The 107th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Michigan Air National Guard 127th Wing. It is assigned to Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan and is equipped with the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.
The squadron is a descendant organization of the World War I 107th Aero Squadron, established on 27 August 1917. It was reformed on 7 May 1926, as the 107th 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.
History
World War I
The 107th Fighter Squadron traces its origins to 26 August 1917 with the organization of the 107th Aero Squadron. Forty recruits arrived at Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas from Vancouver Barracks, Washington. An additional 341 recruits arrived from Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and 110 men and along with the 40 from Vancouver were formed as the 107th. The squadron was initially indoctrinated into military service, performing drill, fatigue duties and also construction work at the field. Once basic indoctrination training was completed, the 107th was ordered for overseas duty, being ordered to report to the Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City, Long Island on 26 October. It was there that final arrangements were made for the trip overseas, complete equipment was drawn and a final few transfers were made.
On 7 December, the 107th was ordered to proceed by train to St. John's, Newfoundland. On 10 December it boarded the for the cross-Atlantic voyage, arriving on Christmas morning at Liverpool, England. After a brief rest, the squadron arrived at Southampton, England on the 29th, and crossed the English Channel to Le Havre, France. There, it then traveled by train to the Replacement Concentration Center, American Expeditionary Forces, St. Maixent Replacement Barracks, France, arriving on 2 January 1918. At St. Maixent the squadron was redesignated as the 801st Aero Squadron, and placed on camp duty for nearly two months. Finally, it was ordered to proceed to the Third Aviation Instruction Center at Issoudun Aerodrome, in central France, arriving on 21 February. Initially the squadron was assigned to the main airfield, working in the aircraft assembly and test departments. On 7 June, help was needed at Field No. 2, and the 801st was ordered to send 100 men to help put the field in better shape. Cooperating with another squadron, Field No. 2 was placed on an efficient basis as any field in the AEF.
The squadron remained at Issoudun until after the Armistice with Germany in November 1918, then returned to the United States in March 1919. Arrived at Mitchel Field where the squadron members were demobilized and returned to civilian life.
Intra-war period
After the war the squadron was reorganized in 1925 as the Michigan National Guard's first flying unit, the squadron consisted of 20 officers and 90 enlisted men meeting weekly in a Detroit garage. It received Federal recognition in May 1926 as the air section of the Michigan National Guard's 32d Division. Its primary mission was artillery spotting and observation of troop movements.
In March 1938, elements of the 107th Observation Squadron performed gunnery training at Eglin Field, Florida, for 15 days, deploying from Wayne County Airport at Detroit, Michigan. 23 officers and 111 men arrived on 1 March. One detachment flew in eight aircraft while the rest arrived by rail over the Louisville and Nashville Railroad at Crestview, Florida.
World War II
Called to active duty with Douglas O-38 and North American O-47 observation planes on 15 October 1940, the 107th was sent to DeRidder Army Air Base, Louisiana for unit training on 28 October 1940. For many years this airfield was simply called the Artillery Range Airport Camp.
On 11 April 1941, Lieutenant Wilmer Esler was killed in the crash of his O-47 when it experienced an engine failure on takeoff. The War Department announced on 19 June 1941 that the Air Corps field at Camp Beauregard would be named Esler Field in honor of his sacrifice.
In 1941, the 107th was joined by two other National Guard observation units to form the 67th Observation Group. The 67th Group did anti-submarine patrolling off the East Coast of the US from mid-December 1941 to March 1942, when it returned to Louisiana for training in fighter aircraft.