112th Observation Squadron

112th Fighter Squadron
112th Fighter Squadron - General Dynamics F-16D Block 42F Fighting Falcon 89-2165
Active	1917–Present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Ohio
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Squadron
Role	Fighter
Part of	Ohio Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Toledo Air National Guard Base, Ohio
Nickname(s)	Stingers
Tail Code	Green "Toledo" Tail Stripe
Insignia
112th Fighter Squadron emblem

The 112th Fighter Squadron (112 FS) is a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard 180th Fighter Wing located at Toledo Air National Guard Base, Ohio. The 112th is equipped with the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon.

The squadron is a descendant organization of the World War I, 112th Aero Squadron, established on 18 August 1917. It was reformed on 20 June 1927, as the 112th Observation Squadron, and is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II.

The 112th Fighter Squadron dates its origins to the organization of the 112th Aero Squadron on 18 August 1917 at Kelly Field, Texas. The squadron served as a supply squadron at Kelly Field, being re-designated as the 633d Aero Supply Squadron (Supply) on 1 February 1918. It remained at Kelly Field, being demobilized on 19 August 1919.

Although authorized in 1921, the 112th Observation Squadron was not organized and federally recognized until 20 June 1927 at Cleveland Hopkins Airport.

The squadron, or elements thereof, called up to perform the following state duties: support to civil authorities during a mine worker’s strike at Cadiz, OH, 16 April–17 August 1932; Electric Auto Lite strike at Toledo, OH, in 1934; flood relief efforts along the Ohio River in southern Ohio during January–February 1937; riot control during a labor strike at the Mahoning Valley steel plants 22 June–15 July 1937. Conducted summer training at Camp Perry, OH

The unit flew a wide range of aircraft throughout the late 1920s and 1930s including the PT-1, BT-1, the O-2 and the O-11.

On 25 November 1940 the 112th was federalized and ordered to active service as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps after the Fall of France. The unit was ordered to Pope Field, North Carolina where it was equipped with North American O-47 observation aircraft. It performed antisubmarine patrols over the North and South Carolina coasts, with a flight operating from Myrtle Beach Airport. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the 112th was moved to Dover Field, Delaware and equipped with O-49s and O-57s, performing coastal patrols over the Atlantic for German U-Boats over Delaware Bay and the approaches to Philadelphia. In the spring of 1942, was returned to South Carolina where it continued patrolling the mid-Atlantic coastline shipping routes.