World War II The
357th Fighter Squadron was first activated in late 1942 at
Orlando Army Air Base, Florida flying
Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. The squadron trained under
III Fighter Command in Florida and in the Middle Atlantic States, then was reassigned as part of
I Fighter Command for final training at
Philadelphia Municipal Airport, Pennsylvania. The unit also performed
air defense in the Philadelphia area in mid-1943. The 357th deployed to the
European Theater of Operations (ETO), where it became part of the
65th Fighter Wing of
VIII Fighter Command,
Eighth Air Force. The squadron engaged in low-level sweeps over the low countries and Occupied France, attacking enemy airfields and targets of opportunity such as locomotives, bridges, radio stations, and armored cars. Later the squadron served primarily as an escort for
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and
Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers of
VIII Bomber Command during missions into Germany. On 5 April 1944, shortly after converting from P-47's to
North American P-51 Mustangs, the squadron successfully bombed and strafed German airfields during a snow squall, for which it earned a
Distinguished Unit Citation. A little more than three months later, ADC formed Air Defense Groups at its dispersed fighter bases and the squadron became the operational element of the new
503d Air Defense Group. and the 357th deployed to
Nouasseur Air Base, French Morocco and assigned to the
316th Air Division of
United States Air Forces Europe in May, where it provided air defense mission for
Strategic Air Command forward bases used by
Boeing B-47 Stratojet aircraft on
Operation Reflex deployment to Morocco. Th unit received new
Mighty Mouse rocket armed and airborne intercept
radar equipped
North American F-86D Sabre interceptors in early 1955. The unit remained in North Africa until 1960 when it was inactivated as SAC withdrew from its Morocco bases.
Vietnam War The 357th was reactivated in July 1962 at
George Air Force Base, California as the
357th Tactical Fighter Squadron under the
355th Tactical Fighter Wing and equipped with
Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs. After a period of organization at George, the unit moved to
McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas in mid-1964. The squadron deployed for operations under the control of
Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), initially operating temporarily from
Yokota Air Base, Japan in the fall of 1964, then from
Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand in early 1965, flying combat missions over
South Vietnam in support of the US Advisory forces and friendly South Vietnamese units, returning to McConnell in late 1965. The unit almost immediately re-deployed to Thailand, this time to
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in early 1966 as part of the deployment of its parent wing. It became permanently assigned to PACAF's
Thirteenth Air Force. The squadron remained in Thailand engaged in combat operations over Indochina until 1970, flying frequent missions over South and
North Vietnam. Its combat actions earned it a
Presidential Unit Citation and three
Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards with Combat
V. It was inactivated at Takhli on 10 December 1970 as part of the drawdown of US Forces in Southeast Asia in the early 1970s. The squadron activated briefly at McConnell AFB in March 1971, but moved to
Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona later that month and was reassigned to the reformed 355th Tactical Fighter Wing and equipped with the new
LTV A-7D Corsair II ground support aircraft. It achieved operationally-ready status in 1972. In late 1972, the unit deployed its Corsairs to Korat RTAFB and was attached to the
354th Tactical Fighter Wing (Forward Echelon), which had deployed to Korat from
Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina. From Korat, the squadron's aircraft conducted combat operations in South Vietnam, returning to Davis–Monthan in July 1973.
Post war era The squadron was redesignated the
357th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron and taken off operational status in 1976, becoming an A-7D Pilot training squadron. It received
Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt IIs in 1979, the replacement for the A-7Ds, and became an A-10 Thunderbolt II Operational Training Unit, the mission the squadron currently performs. In 2000, the squadron added the mission of training instructor pilots in the A-10. ==Lineage==