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Seventy-five years ago, a Michigan flying squadron helped show the way for the D-Day invasion that led to Allied victory in World War II.
June 6, 2019, marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, in which thousands of U.S., British, Canadian and allied forces stormed the beaches of France and began a push toward Germany and eventual victory in the European Theater of World War II.
The 107th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, which had been mobilized from the Michigan National Guard for the war, flew hundreds of reconnaissance missions over the French coastline beginning in February 1944, providing photos that helped the Allied High Command plan the invasion, which took place on five beaches in the Normandy region of France beginning on June 5. More than 160,000 U.S. and Allied troops stormed the beaches during the D-Day invasion, taking terrible loses against entrenched German defensive positions.
Flying the F-6, a reconnaissance variant of the P-51 Mustang aircraft, 107th pilots flew 69 two-ship photo missions over the French coast during the first 24 hours of the invasion, allowing the command to closely monitor the progress of the invasion.
Following the successful invasion, the 107th moved repeatedly to various air fields in Belgium and France, supporting the advancing U.S. First Army. The 107th was the first reconnaissance unit to operate from French soil.
In 2018, 107th pilots flew their first sortie over France in 74 years, helping to mark the anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Today, the 107th Fighter Squadron operates A-10 Thunderbolt IIs at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
Selfridge’s other Air Force flying squadron also has an extensive World War II pedigree. Today’s 171st Air Refueling Squadron was established during World War II as the 374th Fighter Squadron. It operated as a bomber-escort unit during the war, operating from England until Dec. 23, 1944, when it was re-assigned to the European mainland. The squadron operated P-47 Thunderbolts in the first part of the war and then was equipped with P-51 Mustangs.
The 374th was among the final fighter squadrons created by the U.S. during World War II and didn’t fly its first combat mission until Jan. 21, 1944, when it was part of a combined total of 531 fighter aircraft escorting a combined total of 198 B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers from England on a bombing raid against V-1 Missile sites and other targets in and around Pas De Calais in northern France. The 374th would fly a total of 441 combat missions in the next 454 days, flying its last mission about two weeks before the final German surrender. Pilots from the 374th were engaged in all of the major European battles of 1944 and early 1945, to include D-Day, “Big Week” and the Battle of the Bulge.
Both the 107th and 171st have extensive combat experience in more recent years as well. Both units have deployed aircraft and personnel to Afghanistan in the past 12 months, among many other deployments in the post-9/11 era.
| Date Taken: | 06.06.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2019 09:48 |
| Story ID: | 325704 |
| Location: | MI, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Michigan Unit Marks D-Day Milestone, by SMSgt Daniel Heaton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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