One of my biggest annoyances with the USAF is their lack of... consistency, I guess you could say, involving individual unit identity, especially in the traditional role; which really bugs me, as unit history is one of my favorite things to read about. The Army has it's famous units like the 101st, and the Navy keeps up it's traditions in naming like the U.S.S. Enterprise. But what about the Air Force?

Well being the youngest branch (formed officially in 1947, around 200 years after the other 4), we don't have too much of a tradition to follow, so there's not much to begin with. But don't let that fool you, there's more than you'd think, but still less than you'd hope. Unfortunately, the higher-ups don't usually keep up with even those. Squadrons are often reorganized, renamed, rebranded, deactivated and reactivated, and sometimes just forgotten, usually without much regard to the unit's history. And, as such, it's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to track down a solid timeline for some, and almost all squadrons have been de-activated or re-named/branded at some point.

So, the point of this short little info thread is to show the most famous squadrons in the USAF; at least the ones that are still active.

Fighter

1st Operations Group
This group is the USAF's main tool for air superiority, made up of the best trained and equipped pilots. It consists of two of the most famed squadrons, both of which have prominent histories. They fly the F-22 Raptor, and are stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

94th Fighter Squadron

Arguably the most famous squadron in the Force, the 94th was formed in 1917, mainly from the American volunteers left from the Lafayette Escadrille, the U.S. Volunteer squadron in the French service. During it's short service, the 94th was also the home unit of Eddie Rickenbacker, the highest-scoring U.S. ace during the war. The squad's 'Hat in the Ring' nickname was also formed during the war, which symbolized the country's entrance into the conflict as a 'new challenger'.

27th Fighter Squadron

The oldest active squadron in the Air Force, the 27th has maintained constant activation since 1917, serving in both World Wars and the Gulf War.

23rd Fighter Group
Formed during WW2, the 23rd fighter group was the official Army Air Corps' organization of the pilots of the American Volunteer Group in China, better known as the 'Flying Tigers'. It is made up of the original three squadrons that served in the group, all of which are stationed at Moody AFB in Georgia, and fly the A-10C Thunderbolt II.

74th Fighter Squadron

The first of the original three, the unit gained combat experience fighting the Imperial Japanese Air Force in China as volunteers, before the U.S. entered the war and the AVG was assimilated into the official military.

75th Fighter Squadron

The second activated squadron of the AVG, the unit fought in the Chinese Theater throughout WW2, and serving at odd periods during it's randomized activation through the Cold War.

76th Fighter Squadron

The last of the three squadrons of the Flying Tigers, the 76th served through the war, and spent some of it's time in the Cold War as a Space Operations Squadron, researching and understanding factors like the weather, navigation, communication, and others to effectively use them for their allies. They transferred to the A-10 and were re-deployed with their sister squadrons.

4th Operations Group
This Group is a collection of another unit of volunteers, the 'Eagle Squadrons' of WW2. These refer to the three squadrons of volunteers that served in England's Royal Air Force. Like the Flying Tigers, the Eagle Squadrons were assimilated into the Army Air Corps once America entered the war. The one exception to this is the 333rd Squadron, which is attached to the rest, but was formed after the war. All four fly the F-15E Strike Eagle, and are based at Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina.

333rd Fighter Squadron

The standout of the Group, the 333rd was formed in 1957 and served in Vietnam. The only point of de-activation was for most of the year of 1991; other than that, it has maintained constant activation. They conduct advanced fighter training with the F-15E.

334th Fighter Squadron

Originally No. 71 Squad in the RAF, the 334th joined the Air Corps and escorted bomber raids over Germany. It has since remained active, serving in every major U.S. war since.

335th Fighter Squadron

Formed as No. 121 Squad in the RAF, the 335th served with it's sisters in each major war since WW2. The 'Chiefs' nickname and emblem are taken from the original 121's logo. The 'Cheifs' also hold the title of 'World's Leading MiG Killers' with 218.5 killed.

336th Fighter Squadron

Originally No. 133 Squad, the 336th has recorded 459 destroyed enemy planes, including the 4th Operation Group's only MiG kill in Vietnam.

Bomber

7th Operations Group
A Bomber Squadron Group, this unit is composed of two combat squadrons that operate the B-1B Lancer out of Dyess AFB in Texas.

9th Bomb Squadron

The oldest bomber unit in the Air Force, the 9th has been in service since WW1, and served in WW2, Vietnam, and the War in Afghanistan. Their patch reflects this, with three spotlights shining upward, two of which are crossed, forming an IX, the Roman Numeral for 9.

28th Bomb Squadron

One of the oldest, and most decorated, units in the branch. The 28th served in WW1, and in the early days of WW2, were forced to fight as ground infantry in the Philippines as it was being overrun by the Japanese. It has since served in multiple conflicts, and has been decorated numerous times.

509th Operations Group
This group, consisting of two squadrons, is the only Air Force unit to operate the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, and as such is highly secretive. Stationed at Whiteman AFB in Missouri, the 509th has a long testing history, being the prime unit connected to the famous Roswell UFO Conspiracy; this has, in turn, rubbed off rather humorously on the pilots, and engraved itself as a major part of the Group's culture.

13th Bomb Squadron

Serving in many conflicts over it's history, the 'Grim Reapers' hold many decorations. Since the year 2000, the 13th has been very active, conducting training and operations with the B-2, and serving heavily in the War on Terror.

393rd Bomb Squadron

Activated in late 1944, the 393rd's history is rather short, but prominent. Conducting raids over Japan, two of the 393rd's planes were responsible for conducting the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, bringing the war to a close.

Those are the biggest ones I can think up right now. Of course there are more, but this was just to showcase the more 'famous' units in the branch. I hope this did a good job of showing some of the USAF's lineage.

Going to showcase the higher level HQs as well? Such as 12AF and 8AF?

3696599
Sorry, I just stuck to squadrons to keep it short, adding in Wings, Groups, Air Forces, etc. would make it a tad too long.

Also, make sure to reply directly to me if you can; I had no clue you put this on here till now.