49th Fighter Group

During 1940, the United States was undergoing the largest mili­tary expansion it had ever seen. Defense industries were turning out the weapons of war and to everyone it seemed like only a matter of time before the US would be at war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered all branches of the US Armed Forces to expand as quickly as possible as the Congress debated the Lend-Lease Act and Selective Service Act; legislation that would make America the 'Arsenal of Democracy' and place the country on a war footing.
The 49th Pursuit Group came into being during this period of expansion. The Group was authorized and initially organized under a War Department letter dated 20 June 1940 which established the Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron of the 49th Pursuit Group (Interceptor). A second War Department letter, dated 9 December 1940. assigned the 7th, 8th, and 9th Pursuit Squadrons to the 49th Group. The Group was officially activated on 16January 1941,when a cadre of pilots and ground crews were transferred to the Group from the 31st Pursuit Group at Selfridge Field. Michigan. While this gave the Group its first pilots, their experience level was actually rather low, since the 31st Group had only been in existence for a year.