72nd Fighter Wing
The 72d Fighter Wing was a wing of the United States Army Air Forces. It was assigned to Second Air Force, stationed at Colorado Springs Army Air Base, Colorado. It was inactivated on 9 April 1946.
History
The wing was initially activated in August 1943 as the 72d Bombardment Operational Training Wing, a command organization for heavy bomber training. Ten days after activation, it was redesignated the 72d Fighter Wing and became single-engine fighter training organization for Second Air Force. The wing had jurisdiction over fighter Operational Training Unit and Replacement Training Unit in the midwest.Stations assigned to the wing included:
- Abilene Army Air Field, Texas
- Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico
- Bruning Army Air Field, Nebraska
- Casper Army Air Field, Wyoming
- Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas
- DeRidder Army Air Base, Louisiana
- Galveston Army Air Field, Texas
- Harding Field, Louisiana
- Peterson Field, Colorado
- Pocatello Army Air Field, Idaho
- Scribner Army Air Field, Nebraska
Lineage
- Constituted as 72d Bombardment Operational Training Wing on 12 August 1943
- Disbanded on 15 June 1983
- Reconstituted on 31 July 1985 and redesigned 372d Electronic Warfare Group
- Disbanded on 9 September 1992
Assignments
- Second Air Force, 12 August 1943 – 9 April 1946
Components
- 36th Fighter Group, 17 September 1943 – 4 April 1944
- 84th Fighter Group, 1 November 1943 – 1 April 1944
- 357th Fighter Group, 7 October – 9 November 1943
- 407th Fighter Group, 9 March 1943 – 21 March 1944
- 408th Fighter Group, 1 November 1943 – 1 April 1944
- 476th Fighter Group, 26 March – 1 April 1944
- 507th Fighter Group, 12 October 1944 – 24 June 1945
- 508th Fighter Group, 12 October 1944 – 6 January 1945
Stations
- Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, 20 August 1943
- Colorado Springs Army Air Base, Colorado, 7 October 1943
- Peterson Field, Colorado, November 1943
- Colorado Springs Army Air Base, Colorado, December 1945 – 9 April 1946
Aircraft
- Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1943 – 1944
Campaign