373rd Fighter Group
Military unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 373rd Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with First Air Force stationed at Mitchel Field, New York. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945.
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2022) |
373rd Fighter Group | |
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Active | 1943–1945 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army Air Force |
Type | Fighter |
During World War II the group was assigned to Ninth Air Force in Western Europe. It was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for a mission on 20 March 1945, that greatly facilitated the crossing of the Rhine River by Allied ground forces: without losing any planes, the group repeatedly dived through barrages of antiaircraft fire to bomb vital airfields east of the river; they also attacked rail lines and highways leading to the Rhine, hitting rolling stock, motor transports, and other objectives.
The 373rd was redesignated as the 146th Fighter Group, and allotted to the California Air National Guard on 24 May 1946.