361st Fighter Group The 361st Fighter Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization . It served primarily in the European Theatre of World War II . During World War II the group was an Eighth Air Force fighter unit stationed in England . Primarily assigned to RAF Little Walden in 1943 . It claimed 226 air and 105 ground aircraft destroyed . It flew its last mission on 20 April 1945 . During the Cold War the unit was redesignated as the 127th Fighter Group , and allotted to the Michigan Air National Guard . Today , the 127th Wing is a part of the USA ' s national defense , being part of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command ' s First Air Force . History . Operational history . World War II . Constituted as 361st Fighter Group on 28 January 1943 . Activated on 10 February 1943 . Joined Eighth AF at RAF Bottisham , England in November 1943 . The group was under the command of the 65th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command . Aircraft of the group were identified by yellow around their cowlings and tails . The 361st FG entered combat with P - 47 aircraft on 21 January 1944 and converted to P - 51 ' s in May 1944 . The unit served primarily as an escort organization , covering the penetration , attack , and withdrawal of B - 17 / B - 24 bomber formations that the USAAF sent against targets on the Continent . The group also engaged in counter - air patrols , fighter sweeps , and strafing and dive - bombing missions . Attacked such targets as airdromes , marshalling yards , missile sites , industrial areas , ordnance depots , oil refineries , trains , and highways . During its operations , the unit participated in the assault against the German Air Force and aircraft industry during the Big Week , 20 – 25 February 1944 , and the attack on transportation facilities prior to the Normandy invasion and support of the invasion forces thereafter , including the Saint - Lô breakthrough in July . The weight of the heavy P - 47 fighters soon began to tell on the wet surface making take - offs tricky . A team of American engineers were called in during January 1944 and , in three days , they constructed a 1 , 470 - yard - long runway with pierced - steel planking . This feat was considered a record for laying this type of prefabricated surfacing . The runway , which was aligned NE - SW , became the main at Bottisham the other also being constructed of PSP . In September 1944 the 361st FG moved to RAF Little Walden . At Little Walden , the 361st served primarily as a B - 17 / B - 24 escort organization , covering the penetration , attack , and withdrawal of bomber formations that the USAAF sent against targets on the Continent . The group also engaged in counter - air patrols , fighter sweeps , and strafing and dive - bombing missions . Attacked such targets as airfields , marshalling yards , missile sites , industrial areas , ordnance depots , oil refineries , trains , and highways . The group supported the airborne attack on Holland in September 1944 and deployed to Chievres Airdrome , ( ALG A - 84 ) , Belgium between February and April 1945 flying tactical ground support missions during the airborne assault across the Rhine . The unit returned to Little Walden and flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945 . On 10 November the 361st Fighter Group returned to Camp Kilmer New Jersey and was inactivated . Cold War . During the Cold War the unit was redesignated as the 127th Fighter Group , and allocated to the Michigan Air National Guard on 24 May 1946 . The group was ordered into active service on 1 February 1951 as a result of the Korean War and assigned to Air Training Command . In March 1951 it was redesignated as the 127th Pilot Training Group , being assigned F - 51 Mustangs , F - 80 Shooting Stars and F - 84 Thunderjet s while serving as a training organization . The 127th was relieved from active duty in November 1952 and redesignated the 127th Fighter Group .