170th Tactical Fighter Squadron

170th Fighter Squadron
170th Tactical Fighter Squadron F-16 Fighting Falcon
Active	1942-1944; 1948-1952; 1953-2008
Country	United States
Allegiance	Illinois
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Squadron
Role	Fighter
Part of	Illinois Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Capital Airport Air National Guard Station, Springfield, Illinois
Insignia
170th Fighter Squadron emblem
Tail markings	Blue tail stripe, "Illinois" in white letters

The 170th Fighter Squadron (170 FS) is an inactive unit of the Air National Guard. It was last assigned to the 183d Fighter Wing located of the Illinois Air National Guard at Capital Airport Air National Guard Station, Springfield, Illinois. The 170th last flew the Block 30 General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. It was inactivated on 30 September 2008.

The squadron was activated at Dale Mabry Field, Florida as one of the original squadrons of the 338th Fighter Group. The squadron was initially equipped with Bell P-39 Airacobras. It operated as a replacement training unit. Replacement training units were oversized units which trained aircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters. In 1943, the 338th Group and its squadrons standardized training with the Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, although the squadron also operated a few Curtiss P-40 Warhawks.

However, the Army Air Forces found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, were proving poorly adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit, while the groups and squadrons acting as RTUs were disbanded or inactivated. This resulted in the 305th, along with other units at Dale Mabry, being disbanded in the spring of 1944 and its personnel and aircraft were transferred to the 335th Army Air Force Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit Fighter).

The 305th Fighter Squadron was reconstituted and redesignated as the 170th Fighter Squadron on 24 May 1946 and allotted to the National Guard. In September 1948 the squadron was organized at Capital Airport, Springfield, Illinois and extended federal recognition. The squadron was equipped with the North American F-51D Mustang and was assigned to the 128th Fighter Group of the Wisconsin Air National Guard. In November 1950, the 126th Composite Wing was organized in the Illinois Air National Guard when the National Guard adopted the wing base organization system and the squadron was assigned to its 126th Composite Group.