The 450th Fighter Squadron was established during
World War II as a Replacement Training Unit for
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt pilots until it was disbanded in a major reorganization of the
Army Air Forces in 1944 designed to streamline training organizations.
History
The squadron was established as the 450th Fighter Squadron and was activated in November 1943 at
Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia.[1] as one of the four original squadrons of the
87th Fighter Group.[2] The squadron began operations with
Republic P-47 Thunderbolts in January 1944 as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). RTUs were oversized units which trained
aircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters and assignment to an operational group.[3] In January 1944, group
headquarters and the squadron moved to
Camp Springs Army Air Field, Maryland,[1][2] and two of the group's other squadrons transferred to
Millville Army Air Field, New Jersey.[4]
However, the
Army Air Forces found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving less well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[5] while the groups and squadrons acting as RTUs were disbanded or inactivated.[6] This resulted in the squadron being disbanded in the spring of 1944[1] and being replaced by the 112th AAF Base Unit (Fighter), which assumed its mission, personnel, and equipment.[7]
Lineage
Constituted as the 450th Fighter Squadron (Single Engine) on 24 September 1943
^Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). "Introduction". The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. p. xxxvi.
LCCN48-3657.
Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
LCCN48-3657.