The 17th Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, assigned to the USAF Weapons School at Nellis AFB, Nevada. The squadron traces its lineage to the United States Army Air Service 17th Aero Squadron. The 17th Aero Squadron was activated in August 1917 and earned 13 Campaign Streamers in World War I flying the Sopwith Camel. During World War II, the 17th Pursuit Squadron participated in the defense of the Philippines flying the P-40 Warhawk and garnering the first American Ace of World War II. Wiped out during the Battle of the Philippines, some of its squadron members endured the Bataan Death March. Reactivated during the Vietnam War, the squadron went on to fly F-105F Wild Weasles, and in Operation Desert Storm flying the F-16C.