,
St. Maixent Replacement Barracks, France, arriving on 2 January 1918. At St. Maixent the squadron was redesignated as the 801st Aero Squadron, and placed on camp duty for nearly two months. Finally, it was ordered to proceed to the
Third Aviation Instruction Center at
Issoudun Aerodrome, in central France, arriving on 21 February. Initially the squadron was assigned to the main airfield, working in the aircraft assembly and test departments. On 7 June, help was needed at Field No. 2, and the 801st was ordered to send 100 men to help put the field in better shape. Cooperating with another squadron, Field No. 2 was placed on an efficient basis as any field in the AEF.[4]
The squadron remained at Issoudun until after the Armistice with Germany in November 1918, then returned to the United States in March 1919. Arrived at
Mitchel Field where the squadron members were demobilized and returned to civilian life.[4][note 1]
Intra-war period
After the war the squadron was reorganized in 1925 as the
Michigan National Guard's first flying unit, the squadron consisted of 20 officers and 90 enlisted men meeting weekly in a Detroit garage. It received Federal recognition in May 1926 as the air section of the Michigan National Guard's
32d Division. Its primary mission was artillery spotting and observation of troop movements.[5]
In March 1938, elements of the 107th Observation Squadron performed gunnery training at
Eglin Field, Florida, for 15 days, deploying from
Wayne County Airport at Detroit, Michigan. 23 officers and 111 men arrived on 1 March. One detachment flew in eight aircraft while the rest arrived by rail over the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad at
Crestview, Florida.[6]
World War II
Called to active duty with
Douglas O-38 and
North American O-47 observation planes on 15 October 1940, the 107th was sent to
DeRidder Army Air Base, Louisiana for unit training on 28 October 1940. For many years this airfield was simply called the Artillery Range Airport Camp.
On 11 April 1941, Lieutenant Wilmer Esler was killed in the crash of his O-47 when it experienced an engine failure on takeoff.[7]
The
War Department announced on 19 June 1941 that the
Air Corps field at Camp Beauregard would be named
Esler Field in honor of his sacrifice.[8]
In 1941, the 107th was joined by two other National Guard observation units to form the
67th Observation Group. The 67th Group did anti-submarine patrolling off the East Coast of the US from mid-December 1941 to March 1942, when it returned to Louisiana for training in fighter aircraft.
The 67th Group was sent to
RAF Membury, England, in August 1942 and flew
Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vs and
De Havilland Tiger Moths for a year until equipped with
North American F-6 Mustangs. Pre-invasion missions began in December 1943. For successful photo missions of the French invasion coastline without loss of a single aircraft, the 107th was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation on 7 April 1945. The 67th Group advance detachments landed in Normandy 13 days after D-Day. The
Belgian Fourragere was awarded for conspicuous action during the
Battle of the Bulge.
In June 2018, A-10s from the 107th flew over Normandy Beach as part of anniversary observances of D-Day. It was the first official mission for the 107th over Normandy since the end of World War II.
Michigan Air National Guard
The wartime 107th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was redesignated as the 107th Bombardment Squadron (Light), and was allotted to the National Guard on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Wayne County Airport, Michigan on 9 June 1946 and was extended federal recognition in September. It was assigned to the newly organized Michigan National Guard's
127th Fighter Group. The squadron was equipped with F-51H Mustang.
In 1950, the unit was converted to
Republic F-84B Thunderjet jets and on 1 February 1951, the unit was activated as part of the 127th Pilot Training Group and moved to
Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The 107th was inactivated and returned to Michigan in November 1952.
^Maurer and Clay both say Gardem City was the demobilization location. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 336, Clay, p. 1446. There were several installations there, including Fort Mills, Kindley Field and Hazelhurst Field in addition to Mitchel.
^Aircraft is RF-84F Thunderstreak serial 51-1925, about 1960
^Aircraft is General Dynamics F-16C Block 30 serial 86–235 at Selfridge ANGB with the pilot and crew chief right going over the forms during preparations to deploy on 24 February 2004.
^This unit is not related to another 107th Aero Squadron that was activated in March 1918 at
Rich Field, Waco, Texas, moved the same month to
Carlstrom Field, Florida, redesignated Squadron A, Carlstrom Field in July 1918 and demobilized in November 1918, with its personnel and equipment being transferred to the Flying School Detachment, Carlstrom Field.
^"Louisiana Maneuver Camps and Bases". Louisiana: World Renown Involvement in World War II. Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. Archived from
the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2007.
^"Red Devils Return to Michigan." Press Release. Michigan.gov. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
New Page 2
Gorrell, Col. Edgar S. (1974). History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919. Series E. Vol. 25 History of the 800th–1111th Aero Squadrons. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration.
OCLC215070705.
Hubbard, Gerard (June 1943). "Aircraft Insignia, Spirit of Youth". Vol. LXXXIII (No. 6) National Geographic, pp. 710–722