The 361st Fighter Group was part of a combat organization that was the predecessor of which branch of the United States Military?
United States Air Force
Title: David Thwaites (flying ace)
Passage: David F. Thwaites was an aviator in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II.  He became a fighter ace piloting the P-47 Thunderbolt as a member of the 361st Fighter Squadron of the 356th Fighter Group.  Thwaites, based out of RAF Martlesham Heath in England was the second highest scoring pilot in his squadron, with six confirmed victories and the only pilot of the 356th FG to score all of his victories while serving with the group.  He scored his victories using three different P-47s however he nicknamed them all "Polly".  Following the completion of his tour in September 1944 he returned to the United States and became an instructor.
Title: United States Army Air Forces
Passage: The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the military aviation service of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, successor to the United States Army Air Corps and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force.  The AAF was a component of the United States Army, which in 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces, the Services of Supply (which in 1943 became the Army Service Forces), and the Army Air Forces.  Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff.
Title: China Air Task Force
Passage: The China Air Task Force (CATF) was a combat organization of the United States Army Air Forces created in July 1942 under the command of Brig. Gen. Claire Chennault, after the Flying Tigers of the 1st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force were disbanded on 4 July of that month.  It consisted of the 23rd Fighter Group with four squadrons, the assigned 74th, 75th, 76th, and attached 16th Fighter Squadrons, plus the 11th Bombardment Squadron.  It was a subordinate unit of the Tenth Air Force in India, commanded by Brig. Gen. Earl Naiden and (from 18 August 1942) by Maj. Gen. Clayton Bissell.  "Chennault had no respect for Bissell as a combat airman," wrote his biographer Martha Byrd, and "Bissell had no respect for Chennault as an administrator."  Their relationship, she wrote, was ugly.
Title: 376th Fighter Squadron
Passage: The 376th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.  Its last was assigned to the 361st Fighter Group, VIII Fighter Command, stationed at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts.  It was inactivated on 23 October 1945.
Title: 44th Fighter Group
Passage: The 44th Fighter Group (44 FG) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force.  It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC), stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.  The 44 FG is an associate unit of the 325th Fighter Wing, Air Combat Command (ACC) and if mobilized the wing is gained by ACC.  Otherwise, the 44 FG operates as a geographically-separated unit (GSU) of AFRC's 301st Fighter Wing at NAS JRB Fort Worth, Texas.
Title: 361st Fighter Group
Passage: The 361st Fighter Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization.  It served primarily in the European Theatre of World War II.
Title: 71st Fighter Training Squadron
Passage: The 71st Fighter Training Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force, and part of the 1st Operations Group of the 1st Fighter Wing.  The 71st is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.  The squadron is equipped with the Northrop T-38B Talon, it was also the last squadron of the 1st Fighter Wing to fly the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, with the 27th and 94th now flying the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.  The squadron is known as "The Ironmen".
Title: 350th Fighter Group
Passage: The 350th Fighter Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Force formed in 1942 and inactivated in 1945.  The fighter group consisted of 345th, 346th and 347th Fighter Squadron.  The group was formed in England in 1942 flying Bell P-39 Airacobras and participated in the Mediterranean and North African Campaigns of World War II.  350th Fighter Group was based in North Africa, in Algeria and Morocco from January to July 1943.  They then moved on to the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica in November 1943 and February 1944 and were based in Italy in from September 1944 to July 1945.  After the group was inactivated on 7 November 1945 at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base following the end of the war.  It was redesignated the 112th Fighter Group and placed under the control of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard in 1946. \
Title: 132nd Wing
Passage: The 132d Wing (132d WG) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Iowa Air National Guard and located at Des Moines Air National Guard Base, Iowa.  The 132nd's World War II predecessor unit, the 365th Fighter Group was a IX Fighter Command unit, serving in the European Theater of Operations.  The 365th, known as the "Hell Hawks", was one of the most successful P-47 Thunderbolt fighter groups of the Ninth Air Force when it came to air combat.  The 365th was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations; Order of the Day, Belgium Army; Belgium Fourragère, and the Belgium Croix de Guerre.  The 365th Fighter Group flew its last mission on 8 May 1945.  After having operated manned fighter aircraft for all of its prior history, the wing was equipped with the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle in 2013.
Title: 318th Fighter Group
Passage: The 318th Fighter Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization.  It served primarily in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II.
361st Fighter Group United States Army Air Forces