In 1946 the group, now redesignated the 140th Fighter Group, was one of the original twenty-seven regular Army Air Forces groups allotted to the National Guard. Since 1950 the group has controlled the operational squadrons of the 140th Wing, except for the period 1974–1993, when the group was inactive.
120th Fighter Squadron: Operates the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a dual-purpose fighter squadron with pilots qualified to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, including offensive counter-air, defensive counter-air, air interdiction, close air support, and search and rescue missions.
200th Airlift Squadron: Operates the C-21A Learjet. It provides secure priority airlift for the highest level of military and civilian leaders throughout the world.
When the group arrived, they expected to receive Thunderbolts on which they had trained stateside. However, much to the amazement of the Group Commander, Colonel Howard F. Nichols, the 370th FG was informed by IX Fighter Command that it would be equipped with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a few of which had already arrived during the 18 days the group was in residence at Aldermaston. The latter base proved to be only a temporary station, as it was required for troop carrier operations; the 370th soon moved to RAF Andover.[3]
From England, the group dive-bombed radar installations and flak towers, and escorted bombers that attacked bridges and marshalling yards in France as the Allies prepared for Operation Overlord, the invasion of the continent of Europe. The group provided cover for Allied forces that crossed the Channel on D-Day, and flew armed reconnaissance missions over the Cotentin Peninsula until the end of the month.[3] On 17 July 1944, napalm incendiary bombs were dropped for the first time in war by 14 P-38 aircraft of the 402nd Fighter Squadron, led by 370th Group commander Col Nichols, on a fuel depot at Coutances, near St. Lô, France.[7]
The group transferred to IX Tactical Air Command and moved the Advanced Landing Ground at Cardonville, France on 24 July to support the Allied ground advance across France and into Germany.[3] The 370th's fighter-bombers hit hard. German Field Marshal von Kluge soon found that his armored forces moving towards Normandy were constantly beset by Allied fighter-bomber attacks. Von Kluge phoned General Walter Warlimont, Hitler's personal representative on the Western front, "The enemy air superiority is terrific and smothers almost every one of our movements...Every movement of the enemy is prepared and protected by its air force. Losses in men and equipment are extraordinary."[8] Von Kluge himself was not immune to personal danger. USAAF Group Commander Nichols and a squadron of his P-38 Lightnings blasted von Kluge's own headquarters; the group commander himself skipped a 500-pound bomb right through the front door.[8] Moving across France, the 370th FG hit gun emplacements, troops, supply dumps, and tanks near Saint-Lô in July and in the Falaise–Argentan area in August 1944.[8]
P-38 Lightning, "Spirit of Oak Ridge", 485th Fighter Squadron, at Lonray, October 1944.
In September 1944, the group sent planes and pilots to England to provide cover for Operation Market-Garden, the allied airborne assault on the Netherlands and Germany. The P-38s of the group struck pillboxes and troops early in October to aid First Army's capture of Aachen, and afterward struck railroads, bridges, viaducts, and tunnels in that area.[3][8]
The 370th received a Distinguished Unit Citation for a mission in support of ground forces in the Hurtgen Forest area on 2 December 1944 when, despite bad weather and barrages of antiaircraft and small-arms fire, the group dropped napalm bombs on a heavily defended position in Bergstein, setting fire to the village and inflicting heavy casualties on enemy troops defending the area. The 370th later flew armed reconnaissance during the Battle of the Bulge, attacking warehouses, highways, railroads, motor transports, and other targets.[3]
The group converted to North American P-51 Mustangs during February – March 1945. It bombed bridges and docks in the vicinity of Wesel to prepare for the crossing of the Rhine, and patrolled the area as paratroops were dropped on the east bank on 24 March Supported operations of 2d Armored Division in the Ruhr Valley in April. The group flew its last mission, a sweep over Dessau and Wittenberg, on 4 May 1945.[3]
The 370th FG returned to the United States during September–November 1945, and was inactivated on 7 November 1945.[3]
Colorado Air National Guard
"Minutemen" aerobatics team with F-80Cs, 1956
The 370th Fighter Group was redesignated the 140th Fighter Group, and was allotted to the National Guard on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Buckley Field, Colorado, and was extended federal recognition on 1 October 1946.[3] The unit was the first Air National Guard group receiving federal recognition.[dubious – discuss] The 140th Fighter Group assigned to the 86th Fighter Wing.
As a result of the Korean War, the 140th Fighter Wing was federalized and brought to active duty on 1 April 1951, including the 140th Fighter Group and subordinate units. The unit was ordered to the new Clovis Air Force Base, New Mexico, arriving in October 1951. The federalized 140th was a composite organization of activated Air National Guard units, composed of the 120th, 187th and 190th Fighter Squadrons. The 140th and its components were equipped with F-51D Mustangs, and were redesignated as Fighter-Bomber squadrons[3] on 12 April 1951. The 140th returned to Air National Guard control in their respective states at the start of 1953.[3]
On 26 January 1968, the group was federalized and its 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron was reassigned to the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing at Phan Rang AB, South Vietnam. 120th was released from active duty and returned to Colorado state control on 30 April 1969.
In 1974, the National Guard converted its operational wings to the dual deputy model. As a result, the group was inactivated and its squadrons reassigned directly to the wing.
Another reorganization of the National Guard, this time to the "Objective Wing" led to the group's reactivation in 1993 as the 140th Operations Group, equipped with General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons. Since reactivation, the 140th has supported numerous deployments. Following the attacks on the United States on September, 11th 2001, the group's 120th Fighter Squadron assumed tasking to provide homeland defense as an integral part of Operation Noble Eagle.
Lineage
Constituted as the 370th Fighter Group on 25 May 1943
Activated on 1 July 1943
Inactivated on 7 November 1945
Redesignated 140th Fighter Group. Allotted to the National Guard on 24 May 1946
Organized on 3 September 1946
Extended federal recognition on 1 October 1946
Federalized and placed on active duty, 1 April 1951
Redesignated 140th Fighter-Bomber Group on 12 April 1951
Released from active duty and returned to Colorado state control on 1 January 1953
Redesignated 140th Fighter-Interceptor Group on 1 July 1955
Redesignated 140th Fighter Group (Air Defense) on 1 July 1957
Redesignated: 140th Tactical Fighter Group on 1 January 1961
Federalized and placed on active duty, 25 January 1968
Released from active duty and returned to Colorado state control, 30 April 1969
127th Fighter Squadron, 3 September 1946 – 1948 (Kansas ANG)
140th Operations Squadron (later 140th Operations Support Flight, 140th Operations Support Squadron), by April 1961 – c. 20 August 1962, c. 1 January 1993 – present
188th Fighter Squadron (later 188th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 188th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron), 1 November 1950 – 1 February 1951; 11 September 1952 – 1 January 1952: 1 January 1953 – 1 July 1957 (New Mexico ANG)
190th Fighter Squadron (later 191st Fighter-Bomber Squadron), 1 November 1950 – 1 January 1953; 1 January 1953 – 1 July 1955 (Idaho ANG)
Jones, Jay. The 370th Fighter Group in World War II: in Action over Europe with the P-38 and P-51. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 2007. ISBN0-7643-1779-2.
.svg)
.jpg)
