The squadron then dive bombed marshalling yards and airfields and attacked enemy communications during April and May from its new station, an advanced landing ground[6] at RAF High Halden, to help prepare for the invasion of Normandy.

The squadron moved to France in July and, from its base at Cretteville, took part in operations that resulted in the Allied breakthrough at St Lo.

The squadron continued to fly escort, interdiction and close air support missions during the Allied drive across France and into Germany.

[5] The squadron received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions between 24 December 1944 and 2 January 1945, when it supported Seventh Army attacking railroads and rolling stock, other vehicles and enemy artillery formations.

The following month, the squadron attacked enemy airfields near Munich and Ingolstadt, engaging aircraft and supporting the advance of ground forces in the area, earning a third award of the Distinguished Unit Citation.

It was organized at Stout Field, Indianapolis, Indiana and was extended federal recognition on 9 December 1946 by the National Guard Bureau.

The 113th flew training missions primarily over the northern part of Indiana, while the 163rd operated from Indianapolis south to the Ohio River border with Kentucky.

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 and placed on active duty.

The unit was re-formed at Baer Field, Fort Wayne, and continued to fly the F-51H Mustangs, returning to its pre-federalization air defense mission of Indiana.

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

On 1 October 1961, the 163rd and the 122nd Tactical Fighter Wing were federalized and ordered to active service as part of Operation Tack Hammer, the United States response to the 1961 Berlin Crisis.

Rotations of Air National Guard pilots from the stateside squadrons in Indiana was performed to train them in local flying conditions in Europe.

This allowed the 163rd to maintain 100 percent manning and also to relieve the boredom of the national guard pilots on active duty in CONUS and kept them connected to the overseas part of the Wing.

By April, the Berlin Crisis appeared to be settled and the Kennedy Administration was interested in saving money on this emergency call-up of national guard units.

Individual squadron members volunteered for duty during the Vietnam War, however the 163rd was not federalized in 1968 as the F-84Fs were not considered front line combat aircraft.

In June 1971, the unit converted to the F-100 Super Sabre as a result of the American draw-down from the Vietnam War, the squadron receiving former combat veteran aircraft.

The F-4C Phantom II aircraft arrived on 18 November 1979, and the Tail Code "FW" (Fort Wayne) was adopted by the 122nd TFW.

Members of the base Hospital participated in Operation Sea Signal, which is the Air National Guard's effort to support the refugees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

During fiscal year 1996, the 122nd FW was involved in a critical series of rigorous exercises designed to determine our operational readiness in mobility and war fighting capabilities.

These large-intake models were mainly coming from the Michigan Air National Guard 107th Fighter Squadron which was transitioning to the A-10 Thunderbolt II at the time.

With the upgrade to the Block 30 aircraft, the tail code of the 163rd was changed from "FW" (Fort Wayne) to "IN" (Indiana) in 2009 when the 181st Fighter Wing at Hulman Field became a non-flying unit.