53d Fighter Squadron

53d Fighter Squadron
	53d Fighter Squadron F-15C Eagle 79-25 showing "SP" Tail Code, Spangdahlem AB, Germany, 1995
Active	1941–1946; 1946–1999
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Squadron
Role	Fighter
Engagements	European Theater of Operations ; Desert Storm [1]
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation ; Air Force Outstanding Unit Award ; Belgian Fourragère [1]
Insignia
53d Fighter Squadron emblem (approved 28 October 1943) [1]

Last updated March 05, 2019

The 53d Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 52d Operations Group and stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. It was inactivated on 31 March 1999.

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the fourth in order of precedence. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The Air Force articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.

The 52d Operations Group is the flying component of the 52d Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). The group is stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.

Spangdahlem Air Base is a NATO air base with USAF tenant constructed between 1951 and 1953 and located near the small German town of Spangdahlem, approximately 30 km NNE of the city of Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate.

History

World War II

Caribbean Defense

Activated on 1 January 1941 as one of the three squadrons assigned to the 32d Pursuit Group as part of the United States buildup of forces after the eruption of World War II. This unit was organized for the most part, from Puerto Rico-based units, as were many of the aircraft. It was equipped with a mixture of Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, along with Curtiss P-36A Hawk, Northrop A-17s and at least one Vultee YA-19. After being formed at Albrook Field, Panama Canal Zone, the squadron was moved to Rio Hato Army Air Base, Panama. The unit moved to La Chorrera Field on 7 January 1942 after briefly being assigned to France Field on 30 December 1941.

The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter of World War II, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facilities at Buffalo, New York.

The Northrop A-17, a development of the Northrop Gamma 2F was a two-seat, single-engine, monoplane, attack bomber built in 1935 by the Northrop Corporation for the U.S. Army Air Corps. In British Commonwealth service, A-17s were called Nomads.

The Panama Canal Zone was an unincorporated territory of the United States from 1903 to 1979, centered on the Panama Canal and surrounded by the Republic of Panama. The zone consisted of the canal and an area generally extending five miles (8.0 km) on each side of the centerline, excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of the Zone. Its border spanned three of Panama's provinces. When reservoirs were created to assure a steady supply of water for the locks, those lakes were included within the Zone.

Along with other Pursuit Squadrons, the 53d was redesignated as the 53d Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942. During late 1942, three Douglas P-70 Havoc night fighters were briefly assigned to the 53d as, during this period, it was still considered a strong possibility that a night attack on the Panama Canal might he attempted, and the night fighter defenses of the area were nil. The P-70's departed in mid-January 1943.

Like a number of other Sixth Air Force fighter units, the 53d effectively assumed the duties and designation of the 30th Fighter Squadron on 3 January 1943. The 30th was at La Chorrera and the 53d at France Field at the time this "switch" took place. By April–May 1943, the unit was operating with an assortment of aircraft as a result of its "switch" with the 30th, which by then included Bell P-39D Airacobras and P-40s.

The unit moved to the United States effective 1 June 1943, ending its duty with Sixth Air Force.

European Theater of Operations

Transferred to III Fighter Command in June 1943, began training for deployment to the European Theater of Operations as a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber squadron. Deployed to England in April 1944 as part of IX Fighter Command. Initial missions included strafing and dive-bombing armored vehicles, trains, bridges, buildings, factories, troop concentrations, gun emplacements, airfields, and other targets in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. The squadron also flew some escort missions with Eighth Air Force Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator strategic bombers.

The III Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946.

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II era fighter aircraft produced by the United States from 1941 through 1945. Its primary armament was eight .50-caliber machine guns and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry five-inch rockets or a bomb load of 2,500 pounds (1,103 kg). When fully loaded the P-47 weighed up to eight tons (tonnes) making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The P-47 was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine which was also used by two U.S. Navy fighters, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair. The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat and ground attack in both the World War II European and Pacific theaters.

The IX Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Erlangen, Germany. It was inactivated on 16 November 1945.

On D-Day the squadron patrolled the air over the landing zones and by flying close-support and interdiction missions. Moved to its Advanced Landing Ground at Brucheville Airfield, France (A-16) in July, then eastward as ground forces advanced on the continent. Operations supported the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July and the thrust of U.S. Third Army toward Germany in August and September as part of the 303d Fighter Wing of XIX Tactical Air Command. In October, the squadron moved into Belgium to support U.S. Ninth Army.

Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) were temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II during the liberation of Europe. They were built in the UK prior to the invasion and thereafter in northwest Europe from 6 June 1944 to V-E Day, 7 May 1945.

Brucheville Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield, which is located near the commune of Brucheville in the Normandy region of northern France.

Saint-Lô Prefecture and commune in Normandy, France

Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.

Participated in the Battle of the Bulge during December 1944 and January 1945 by flying armed reconnaissance and close-support missions. Aided U.S. First Army's push across the Roer River in February 1945. Supported operations at the Remagen bridgehead and during the airborne assault across the Rhine in March.

By V-E Day, the squadron was based at Kassel-Rothwestern Airfield, Germany (R-12), where it remained until February 1946 as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe Army of Occupation. In February, the unit was transferred, without personnel or equipment to Bolling Field, Washington, D.C where it was inactivated as a paper unit.

United States Air Force

Reactivated in October 1946 under Caribbean Air Command in the Canal Zone, returning to its prewar mission of the defense of the Panama Canal. The squadron conducted air defense training missions for the next two years initially with P-47's. The squadron upgraded to jet aircraft in December 1947 with the arrival of the Lockheed Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star.

As a result of the Berlin Blockade and other Cold War tensions in Europe, the squadron was deployed to Germany and was reassigned to United States Air Forces in Europe during August 1948, becoming part of the third F-80 jet group assigned to USAFE. At Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base tactical operations included air defense, tactical exercises, maneuvers, and photographic reconnaissance. Upgraded to new Republic F-84E Thunderjets in 1950.

Remained at Fürstenfeldbruck until 1952 when it moved to the new Bitburg Air Base, west of the Rhine River near the French border in the Eifel mountains. In August 1953, the North American F-86F Sabre was introduced to the squadron, replacing the F-84s. In 1956, the squadron received the North American F-100 Super Sabre, marking the first time a wing in USAFE flew supersonic jets. On 15 May 1958, the squadron was redesignated as a tactical fighter squadron because its missions had now grown to include delivery of tactical nuclear weapons.

In May 1961, received the Republic F-105 Thunderchief and continued to carry on its Cold War mission of tactical nuclear weapons delivery. Twice in the early 1960s when Cold War tensions were elevated due to the 1961 Berlin Wall crisis and 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis the squadron rose to a high level of alert. Was upgraded to the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II in 1966.

The squadron was upgraded to the McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle in April 1976 In 1980 more advanced F-15Cs and F-15Ds would replace the original F-15As. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the squadron conducted routine training missions however the outbreak of the 1990–91 Gulf War put the F-15s of Bitburg into the heart of the conflict. The squadron's pilots and aircraft engaged in combat operations during Operation Desert Storm. Not a single F-15 aircraft was lost in combat during the war. On 13 March 1991, the deployed squadron returned to Bitburg.

Bitburg Air Base was part of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure (or BRAC) process that saw the drawdown of many military facilities in a series of post-Cold War force reductions. In July 1993, HQ USAFE announced the closure of Bitburg Air Base and the pending inactivation of the 36th Fighter Wing.

The 53d Fighter Squadron was relieved from assignment to the 36th Operations Group on 1 February 1994. It was in non-operations status until it was assigned to the 52d Operations Group (52d FW) at Spangdahlem Air Base on 25 Feb 1994. At Spangdahlem the squadron supported no-fly zone operations over Bosnia and northern Iraq and other combat operations. It was during the squadron's support of the no-fly zone in northern Iraq that two of its fighters were involved in the 1994 Black Hawk shootdown incident.

The squadron was inactivated in March 1999 as a result of an Air Force-wide reorganization to enlarge F-15 squadrons from 18 to 24 aircraft. Six of the squadron's Eagles were reassigned to the 493d Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, and the rest returned to the United States.^[2]

Lineage

Constituted as the 53d Pursuit Squadron (Fighter) on 22 November 1940

Activated on 1 January 1941

Redesignated 53d Fighter Squadron (Twin Engine) on 15 May 1942

Redesignated 53d Fighter Squadron on 28 September 1942

Redesignated 53d Fighter Squadron, Single Engine on 20 August 1943

Inactivated on 31 March 1946

Activated on 15 October 1946

Redesignated 53d Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled on 27 October 1947

Redesignated 53d Fighter Squadron, Jet on 17 June 1948

Redesignated 53d Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 20 January 1950

Redesignated 53d Fighter-Day Squadron on 9 August 1954

Redesignated 53d Tactical Fighter Squadron on 8 July 1958

Redesignated 53d Fighter Squadron on 1 October 1991^[1]

Inactivated on 31 March 1999^[2]

Assignments

32d Pursuit Group (later 32d Fighter Group), 1 January 1941
36th Fighter Group, 23 June 1943 – 31 March 1946
36th Fighter Group (later 36th Fighter-Bomber Group, 36th Fighter-Day Group), 15 October 1946 (attached to 36th Fighter-Day Wing after 1 October 1956)
36th Fighter-Day Wing (later 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, 36th Fighter Wing), 8 December 1957 (attached to Tactical Fighter Wing, Provisional, 4, 20 December 1990, Tactical Fighter Wing, Provisional, 4404, 20 March–1 July 1991)
36th Operations Group, 31 March 1992
52d Operations Group, 25 February 1994^[1] – 31 March 1999^[2]

Stations

Rio Hato Air Base, Panama, 1 January 1941
Albrook Field, Panama Canal Zone, 1 January 1941
Rio Hato Air Base, Panama, c. 21 August 1941
France Field, Canal Zone, c. 12 December 1941
La Chorrera Army Airfield, Panama, 7 January–8 June 1943
Charleston Army Air Field, South Carolina, 23 June 1943
Biggs Field, Texas, c. 15 September 1943
Ainsworth Army Air Field, Nebraska, 23 Nov 1943 – 11 March 1944
RAF Kingsnorth (AAF-418), England, 5 Apri8l 1944
Brucheville Airfield (A-16), France, c. 7 July 1944
Le Mans Airfield (A-35), France, c. 29 August 1944
Athis Airfield (A-76), France, c. 23 September 1944
Juvincourt Airfield (A-68), France, 5 October 1944

Le Culot Airfield (A-89), Belgium, c. 23 October 1944
Aachen Airfield (Y-46), Germany, 28 March 1945
Niedermendig Airfield (Y-62), Germany, 8 April 1945
Kassel-Rothwestern Airfield (R-12), Germany, 20 April 1945 – 15 February 1946
Bolling Field, District of Columbia, 15 February – 31 March 1946
France Field, Panama Canal Zone, 15 October 1946
Howard Field (later Howard Air Force Base), Panama Canal Zone, 1 December 1947 – 21 July 1948
Furstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany, c. 13 August 1948
Bitburg Air Base, Germany, 22 July 1952
Landstuhl Air Base (later Ramstein Air Base]], Germany, 17 December 1956
Bitburg Air Base, Germany, 3 October 1961 (deployed at Al Kharj Air Base, Saudi Arabia, 20 December 1990 – 1 July 1991)
Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, 25 February 1994^[1] – 31 March 1999^[2]

Aircraft

P-26 Peashooter (1941)
Curtiss P-36 Hawk (1941–1942)
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (1942–1943)
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (1943–1946, 1946–1947)
Lockheed P-80 (later F-80) Shooting Star (1947–1950)
Republic F-84 Thunderjet (1950–1953)

North American F-86 Sabre (1953–1956)
North American F-100 Super Sabre (1956–1961)
Republic F-105 Thunderchief (1961–1966)
McDonnell F-4 Phantom II (1966–1977)
McDonnel Douglas F-15 Eagle (1977–1994, 1994-1999)^[1]^[2]

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References

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Factsheet 53 Fighter Squadron". Air Force Historical Research Agency. December 19, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
1 2 3 4 5 "53rd Fighter Squadron (53 FS)". GlobalSecurity.org. November 14, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

Bibliography

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/ .

Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979 . Retrieved December 17, 2016.
Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556 . Retrieved December 17, 2016.
Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9 . Retrieved December 17, 2016.

External links

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[53FSfacts-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Factsheet 53 Fighter Squadron". Air Force Historical Research Agency. December 19, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

[globalsecurity-2] 1 2 3 4 5 "53rd Fighter Squadron (53 FS)". GlobalSecurity.org. November 14, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2017.