The group was first activated as the 87th Pursuit Group in 1942 at Selfridge Field, Michigan, but was inactivated almost immediately because the Army Air Corps had exceeded the number of pursuit units authorized, and the group was disbanded five days after it was activated.[1] It remained in this state until 1979 when it was consolidated with the 87th Troop Carrier Group in inactive status.
In the fall of 1943, a new unit, the 87th Fighter Group was activated at Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia to serve as a replacement training unit. It served as a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt replacement training unit under First Air Force until 1944 when it was disbanded in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces training units.
In 1949, the group was reactivated in the Air Force Reserve and served as a corollary unit of the active duty 27th Fighter Group and later, as the 87th Fighter-Escort Group, of the 12th Fighter-Escort Group until it was ordered to active service in 1951. Its personnel were used to man active duty units and the group was inactivated two months after being called up.
The group was redesignated in 1952 as the 87th Troop Carrier Group, and activated at Atterbury Air Force Base to replace the 923d Reserve Training Wing. the following year the group was inactivated and replaced at Atterbury by the 434th Troop Carrier Group.
History
World War II
87th Pursuit Group
Shortly after the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, as the Army Air Corps was expanding, Third Air Force activated the 87th Pursuit Group at Selfridge Field, Michigan. However, the group was disbanded almost immediately because the Army Air Corps had exceeded the number of pursuit units authorized, and the group was disbanded five days after it was activated. The same happened to the 304th, 305th, and 306th Pursuit Squadrons that had been assigned to the group[1] The pursuit group remained disbanded until 1979 when it was consolidated with the 87th Troop Carrier Group in inactive status.[citation needed]
However, the Army Air Forces found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving less well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[7] while the groups and squadrons acting as RTUs were disbanded or inactivated.[8] This resulted in the 87th, along with the 450th Squadron at Camp Springs, being disbanded in the spring of 1944[1] and being replaced by the 112th AAF Base Unit (Fighter), which assumed the group's mission, personnel, and equipment.[9] The 535th was replaced by the 125th AAF Base Unit (Fighter),[10] and the two squadrons at Millville were rolled into the 135th AAF Base Unit (Fighter).[11]
In 1952 the group was redesignated as the 87th Troop Carrier Group, and assigned to the newly constituted 87th Troop Carrier Wing under the wing base organization system and activated at Atterbury Air Force Base. The 87th wing replaced the 923d Reserve Training Wing at Atterbury when reserve flying operations resumed there.[14] The group operated a mix of aircraft to train reservists. In February 1953 the 434th Troop Carrier Group was released from active duty and activated in the reserves, assuming the mission, personnel and equipment of the group.[15]
Lineage
87th Pursuit Group
Constituted as the 87th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 13 January 1942
Eighth Air Force, 27 June 1949 – 25 June 1951 (attached to 27th Fighter Group (later 27th Fighter-Escort Group) until 5 December 1950; 12 Fighter Escort Group until 25 June 1951)
87th Troop Carrier Wing, 15 June 1952 – 1 February 1953[15]
Components
87th Communications Squadron, 27 June 1949 – 25 June 1951[12]
87th Finance Disbursing Unit, 27 June 1949 – 16 March 1950[12]
304th Pursuit Squadron, 10 February 1942 – 15 February 1942[1]
305th Pursuit Squadron, 10 February 1942 – 15 February 1942[1]
306th Pursuit Squadron, 10 February 1942 – 15 February 1942[1]
450th Fighter Squadron, 1 October 1943 – 10 April 1944[2]
535th Fighter Squadron (later Fighter-Escort Squadron, Troop Carrier Squadron), 1 October 1943 – 10 April 1944; 27 June 1949 – 25 June 1951; 15 June 1952 – 1 February 1953[3]
536th Fighter Squadron (later Troop Carrier Squadron), 1 October 1943 – 10 April 1944; 15 June 1952 – 1 February 1953
Millville Army Air Field, New Jersey, 7 January 1944 – 10 April 1944[4]
537th Fighter Squadron (later Troop Carrier Squadron), 1 October 1943 – 10 April 1944; 15 June 1952 – 1 February 1953
Millville Army Air Field, New Jersey, 7 January 1944 – 10 April 1944[5]
Stations
Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia, 1 October 1943
Camp Springs Army Air Field, Maryland, 21 January 1944 – 10 April 1944
Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, 27 June 1949 – 25 June 1951
Atterbury Air Force Base, Indiana, 15 June 1952 – 1 February 1953[1]
^Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 648q, 31 July 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Organizations
Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. LCCN48-3657.