page_title: 17th Weapons Squadron
section_title: Inter-war period
hierarchical_section_title: 17th Weapons Squadron / History / Inter-war period
caption_attribution_description: English: Curtiss XPW-8B, the prototype for the P-1.
context_page_description: The 17th Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, assigned to the USAF Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
  The squadron traces its lineage to the United States Army Air Service's 17th and 147th Aero Squadrons, both of which were active during World War I. The 147th was redesignated the 17th Pursuit Squadron in the post-war Air Service and later consolidated with the 17th Aero Squadron in 1936 to preserve the history of both pursuit units. The 17th Aero Squadron was activated in August 1917 and earned 13 campaign streamers in France flying the Sopwith Camel. The 147th Aero Squadron was organized in November 1917 and flew the Nieuport 28 and SPAD S.XIII fighters, earning eight streamers.
  During World War II, the 17th Pursuit Squadron participated in the defense of the Philippines flying the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and garnering the first American Ace of World War II. Wiped out during the Battle of the Philippines, some of its squadron members endured the Bataan Death March.
context_section_description: After returning to the United States in April 1919 nearly all of the 147th's personnel were demobilized.  The War Department created a new 1st Pursuit Group between late April and mid-August 1919 when it dispatched a small cadre of personnel to Selfridge Field, Michigan.  New recruits and veterans from other flying units became members of the new 147th Squadron, and by late summer the process was complete.  However, on 28 August, the squadron departed by train to Kelly Field, Texas where it became part of the new Advanced Pursuit Training School.
  At Kelly Field, the squadron was assigned to the re-formed 1st Pursuit Group, effective 22 August 1919.  The pursuit school was the first step in building a new permanent air service and by providing a course of instruction for pilots at Kelly, it was a way to transfer the hard-earned knowledge gained during World War I to a new generation of fliers.  Pilots received hands-on experience in aircraft and engine maintenance.  They also flew a training program that covered formation flying, aerobatics, air-to-air and air to ground gunnery, reconnaissance and patrol tactics.  The aircraft used were British Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s and U.S.-built Airco DH.4s that were excess from the war effort.
  On 14 March 1921, the 147th was redesignated as the 17th Squadron (Pursuit) and in July the 1st Pursuit Group moved from Kelly to Ellington Field, near Houston, Texas.  In June 1922, the 1st Group prepared to return to Selfridge.  The four squadrons of the group (17th, 27th, 94th and 95th) departed Ellington on 24 June.  The long deployment to Michigan was a novelty, and the press followed the group's progress closely. The group arrived at Selfridge Field on 1 July 1922. Selfridge served as the 1st Pursuit Group's home for many years. As the Army's only pursuit group, the War Department took special pains to ensure that it was maintained in a high state of readiness.  On 21 January 1924, the War Department sanctioned unit emblems.  The "Great Snow Owl", chosen by the World War I 17th Pursuit Group as its emblem when transferred to the American Expeditionary Forces in 1918 was adopted by the 17th Pursuit Squadron on 4 March 1924.
  In May 1924, the group opened a satellite airfield at Oscoda, Michigan to function as an aerial gunnery camp for the unit.  Loud-Reames Aviation Field was renamed Camp Skeel, for World War I pilot Captain Burt E. Skeel, and was used as an aerial gunnery range and for winter maneuvers by the 1st Pursuit Group.  During World War II, the facility would be expanded as Oscoda Army Air Field, as a training base.  After the war, it would be expanded and become Wurtsmith Air Force Base.
  During the 1920s, the unit participated in exercises, demonstrations, and maneuvers, events the War Department used as combined training and public relations exercises. Public and congressional interest in aviation was high.  Equipped with fast, nimble, pursuit planes such as the Curtiss P-1 Hawk, the unit attracted the attention of the public wherever it appeared.  Overall, the Twenties were a productive decade for the unit. The 1st Pursuit Group responded well to being the Air Corps' only group-level pursuit organization, and developed a well-trained force that responded to the demands placed on it.
  The 1930s produced a different set of challenges.  During the Thirties, the group introduced at least six new aircraft into the Air Corps inventory.  It also provided personnel for newly formed squadrons and groups.  The onset of the Great Depression gave the unit additional responsibilities in 1931, the group participated in several air shows staged to benefit the unemployed. Squadron involvement ranged from two- and four-ship flights to squadron deployments. Beginning in 1933, the unit saw a handful of its officers detailed to work with the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program designed to put unemployed youths to work on various conservation projects.
  The Curtiss P-6E Hawks flown by the squadron were improvements in the line of Hawks since the squadron received the P-1 in 1925.  
caption: 17th Squadron Curtiss PW-8 configured as the XPW-8B prototype for the P-1 Hawk, 1925
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