51st Fighter Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 51st Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. Its last assignment was with the 6th Fighter Wing, based at Howard Field, Canal Zone
. It was inactivated on 15 October 1946.
during World War II. Not operational c. May-15 October 1946.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. Its last assignment was with the 6th Fighter Wing, based at Howard Field, Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
. It was inactivated on 15 October 1946.
Heraldry
Over and through a light blue violet disc, border yellow orange, the head and shoulders of a caricatured, butting, wild, white goat, outlined black, horns tan, wearing brown boxing gloves, having a pugnacious attitude, and brushing nose with thumb of right glove. (Approved 6 April 1944. )Lineage
- Constituted 51st Pursuit Squadron (Fighter) on 22 November 1940
- Activated on 1 January 1941
- Redesignated 51st Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942
- Inactivated on 15 October 1946.
Assignments
- 32d Pursuit (later Fighter) Group, 1 January 1941
- XXVI Fighter CommandXXVI Fighter CommandThe XXVI Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Sixth Air Force, based at Albrook Field, Canal Zone...
, 1 November 1943 - 6th Fighter Wing, 25 August 1945-15 October 1946.
Stations
- Rio Hato AABRio Hato AirportRío Hato Airport is an airport and former Panamanian Defense Base in Panama, Río Hato.-International Airport:In 2011 the Government of Panama gave the order to proceed for the project to rebuild the airport...
, PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, 1 January 1941 - Albrook Field, Canal ZonePanama Canal ZoneThe Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, 1 January 1941 - Rio Hato AABRio Hato AirportRío Hato Airport is an airport and former Panamanian Defense Base in Panama, Río Hato.-International Airport:In 2011 the Government of Panama gave the order to proceed for the project to rebuild the airport...
, PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, c. 21 August 1941 - Howard Field, Canal ZonePanama Canal ZoneThe Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, 10 December 1941 - France FieldEnrique Adolfo Jiménez AirportEnrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport is a commercial airport located in Colón, Panama, offering scheduled airline flights to the national capital, Panama City, and to other destinations....
, Canal ZonePanama Canal ZoneThe Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, 23 December 1941
- Detachment at Guatemala City AABLa Aurora International AirportLa Aurora International Airport serves Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is located south of Guatemala City's center and from Antigua. It is administered by the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil....
, GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, January 1942-9 March 1943- Seymour Island Afld.Seymour AirportSeymour Airport is an airport serving the island of Baltra, one of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador.- Facilities :The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level...
, Galápagos IslandsGalápagos IslandsThe Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
, c. 9 December 1942
- Seymour Island Afld.
- Detachments at Salinas AfldGeneral Ulpiano Paez AirportGeneral Ulpiano Paez Airport is a public/military joint-use airport located near Salinas, a city in the province of Santa Elena in Ecuador.-History:...
, EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, and Talora AfldCap. FAP Victor Montes Arias Airport-External links:...
, PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, December 1942-9 March 1943- La Chorrera AAFLa Chorrera Army AirfieldLa Chorrera Army Airfield is a former United States Army Air Forces World War II air base on Panama. It was a sub-base of Albrook Field and later Howard Field which used for dispersal and overflow units as part of the defense of the Panama Canal....
, PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, c. 4 March 1944 - Howard Field, Canal ZonePanama Canal ZoneThe Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, c. 10 June 1944-15 October 1946
- La Chorrera AAF
Aircraft
- P-26 PeashooterP-26 PeashooterThe American Boeing P-26 Peashooter, was the first all-metal production fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane used by the United States Army Air Corps...
, 1941 - P-36 HawkP-36 HawkThe Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, was an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of both the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation of combat aircraft—a sleek monoplane design...
, 1941–1942 - P-40 Warhawk, 1942–1944
- P-39 Aircobra, 1943–1945
- P-38 LightningP-38 LightningThe Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
, 1944-1946.
Operational history
Air defense for the Panama CanalPanama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
during World War II. Not operational c. May-15 October 1946.