71st Fighter Squadron T-Shirt

The 71st Fighter Squadron was born in December of 1940. By February of 1942, they had transitioned from the YP 43 Lancer to the P 38 Lightening and were the first to take the twin-engine monster to fly combat missions in Europe. The squadron went on to wreck Nazis at every opportunity. Her pilots accumulated 102 kills and produced 5 aces. 2nd Lt. “Stub” Hatch Jr. melted his four .50 M2, and a 20mm shooting Jerry out of the sky in a one-man fighter pilot clinic shooting down 5 Nazis, in under a minute. He became an ace in less time than it takes to read this product description. Legend. The 71st was awarded 17 Campaign Participation Credits and three Distinguished Unit Citations. Post-WWII the 71st was outfitted with several different aircraft including the F 86, F 102, F 106, and eventually the F 15. The squadron again made a name for itself in the opening day of Operation Desert Storm by achieving one of the first aerial victories of the conflict. They were also one of the first squad