335th Fighter Squadron

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 335th Fighter Squadron


caption= Emblem of the 335th Fighter Squadron
dates= May 14, 1941 - present
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Air Force
type=
role= Fighter
size=
command_structure= 4th Operations Group
4th Fighter Wing
current_commander=
garrison= Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname= Chiefs
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles= World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Southern Watch
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Anaconda
Operation Iraqi Freedom
notable_commanders= Richard Myers
anniversaries=

The 335th Fighter Squadron (nicknamed the "Chiefs") is a squadron of the United States Air Force, currently part of the 4th Operations Group of the 4th Fighter Wing they are based out of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina.

The squadron is currently one of six operational squadrons to fly the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter, with an authorized strength of 24 aircraft and around 360 personnel. Its insignia is the head of an American Indian chief, dating back to the original emblem of 121 Squadron RAF.

History

World War II

The 335th traces its ancestry back to No. 121 (Eagle) Squadron of the Royal Air Force, formed on 14 May 1941 as the second of three Eagle Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. These squadrons were composed of American volunteers, recruited by the RAF as a result of the heavy loss of pilots during the Battle of Britain in 1940; the volunteers were ineligible to join the USAAF. In this capacity, the squadron operated Supermarine Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes.

In 1942, the Eagle Squadrons were turned over to the USAAF, and No. 121 Squadron was constituted as the 335th Fighter Squadron on August 22, activated on 12 September and the same day assigned to the 4th Fighter Group of the Eighth Air Force. They remained with the Group until they were returned to the US and deactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on November 10 1945.

Coming into USAAF service, the squadron was re-equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts and later P-51 Mustangs. They destroyed 262 enemy aircraft - 165 in the air and 97 on the ground.

Korea

After less than a year, the 335th was reactivated on 9 September 1946 at Selfridge Field, Michigan, and has remained on active duty since.

In 1947, the squadron was redesignated as the 335th Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled, as it received the new P-80 Shooting Stars. They flew out of Andrews AFB, Maryland, until 1949, when they moved to Langley AFB, Virginia, and received the F-86 Sabre, which they took to Korea on 10 November 1950 as the 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the Fifth Air Force. By the end of the Korean War, the 335th led all squadrons with 218.5 kills (for around forty losses) and had become a part of the "MiG Killer" legend with 12 aces.

Interwar Years

The 335th remained in the Far East until 8 December 1957, when they moved to their current base at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina, and converted to the F-100 Super Sabre.

In May of 1958, the squadron deployed to Eglin AFB, Florida, tasked with operational testing of the new F-105 Thunderchief for the next three years. In May of 1959, the 335th became the first squadron in the Air Force to receive the F-105 Thunderchief, and the transition from F-100s to F-105s began. The squadron returned to Seymour Johnson AFB in November of 1961.

Vietnam

The squadron saw action in Southeast Asia in November 1965, flying the F-105 out of Takhli RTAFB, Thailand. In 1969, the 335th transitioned to the airframe its aircrew would fly for the next twenty-three years--the F-4 Phantom II; later this year, they briefly deployed to South Korea. In 1972, the squadron again saw action in Vietnam, from July to December, flying out of Ubon RTAFB, Thailand.

Later in the 1970s, they became the first operational squadron to qualify with the GBU-15 guided bomb, and in doing so, exceeded 100,000 consecutive accident-free hours. They deployed briefly to Ramstein AB, Germany in 1978 and 1979, for a month each time.

Post Cold War

On 1 March 1990, in conjunction with the fifty-first change of command, the squadron's final F-4 sortie and first F-15E sortie were flown. The 335th was the second fighter squadron in the Air Force to receive the Strike Eagle.

On 27 December 1990, the 335th deployed twenty-four F-15Es along with support personnel and equipment to Al Kharj Air Base in central Saudi Arabia. On the night of 16 January 1991, the 335th participated in the initial assault on Iraq, hitting communications, power networks, and airfields around Baghdad. The 335th made aerial warfare history by downing an Iraqi helicopter in the air using a laser-guided bomb. During the war, the squadron flew 1,097 combat missions over Iraq and occupied Kuwait, dropping over 4.8 million pounds of ordnance.

After the war, the 335th continued to fly combat air patrol missions over Iraq and Kuwait until relieved by the 334th Fighter Squadron, departing on 24 June 1991. Since then, the 335th has returned to Southwest Asia several times; three times to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and twice to Doha, Qatar, as an Air Expeditionary Force. The AEF-III deployment in 1996 was the first for an Air Force unit to Doha after the Desert Storm deployment of the 614th Tactical Fighter Squadron's F-16's during 1990-1991.

In January 2002, the 335th deployed to Al Jabar AB, Kuwait in support of Operation Southern Watch and Operation Enduring Freedom. 12 F-15Es deployed, accomplishing 500 sorties comprising 3,000 flying hours. During this time the 335th dropped almost 300 laser guided and dumb bombs, and expended 1200 rounds of 20mm ammunition. The 335th received numerous awards and accolades from Operation Enduring Freedom; four Silver Stars were awarded as well as eight Distinguished Flying Crosses.

In February of 2003 the 335th again deployed to Southwest Asia for Operation Iraqi Freedom. During Iraqi Freedom and Operation Southern Watch the squadron deployed 24 F-15Es, and flew 1,500 sorties, totaling 7,000 flying hours. They dropped over 1 million pounds of precision and non-precision munitions on numerous targets such as key Iraqi leadership, command and control bunkers, artillery Republican Guard units and many others.

quadron designations

* "335th Fighter Squadron" from 22 August 1942 to 20 August 1943
* "335th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine" from on 20 August 1943 to 10 November 1945, then from 9 September 1946 to 23 April 1947
* "335th Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled" from 23 April 1947 to 14 June 1948
* "335th Fighter Squadron, Jet" from 14 June 1948 to 20 January 1950
* "335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron" from 20 January 1950 to 8 March 1955
* "335th Fighter-Bomber Squadron" from 8 March 1955 to 25 April 1956
* "335th Fighter-Day Squadron" from 25 April 1956 to 1 July 1958
* "335th Tactical Fighter Squadron" from 1 July 1958 to 1 November 1991
* "335th Fighter Squadron" from 1 November 1991 to date

References

"Much material on this page was originally sourced from [http://www.seymourjohnson.af.mil/4fwunits/og/335fs/history.htm a U.S. Air Force website] ."
* [http://afhra.maxwell.af.mil/wwwroot/rso/squadrons_flights_pages/0335fs.html 335th Fighter Squadron lineage & history]