It was organized at Cox-Dayton Municipal Airport, Ohio, and was extended federal recognition on 22 November 1947 by the National Guard Bureau.

The squadron was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and was assigned initially to the Illinois ANG 66th Fighter Wing, operationally gained by Continental Air Command.

With the formation and federal recognition of the Ohio ANG 121st Fighter Group at Lockbourne Field, near Columbus, the squadron was reassigned.

Parts were no problem and many of the maintenance personnel were World War II veterans so readiness was quite high and the planes were often much better maintained than their USAF counterparts.

In 1950 the squadron exchanged its F-51Ds for F-51H Mustang very long range escort fighters that were suitable for long-range interception of unknown aircraft identified by Ground Control Interceptor radar stations.

With the surprise invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1950, and the regular military's complete lack of readiness, most of the Air National Guard was federalized placed on active duty.

In September 1955 Air Defense Command wanted to re-equip the squadron from F-51Hs to jet-powered F-84E Thunderjets in accordance with the USAF directive to phase out propeller-driven fighter-interceptor aircraft from the inventory.

In 1959 and 1960 the squadron participated in exercises Dark Cloud and Pine Cone III, the latter taking place at Congaree AFB, South Carolina.

During the 1961 Berlin Crisis, the 162nd was federalized as part of the 121st Tactical Fighter Wing and Group for a period of twelve months beginning on 1 October.

In the spring of 1970, the F-84F Thunderstreaks were sent to Davis-Monthan AFB for storage, the squadron receiving Vietnam War veteran F-100D/F Super Sabres.

In August, the 162nd took part in another joint training exercise called Operation Ember Dawn/Punch Card XIX at Eielson AFB, Alaska.

Also in 1978, the 162nd participated in "Red Flag 78-9" on 23 September, and "Tequilla Shooter" at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, from 14 to 20 November.

"Sabre Sluff 79-2," a locally generated version of "Red Flag" was conducted at Springfield during 26–28 April, providing realistic training for the 162nd's flying, communications, and radar control units.

In February 1981, Major John Smith commanded a six-aircraft deployment to the 49th TFW at Holloman AFB, New Mexico for Dissimilar air combat training (DACT).

In March, the squadron flew close air support (CAS) missions for opposing forces during "Eagle Strike I," an exercise involving two brigades for the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

During the May exercise "Maple Flag 7," support was given to the Ohio ANG 112th Tactical Fighter Squadron for a 30-day rotation TDY to Howard AFB, Panama.

1982 was a busy year with the unit taking part in eight individual exercises, including "Red Flag 82-4" at Nellis AFB, Nevada.

The 162nd won the annual Ohio ANG "Turkey Shoot" competition in October at the Jefferson Proving Ground air-to-ground range.

In June, the 162nd completed five and one-half years of accident-free flying and earned the Tactical Air Command Flight Safety Award.

"Solid Shield," a joint exercise with the 166th TFS was conducted in May at the Naval Air Station, Key West, Florida.

With all of the flying, the 162nd ended the year with the prestigious Tappan Memorial Trophy, awarded to Ohio's outstanding Air National Guard Unit.

In March 1987, the 162nd rotated to support CORNET COVE XII, a 30-day mission to Howard AFB, Panama in which the 162nd maintained the only operational fighter in the Southern Air Command.

In 1988, the 162nd took twelve aircraft to participate in SNOWBIRD for the December deployment that allowed the jets to schedule heavy air operations in Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.

After a series of groundings, the 162nd deployed five aircraft and 295 personnel to participate in a major NATO exercise called CENTRAL ENTERPRISE at RAF Boscombe Down, England.

In June 1995, the 162nd deployed to Karup Air Base, Denmark to participate in NATO exercises BALTOP 95 and CENTRAL ENTERPRISE.

During the period of 1995 to 1998, the 162nd took first place in the "Turkey Shoot" Competition in Indiana, taking on units from the Ohio ANG and other participating states showing the 162nd skill and accuracy in air-to-ground employment.

In August 1996, the 162nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (162 EFS) was first formed from 178th personnel and aircraft and deployed to Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait to support Operation Southern Watch and Operation Desert Strike with the mission to enforce the southern no-fly zone imposed by the United Nations over Iraq.

Under the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC), a decision came down that the parent 178th Fighter Wing would lose its sixteen F-16s and ultimately convert to a drone squadron.

In the interim, through the Foreign Military Sales program, the 178th was able to obtain another training mission with the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

In April 2007 the Dutch 306 Detachment from Tucson Air National Guard Base, Arizona moved to Springfield to provide a different training environment.