123d Fighter Squadron
The 123d Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Oregon Air National Guard 142d Fighter Wing located at Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon. The 123d is equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle. The squadron is a descendant organization of the 123d Observation Squadron formed on 30 July 1940. It was activated on 18 April 1941. The squadron is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. History Oregon National Guard Allocated to the Oregon National Guard in 1940, activated on 18 April 1941 at Portland Municipal Airport. The newly formed unit began operations with two officers, 108 enlisted men and two aircraft, a North American BC-1A (like the AT-6) and a Douglas O-46A. The squadron flew observation missions primarily along the Pacific Coast and occasionally made mail flights. World War II Ordered to active service in September 1941 as part of the pre-World War II buildup of the United States Army Air Corps and assigned to the 70th Observation Group of Fourth Air Force. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, flew antisubmarine patrols along the Pacific Coast from airfields in Oregon and Washington, later becoming part of the air defense forces of Southern California. This included one of the first missions flown from a U.S. base on 7 December 1941. Flew antisubmarine patrols until mid-1943 when the mission was turned over to the United States Navy. Reassigned to Third Air Force, sent first to Texas then to Oklahoma being trained for combat reconnaissance and aerial photography to support Army ground forces. Was deployed to Fourteenth Air Force in China as part of the China Burma India Theater, engaged in unarmed observation flights over Japanese-held territory supporting Chinese Nationalist forces. Flew North American B-25 Mitchells, Douglas A-20 Havocs and DB-7 Bostons originally built for the RAF. Flew from rough and remote airfields in China throughout the rest of the War, later flying unarmed high-speed long-range Lockheed P-38 Lightnings and F-5 reconnaissance Lightnings. The squadron received credit for participation in seven campaigns in World War II. Not all 123d personnel served with the 35th PRS, as some were diverted to other units as early as 1942 and served elsewhere in the Pacific and in Europe. As part of the large drawdown of forces after the war, the 35th PRS inactivated on 7 November 1945, at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. Oregon Air National Guard The wartime squadron, designated the 35th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron redesignated as the 123d Fighter Squadron, Single Engine and was allotted to the Oregon Air National Guard, on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Portland Municipal Airport, Oregon, and was extended federal recognition on 26 June 1946 by the National Guard Bureau. The 123d FS was assigned to the 142d Fighter Group at Portland Municipal Airport. Thus the 142d FG began fighter operations for the first time in the North American North American F-51D Mustang with 75 officers and 800 enlisted men. The