76th Fighter Squadron The 76th Fighter Squadron ( 76 FS ) is a United States Air Force Reserve unit . It is assigned to the 476th Fighter Group and stationed at Moody Air Force Base , Georgia . During World War II , the 76th Fighter Squadron was one of the three original squadrons ( 74th , 75th , 76th ) of the 23d Fighter Group . History . World War II . The history of the 76th dates to the earliest days of World War II . During the summer of 1941 , Claire Lee Chennault formed a small group of American pilots into three fighter squadrons , the American Volunteer Group , of the Chinese Air Force . The unit immediately garnered international attention for their combat successes while defending China and Burma , and they became known as the " Flying Tigers . " Some members of the AVG joined or rejoined the United States Air Force after the AVG was disbanded . The 76th squadron remained in combat in the China - Burma - India ( CBI ) Theater from 18 July 1942 to 11 August 1945 , earning a Distinguished Unit Citation for missions in China in June 1944 . Cold War . After World War II , the squadron performed air defense intercept operations in Guam , 1946 – 1949 , in Panama , 1949 , and at various bases in the eastern United States , 1955 - 1963 . In 1960 , " in order to position its diminishing interceptor force as nearly astride enemy approaches as possible " , Air Defense Command received approval to move the squadron from McCoy AFB in Florida to Westover AFB in Massachusetts . It disposed of its Northrop F - 89 Scorpion s by the end of 1960 . Between February and April 1961 , the squadron had re - equipped with Convair F - 102 Delta Dagger s . The squadron trained in and conducted close air support operations , 1972 - 1992 . A portion of the squadron deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990 and took part in operations against Iraq in early 1991 . Space Operations era . Lessons from Desert Storm on space power convinced Air Force leaders to reactivate 76th Fighter Squadron as the 76th Space Operations Squadron in December 1995 . The 76th Space Operations Squadron ( 76 SOPS ) was activated at the National Test Facility at Falcon AFB , Colorado as a component of the 14th Air Force on 1 December 1995 . The mission of the 76th SOPS was to assist air component commanders in understanding and applying space systems in support of air operations . The unit ' s aim was to ensure that command and control , communications , weather , navigation , and other space assets were used to most effectively multiply US and allied combat forces capabilities against an adversary . The 76th deployed Air Force Space Support Teams to bring " space expertise " to expeditionary air forces and air operations centers around the world . Over their tenure , the 76th Space Operations Squadron deployed to make significant contributions during JOINT ENDEAVOR , DENY FLIGHT , DESERT FOX , DESERT THUNDER , and ALLIED FORCE . It was inactivated in 2008 and its place taken by a newly constituted unit with the same designation in preparation for Reborn Fighter Squadron . In 2009 , the squadron was redesignated 76th Fighter Squadron and moved to Moody AFB , Georgia , while References . Bibliography . See Also