Commander accepts Flying Tiger heritage for new associate unit

  • Published
  • By Corey Dahl
  • 21st Space Wing public affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  Two 442nd Fighter Wing A-10 Thunderbolt IIs carried a piece of Flying Tigers heritage away from Peterson Sept. 21 as part of an effort by Air Force officials to reunite three pieces of a historic World War II legacy.

During the transfer ceremony, 76th Space Control Squadron officials here gave the squadron's piece of the historic Flying Tigers heritage, which has been held since 1995, to the new 76th Fighter Squadron, an Air Force Reserve Command associate unit based at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., which will report to the 442nd FW at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.

The 76th FS will now join the 74th and 75th Fighter Squadrons, which also share the Flying Tigers heritage, under the 23rd Wing, the same arrangement the original Flying Tigers shared in the 1940s.

Col. Steve Arthur, 442nd FW commander, said the new unit is excited to be adopting such a historic piece of Air Force history.

"It's entirely appropriate that the legacy of the 76th is continuing in the form of the first A-10 associate unit in the history of the Air Force and the Air Force Reserve, for the 76th has always designated a unit that has pioneered new territory in defending our nation," Colonel Arthur said at the ceremony.

The Flying Tigers heritage dates back to 1941, when a group of American volunteer pilots banded together under secret presidential sanction to defend China against the Japanese. The unit eventually became renowned for its combat successes, often while flying in adverse conditions, as well as its distinctive Curtiss P-40 planes, which had shark-like faces painted on the front.

The unit was later split into the 74th, 75th and 76th Fighter Squadrons and fought the remainder of the war as part of the 23rd Fighter Group.

The 76th FS began preparing for stand up earlier this year, though, and Air Force officials decided to reunite the heritage under the same wing once again.

The 76th SPCS operates a counter communications system which provides a critical counter-space capability never before available to war-fighters around the world.

"With it's reincarnation as the 76th Fighter Squadron, this proud and storied unit will be the first-ever A-10 associate unit, flying a unique combat aircraft, which has been modified for the digital age," Colonel Arthur said. "These new A-10s - designated the A-10C - will be capable of dropping bombs guided by global positioning satellites and will have enhanced communications capabilities, all made possible by our teammates in Air Force Space Command; and the A-10 is expected to be a valuable part of the Air Force arsenal for two more decades."

For the 76th, the future means building a new legacy under their new name -- the 76th SPCS Lobos. Unit members said they're sorry to see the Flying Tigers heritage go, but they're looking forward to beginning their own storied lineage.