123d Fighter Squadron
The 123d Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Oregon Air National Guard 142d Fighter Wing located at Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon. The 123d is equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle. The squadron is a descendant organization of the 123d Observation Squadron formed on 30 July 1940. It was activated on 18 April 1941. The squadron is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. History Oregon National Guard Allocated to the Oregon National Guard in 1940, activated on 18 April 1941 at Portland Municipal Airport. The newly formed unit began operations with two officers, 108 enlisted men and two aircraft, a North American BC-1A (like the AT-6) and a Douglas O-46A. The squadron flew observation missions primarily along the Pacific Coast and occasionally made mail flights. World War II Ordered to active service in September 1941 as part of the pre-World War II buildup of the United States Army Air Corps and assigned to the 70th Observation Group of Fourth Air Force. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, flew antisubmarine patrols along the Pacific Coast from airfields in Oregon and Washington, later