Demons 7th Newspage

Our Boys on the front still continue to struggle with the ever persistent Nips who keep sending more and more troops to the front! Our pilots have been given em hell by continuing to wrack up their scores by sending the enemies finest back down to terra firma smokin and hollerin to get even with the ever wicked Demon7th pilots who just keep on shootin em down! The Squadron CO got these nice photos for us to print back home for all the folks to see one more Nip pilot hittin the silk after his aircraft had been torn to shreads by the deadly fire from a Demon's 50 .cals! Reports have also been flooding into our newsroom that our pilots are achieving good kill ratios under the superb leadership and training of CO Demons 7th! Now that's what the folks back on the home front wanna hear so keep up the good work Demons! All the folks from back home wish you could be here and send you Holiday cheers and well wishes to get the war over there done and over with so you can come home soon! But in the meantime we'll keep clippin our ration coupons and step up production for some always newer model P-40s and P-38s to be sent to the frontlines for you guys to do even a better job! keep up the good work boys and continue to GIVE EM HELL!!!

THE Experience World War II mod has been pluggin away at getting closer and closer to finally releasing their work to the public for some great North African theater WWII action for Electronic Arts Battlefield 2 series game. Demon7th_Delta who has been away on special assignment reports to us great progress on yet another fine release via his Stuart MK1 tank. We have some photos below to share with you! The Brits have at their disposal a mighty fine little tank that's real fun to drive from the reports we get!

Catch up on all the news over at the XWW2 website by visiting them at http://www.xww2.com and check out the forum!

Murph

News Today that the U.S. Air Force's very own Screamin' Demons 7th F-117 Nighthawk training squadron has been deactivated

by Laura London
49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

12/13/2006 - HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- The 7th Fighter Squadron "Screamin' Demons" will inactivate Dec. 31 due to the phasing out of the F-117A Nighthawk. A ceremony marking the event will be held Friday.

"Our mission is -- was -- to train inbound F-117 pilots to make up for normal (permanent change of station) attrition," said Lt. Col. Chris Knehans, 7th FS commander.

"Due to the drawdown, there will be enough qualified pilots to see the program through the phase-out. Since there is no need for a formal training unit, we are being inactivated."

"The 7th FS has been the mainstay of developing combat capability for the F-117," said Col. David Moore, 49th Fighter Wing vice commander. "The instructor pilots, life support technicians and (operations) desk personnel have trained an amazing cadre of stealth fighter pilots. We are all indebted to their legacy of professionalism, integrity and war fighting spirit."

The 7th FS has been around since Jan. 15, 1941, when it was known as the 7th Pursuit Squadron, according to Colonel Knehans.

Aces, pilots with five or more kills, who flew with the 7th are Maj. Richard I. Bong, Lt. Col. Gerald R. Johnson, Capt. Robert M. DeHaven, Capt. Joel E. Parris III, 1st Lt. Fernley H. Damstrom, Maj. Arland Stanton, Capt. Elliot E. Dent Jr., 2nd Lt. Milden E. Mathre, 1st Lt. Frederick E. Dick, Maj. Franklin A. Nichols and 1st Lt. A.T. House. Ironically, Lieutenant House received ace status nearly 50 years after the end of hostilities, said Rick Shea, 49th Fighter Wing historian.

"We have been on the leading edge in World War II, Korea and Vietnam," said Colonel Knehans.

The Bunyaps, as the Scramin' Demons were formerly called, contributed a total of 190 aerial victories to the wing's total during World War II, said Mr. Shea. And they served as part of the U.S. occupational air defense force in Japan immediately following WWII.
"Seventh pilots made significant contributions to the 49th FW war efforts in Kosovo and Operation Iraqi Freedom," said Colonel Knehans. "We have been the F-117 schoolhouse since Dec. 2, 1993."

From 1999 to 2005, the Demons were known as the 7th Combat Training Squadron. In 1999, Colonel Knehans explained, the Quadrennial Defense Review found the Air Force could save money by combining the 7th FS and the 46th Training Squadron and moving the 7th FS's F-117As to the 9th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, closing the 7th Aircraft Maintenance Unit.

"Since the 7th no longer 'owned' airplanes, we couldn't be a fighter squadron -- hence the combat training school," Colonel Knehans said. "In 2002, the objective wing was dissolved -- now no fighter squadron owned airplanes. In late 2004, I started working to re-establish our heritage back to a fighter squadron. On July 22, 2005, we reclaimed our fighter squadron status."

Colonel Knehans said the Demons have six F-117As which will be among the first 10 to go into retirement. The T-38s, used for initial qualification, requalification training, instrument and qualification evaluations, test support and F-117A reduced altitude upgrades, will be managed by the 8th Fighter Squadron. They will continue performing all of these functions after the 7 FS inactivates except, of course, initial qualification on the F-117A.

The pilots of the Demons7th would like to WELCOME to the ranks skillfull pilots that would like to join us. News of your assignment will be posted here. So, come on all you hot shot fly boys without a squadron. Think you're good enough to join our USAAC band of DEMONS? Check out our "Join Us" page now!