Description

Lockheed Martin® F-16 Fighting Falcon®, 179th Fighter Squadron

Fly with the 179th Fighter Squadron in this handcrafted Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon Model. Each piece is carved from wood and handpainted to provide a piece you’ll love.

• Length – 18 inches
• Made from Mahogany
• US Veteran-Owned Business
• Officially Licensed by Lockheed Martin
• The product is not intended to be used by children 12 years and younger.

LOCKHEED MARTIN, F-16 Fighting Falcon, associated emblems and logos, and body designs of vehicles are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Lockheed Martin Corporation in the USA and/or other jurisdictions, used under license by Squadron Nostalgia LLC.

The 179th Fighter Squadron (179 FS) is a unit of the Minnesota Air National Guard 148th Fighter Wing located at Duluth Air National Guard Base, Minnesota. The 179th Fighter Squadron flys the F-16C Fighting Falcon.

History
World War II
Training in the United States

The 179th Fighter Squadron was first organized as the 393d Fighter Squadron at Hamilton Field, California, on 15 July 1943, as one of the original squadrons of the 367th Fighter Group.[2][3] Several members of its initial cadre were former Flying Tigers with prior combat experience. It was not until late August, however, that the group received its first Bell P-39 Airacobra.[4] After building up its strength, the squadron moved in October to Santa Rosa Army Air Field, California.[3] In December group headquarters and the squadron moved to Oakland Municipal Airport,[2] while the other squadrons of the group were at other locations in northern California. The squadron moved temporarily to Tonopah Army Air Field, Nevada, where it performed dive bombing and gunnery training. Training accidents with the Bell P-39 Airacobra cost several pilots their lives. In January 1944, as it prepared for overseas movement, the 393d was beefed up with personnel from the 328th and 368th Fighter Groups.[5] The squadron staged through Camp Shanks, and sailed for England aboard the SS Duchess of Bedford.[6] The “Drunken Duchess”[note 1] docked at Greenock, Scotland on 3 April and the group was transported by train to its airfield at RAF Stoney Cross, England.[5]

Having trained on single engine aircraft, the squadrons’s pilots were surprised to find Lockheed P-38 Lightnings sitting on Stoney Cross’s dispersal pads.[7] Only members of the advance party had any experience flying the Lightning. These pilots had flown combat sorties with the 55th Fighter Group.[8] The change from single engine to twin engine aircraft required considerable retraining for both pilots and ground crew.[7] Although some pilots entered combat with as little as eight hours of flying time on the P-38, in late April the squadron was reinforced by pilots who had trained on the Lightning in the States and were more experienced on the type.[9] However, the lack of instrument training in the P-38 took its toll on the 393d as weather, not enemy action, caused the loss of pilots and airplanes.[10]

On 9 May, the 179th Fighter Squadron flew its first combat mission, a fighter sweep over Alençon.[11] For the remainer of the month, the unit flew fighter sweeps, bomber escort and dive bombing, missions and suffered its first combat losses.[12]

On D-Day and the next three days the squadron flew missions maintaining air cover over shipping carrying invasion troops.[7] These missions continued for the next three days. The 393d and other P-38 units stationed in England were selected for these missions with the expectation that the distinctive silhouette of the Lightning would prevent potential friendly fire incidents by anti-aircraft gunners mistaking them for enemy fighters.[13] Shortly after the Normandy invasion, on 12 June, the 367th Group was selected to test the ability of the P-38 to carry a 2,000 lb bomb under each wing. The selected target was a railroad yard, and results were mixed.[14] However, on this mission, the squadron scored its first air-to-air victory when Lts James Pinkerton and James Mason teamed up to shoot down a Messerschmitt Me 410 flying near the assigned target.[14]

By mid June German ground forces had withdrawn to defend a perimeter around Cherbourg, a major port whose capture had become more important to the allies with the destruction of Mulberry A, one of the artificial harbors constructed near the Normandy beachhead. An attack by VII Corps on 22 June was to be preceded by low level bombing and strafing attack by IX Fighter Command. Briefed by intelligence to expect a “milk run” The 394th flew at low altitude through what turned out to be a heavily defended area. Within two to three minutes after beginning the attack the squadron lost five pilots. Seven group pilots were killed in action. Nearly all surviving aircraft received battle damage and the entire 367th Group was out of action for several days.[7][15]

Ninth Air Force moved its medium bomber forces to bases closer to the Continent in July, so they would be able to strike targets near the expanding front in France. The 387th Bombardment Group was moved to Stoney Cross, forcing the 394th to vacate their station and move the short distance to RAF Ibsley.[16] From Ibsley the group struck railroads, marshaling yards, and trains to prevent enemy reinforcements from reaching the front during Operation Cobra, the Allied breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July 1944.[2]

Operations on the European Continent
Starting on 19 July, the 367th Group’s forward echelon crossed the English Channel to take up stations in Normandy.[17] Group headquarters shared Beuzeville Airfield with the 371st Fighter Group, while the 393d Squadron was at Cricqueville Airfield,[3] advanced landing grounds made from pierced steel planking. After the breakout of ground forces in the Saint-Lô area, the squadron concentrated on close air support of General Patton’s Third Army. In late August, the squadron attacked German Seventh Army convoys which, to prevent being surrounded, were withdrawing eastward from the Falaise pocket. Five convoys and 100 Tiger Tanks were destroyed on one day.[7]

On 22 August the group attacked three Luftwaffe airfields near Laon. The 392d Fighter Squadron dive bombed and destroyed two hangars on one airfield but were jumped by twelve Focke-Wulf Fw 190s as they completed their attack. Eighteen Messerschmitt Me 109s and Fw 190s engaged the 393d as it reformed from its dive bomb run. After bombing its target, the 394th Fighter Squadron turned to reinforce the 392d. The squadrons of the 367th Group claimed fourteen enemy aircraft in total against a loss of one Lightning.[7]

The 393d received a Distinguished Unit Citation when it returned to the Laon area three days later. That day, the 367th Group attacked Luftwaffe airfields at Clastres, Péronne and Rosières-en-Haye through an intense flak barrage. The group then engaged more than thirty Focke-Wulf 190 fighters that had just taken off. Group claims were 25 enemy aircraft destroyed, one probably destroyed and 17 damaged against the loss of 6 group aircraft.[note 2] Then, despite a low fuel supply, the unit strafed a train and convoy after leaving the scene of battle. Captain Larry Blumer of the 393d destroyed five enemy aircraft becoming an ace on one mission. In the afternoon the squadron conducted a long range fighter sweep of more than 800 miles to airfields in the Dijon-Bordeaux area.

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