317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron
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317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron F-102 Delta Dagger
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| Active | 1942–1945; 1946–1969 |
| Country |
 United States
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| Branch |
 United States Air Force
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| Role | Interceptor |
| Part of | Aerospace Defense Command |
| Motto(s) | ' |
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| Patch with the 317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron emblem (approved 13 December 1951) |  |
The 317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to Aerospace Defense Command, being stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, where it was inactivated on 31 December 1969.
The squadron was first activated as the 317th Fighter Squadron. During World War II, it saw combat in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for its actions. After V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated.
The squadron returned to service as an air defense unit in 1947, serving in that role until inactivated in 1969.
The 317th Fighter Squadron was activated on 1 July 1942 at Theodore Green Airport, Providence, Rhode Island, as part of the 325th Fighter Group, the "Checker Tails". After six months of intensive training in the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, the 317th embarked for North Africa aboard the USS Ranger (CV-4), in consort with its sister squadrons, the 318th and 319th. The 317th flew its first combat mission in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) under Twelfth Air Force on 17 April 1943. Flying P-40 Warhawks, Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and North American P-51 Mustangs, the 317th fought in 13 separate campaigns where it earned two Distinguished Unit Citations in action over Italy and Sardinia. In October 1945, after the conclusion of the European air war, the 317th returned to the United States and was inactivated.
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