World War II The 75th Fighter Squadron's first assignment as an active unit was in the
China-Burma-India theatre. Some members of the famous
American Volunteer Group known as the "
Flying Tigers" joined the 75th Fighter Squadron after the AVG was disbanded. This group of men, under the leadership of General
Claire Lee Chennault, engaged in aerial combat against the
Japanese very soon after
7 December 1941. On the same day as its activation, the 75th scored its first major victory during a night interception flight against Japanese bombers. This was the first night interception ever attempted over the
China theatre and gave the Japanese quite a shock. The intercepting pilots were credited with the destruction of two enemy bombers and two probables. During the early days of its history, the 75th's mission was to attack and destroy the enemy by strafing airfields, troops, and supply depots, while maintaining air superiority so that the Japanese could not locate and bomb targets in China. Operating from numerous airfields within China, the 75th Fighter Squadron compiled an impressive record during World War II and received the
Presidential Unit Citation. After World War II, the squadron returned to the United States and was stationed at
Fort Lewis,
Washington. There the squadron was inactivated on 5 January 1946. These planes returned to Dow after the crisis. The squadron remained at Dow Air Force Base until 1968 when it was transferred to
Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan. The squadron inactivated there on 30 November 1969 On 19 December 2007, the last three of the A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft left for Moody AFB and assumed its current mission.
2013 Sequestration Air Combat Command officials announced a stand down and reallocation of flying hours for the rest of the fiscal year 2013 due to mandatory budget cuts. The across-the board spending cuts, called sequestration, took effect 1 March when Congress failed to agree on a deficit-reduction plan. Squadrons either stood down on a rotating basis or kept combat ready or at a reduced readiness level called "basic mission capable" for part or all of the remaining months in fiscal 2013. ==Lineage==