132nd Wing
Videos
The 132nd Wing, sometimes written 132d Wing, 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.
An MQ-9 Reaper, 2008
Image: 132d Wing Crest
Republic P-47D-28-RA Thunderbolt, AAF Ser. No. 42-28932 of the 388th Fighter Squadron.
132nd Fighter Wing formation in the 1940s
Des Moines International Airport is a joint civilian-military commercial service airport 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Des Moines, the capital of Iowa.
Aerial view of the airport in 2012
Lobby area, 2008
Airmen of the Iowa Air National Guard's 132nd Wing board a New York Air National Guard C-17 Globemaster III as part of contingency operation in the summer of 2021.