369th Fighter Group

369th Fighter Group
A P-39 Airacobra as flown by the group
Active	1943–1945
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces
Type	Fighter
Disbanded	1992

The 369th Fighter Group is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force, stationed at Stuttgart Army Air Field, Arkansas. It was inactivated on 10 August 1945.

The 369th was initially a training group in California during World War II as part of Fourth Air Force. It moved to Louisiana in the spring of 1944 and became part of Third Air Force in March 1944. There, it took part in air-ground maneuvers and demonstrations until inactivating in August 1945. The group was redesignated in inactive status as the 369th Tactical Fighter Group in 1985, but was disbanded in 1992.

The 369th Fighter Group was activated at Hamilton Field, California on 1 August 1943. The 398th, 399th and 400th Fighter Squadrons, flying Bell P-39 Airacobras were assigned to the group. The group moved to Marysville Army Air Field, California in November and began operations as a fighter Replacement Training Unit (RTU). RTUs were oversized units that trained individual pilots or aircrews.

Like most RTUs, the group began a split operation, with group headquarters and the 398th Squadron at Marysville, while the 399th Squadron was at Redding Army Air Field, and the 400th moved to Oroville Army Air Field. In January the group and 398th Squadron joined the 400th at Oroville, but the 399th remained at Redding.