159th Fighter Squadron

159th Fighter Squadron
159th Fighter Squadron F-15s over Jacksonville Beach, FL. Aircraft are McDonnell Douglas F-15C-21-MC Eagles, AF Ser. No. 78-0487; 78-0527 and 78-0493
Active	1 October 1942–Present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Florida
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Squadron
Role	Air Defense Fighter
Part of	Florida Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Jacksonville International Airport (Air National Guard Base), Florida
Nickname(s)	Boxin' Gators
Tail Code	Blue tail stripe with white trim, "Florida" in white letters on the outboard, 125th FW on the inboard, blue lightning bolt
Insignia
159th Fighter Squadron emblem

The 159th Fighter Squadron (159 FS) is a unit of the Florida Air National Guard's 125th Fighter Wing (125 FW) located at Jacksonville Air National Guard Base at Jacksonville International Airport, Florida. The 159th is currently equipped with the F-15C and F-15D Eagle and is slated to transition to the F-35A Lightning II in 2024.

Overview

The squadron primarily flies the single seat

, Florida.

Mission

The mission of the 159 FS is to provide air defense for the southeastern United States, as directed by the

The squadron, as part of its parent wing, is also available to other combat commanders for forward deployment in order to perform air superiority/air dominance missions in other theaters outside of the United States.

History

World War II

Established in late 1942 as a

in June 1943.

The unit served primarily as an escort organization, covering the penetration, attack and withdrawal of USAAF

breakout in July 1944.

The squadron supported the airborne attack in the Netherlands in September 1944 and upgraded to the

P-51 Mustang

aircraft in October. It then deployed to Chievres Airdrome (ALG A-84), Belgium between February and April 1945 flying tactical ground support missions during the airborne assault across the Rhine. The unit returned to England and flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945. It was demobilized during the summer of 1945 in England and inactivated in the United States as a paper unit in October 1945.

Florida Air National Guard

The early post-war years

At the conclusion of

formally accepted the unit on 30 August 1946, and full federal recognition was granted 9 February 1947.

A facility for housing the units became available in temporary World War II buildings on the west side of the

became official on 1 August 1948, when the unit was re-designated the 159th Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled (159 FSJ).

Combat in Korea

In the fall of 1950, the United States' involvement in the

.

By 10 August 1951, upon arrival overseas, the 159th Fighter Squadron operated under the command of Major Dan Sharpe, USAF. The 116th Fighter Group was then assigned to the

. A primary requirement of the Florida Air National Guard during the Korean War was one of Air Defense coupled with combat missions over Korea. There, the 159 FSJ concentrated on flying dangerous ground attack missions against enemy supply lines and troops in the field. Pilots flew 92 combat sorties in four days with very credible results. For its part in the war, the unit earned the Korean Service Citation with Bronze Service Stars.

After Korea

Upon its release from active duty, the unit returned on 9 July 1952 with their new commander to Imeson Municipal Airport in Jacksonville. The unit's F-84Es and all its ground equipment were turned over to the U.S. Air Force and left in Japan. On 10 July 1952, the 159th Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled, was re-designated the 159th Fighter Bomber Squadron, dissolving the 159th Utility Flight and integrating it into the unit. Six months later, the 159th Fighter Bomber Squadron was re-equipped with F-51H Mustangs and re-designated the 159th Fighter Bomber Squadron Augmented (159 FBSA). From October to December 1954, the 159 FBSA was equipped with nine different types of aircraft such as the

. By the end of December 1954, things settled down and the 159 FBSA had an entire squadron of F-80Cs for the second time. There were now 43 officers and warrant officers and 472 enlisted men in the unit.

In July 1955, while still equipped with F-80Cs, the unit was re-designated the 159th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (159 FIS), with a mission change to Air Defense. By 1 July 1956, the parent unit reorganized into 125th Fighter-Interceptor Group (125 FIG) and both organizations were operationally gained by

supersonic fighter-interceptor.

Following the

(ADC).

The 1970s to the present

In 1974, the 125th Fighter-Interceptor Group converted from the F-102 Delta Dagger to the

, flying both its single seat F-106A and twin-seat F=106B variants. By the end of the year, with the conversion complete and the F-106 formally integrated into the 125 FIG weapons inventory, alert status resumed at Jacksonville International Airport. Pilots and ground crew members received extensive training in the operations and maintenance of the F-106 and they soon gained the expertise needed to handle the sophisticated all-weather supersonic fighter-interceptor. Concurrent operation of the T-33 Shooting Star also continued, functioning as a simulated target aircraft for intercept training and for other pilot proficiency training.

In October 1979, in anticipation of the inactivation of Aerospace Defense Command, the USAF gained command responsibilities which shifted to

(1 AF) and remained the numbered air force for all Air National Guard fighter units charged with a continental air defense mission as their primary role.

The 159th Fighter Interceptor Squadron flew the F-106 Delta Dart for 12 years but, by the end of 1986, the U.S. Air Force began to phase out the F-106, converting Regular Air Force units flying the Delta Dart to the

.

In January 1987, the unit converted to the F-16A, followed by a small number of additional twin-seat F-16Bs. On 1 April 1987, the 159 FIS became the first F-16 unit to sit alert in an Air Defense role as a fighter interceptor unit on a 24/7/365 basis. This conversion also marked the 11th fighter aircraft conversion for the unit. Following avionics upgrades tailored for the Air Defense mission, these aircraft would become known as the F-16ADF.

In June 1992, after the inactivation of Tactical Air Command, the 159 FIS was once again redesignated as the 159th Fighter Squadron (159 FS). The 125 FIG was concurrently redesignated as the 125th Fighter Group (125 FG) and both organizations operationally gained by the newly established Air Combat Command (ACC).

In 1995, the 159th Fighter Squadron converted from the F-16ADF to the A and B versions of the F-15 Eagle as its primary fighter aircraft. That same year, the parent unit for the 159 FS, the 125 FG, was redesignated the 125th Fighter Wing (125 FW), placing the unit on par organizationally with Regular US Air Force fighter units. Five years after the conversion to the F-15, Fighter Data Link (FDL) technology was incorporated into the F-15, allowing the pilots to link flight data with multiple users, providing real-time information on air and ground threats. The 159th continued to incorporate newer technology in its 1970s era F-15As and F-15Bs under the F-15 Multistage Improvement Program (F-15 MSIP), such as the upgrade to 220E model engines.

During the late 1990s, the 159 FS was also fully integrated into the USAF Air and Space Expeditionary Force (AEF) and routinely deployed aircraft and personnel to the

(USAFCENT), in Southwest Asia in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM until their conclusion.

In 2006, the 159 FS replaced its previous F-15A/B Eagle (MSIP) aircraft with its current F-15C and F-15D variants.

In 2015, the 159 FS (temporarily redesignated the 159th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron) deployed as the first ever Air National Guard Theater Security Package to augment

The squadron deployed again in 2017 to Romania and then to Iceland in support of the Icelandic Air Policing mission.

Lineage

• Constituted as the 352d Fighter Squadron (Single Engine) on 29 September 1942

Activated on 1 October 1942

Inactivated on 18 October 1945

• Redesignated: 159th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine and allotted to Florida ANG, on 24 May 1946

Extended federal recognition on 9 February 1947

Redesignated: 159th Fighter Squadron, Jet on 1 August 1948

Federalized and placed on active duty, 10 October 1950

Redesignated: 159th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 1 November 1950

Released from active duty and returned to Florida state control, 10 July 1952

Redesignated: 159th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 10 July 1952

Redesignated: 159th Fighter Squadron on 15 March 1992

Assignments

• 353d Fighter Group
  , 1 October 1942 – 18 October 1945
• 54th Fighter Wing
  , 9 February 1947
• 116th Fighter Group
  , 10 October 1950
• 116th Fighter-Bomber Group
  , 11 November 1950
• 116th Fighter-Interceptor Group
  , 10 July 1952
• 116th Fighter-Bomber Wing
  , 1 December 1952
• 116th Fighter Group
  (Air Defense), 1 July 1955
• 125th Fighter Interceptor Group
  , 1 July 1956
• 125th Fighter Group
  , 15 March 1992
• 125th Operations Group, 1 August 1995 – present

Stations

Aircraft

Squadron Future

The 159th Fighter Squadron has been slated to transition from the F-15C/D to the F-35A Lightning II multirole fighter. Pilots in the squadron have already begun the transition to the new airframe. The transition will take place in 2024. The F-15C is projected to run out of service life in the mid-2020's across the Air Force and Air National Guard.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

External links