53d Fighter Squadron

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 53d Fighter Squadron


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dates= 1 January 1941 - 31 March 1946
15 October 1946 - 01 March 1999
country= United States
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branch=United States Air Force
type= Fighter
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The 53d Fighter Squadron (53 FS) was most recently a part of the 52d Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. It operated the F-15 Eagle aircraft conducting air superiority missions.

History

The 53d provided air defense for the Panama Canal until June 1943. If flew combat missions in the European Theater of Operations from, 8 May 1944–8 May 1945 and in Southwest Asia from, January–February 1991. [http://afhra.maxwell.af.mil/rso/squadrons_flights_pages/0053fs.html AFHRA 53 FS Page] ]

=Operations=

*World War II
*Operation Desert Storm

=Lineage=

*53d Pursuit Squadron (Fighter) (1940 - 1942)
*53d Fighter Squadron (1942 - 1943)
*53d Fighter Squadron, Single Engine (1943 - 1947)
*53d Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled (1947 - 1948)
*53d Fighter Squadron, Jet (1948 - 1950)
*53d Fighter-Bomber Squadron (1950 - 1954)
*53d Fighter-Day Squadron (1954 - 1958)
*53d Tactical Fighter Squadron (1958 - 1991)
*53d Fighter Squadron (1991 - 1999)

=Assignments=

*32d Fighter Group (1941 - 1943)
*36th Fighter Group (1943 - 1946)
*36th Wing (1946 - 1994)
**Attached: Tactical Fighter Wing Provisional, 4 (20 December 1990 - 20 March 1991)
**Attached: Tactical Fighter Wing Provisional, 4404 (20 March - 1 July 1991)
*52d Fighter Wing (1994 - 1999)

=Bases stationed=

*Rio Hato, Panama (1941)
*Albrook Field, Panama Canal Zone (1941)
*France Field, Panama Canal Zone (1941 - 1943)
*Chorrera, Panama (1943)
*Charleston Army Air Field, South Carolina (1943)
*Biggs Field, Texas (1943)
*Ainsworth Army Air Field, Nebraska (1943 - 1944)
*RAF Kingsnorth, England (1944)
*Brucheville, France (1944)
*Le Mans, France (1944)
*Athis, France (1944)
*Juvincourt-et-Damary, France (1944)
*Le Culot, Belgium (1944 - 1945)
*Aachen, Germany (1945)
*Niedermennig, Germany (1945)
*Kassel/Rothwesten, Germany (1945 - 1946)
*Bolling Field, Washington, D.C. (1946)
*France Field, Panama Canal Zone (1946 - 1947)
*Howard Air Force Base, Panama Canal Zone (1947 - 1948)
*Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany (1948 - 1952)
*Bitburg Air Base, Germany (1952 - 1956)
*Ramstein Air Base, Germany (1956 - 1961)
*Bitburg Air Base, Germany (1961 - 1994)
**Deployed: Al Kharj Air Base, Saudi Arabia (20 December 1990 - 1 July 1991)
*Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany (1994 - 1999)

=Aircraft Operated=

*P-26 Peashooter (1941)
*P-36 Hawk (1941 - 1942)
*P-40 Warhawk (1942 - 1943)
*P-47 Thunderbolt (1943 - 1946, 1946 - 1947)
*F-80 Shooting Star (1947 - 1950)
*F-84 Thunderjet (1950 - 1953)
*F-86 Sabre (1953 - 1956)
*F-100 Super Sabre (1956 - 1961)
*F-105 Thunderchief (1961 - 1966)
*F-4 Phantom II (1966 - 1977)
*F-15 Eagle (1977 - 1999)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* [http://afhra.maxwell.af.mil/rso/squadrons_flights_pages/0053fs.html USAF 53d Fighter Squadron History]

ee also