34th Fighter Squadron

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This article is about the 34th Fighter Squadron. For the 34th Pursuit Squadron of 1939-1946, see 34th Pursuit Squadron.
This article is about the 34th Fighter Squadron. For the 34th Pursuit Squadron of 1931-1935, see 34th Bomb Squadron.
34th Fighter Squadron
Robinson Risner
Insignia
34th Fighter Squadron emblem (Approved 9 November 1945)[1]

The 34th Fighter Squadron is part of the

air superiority missions prior to its reactivation as a F-35A squadron.[3][4]

Mission

Conduct air-to-air and air-to-ground operations for daylight and nighttime missions.[5]

History

World War II

The 34th Fighter Squadron (34th FS) was activated at

Okinawa.[5]

Following the war, the 34th FS was inactivated on 15 October 1946. It was redesignated the 34th Fighter-Day Squadron prior to its reactivation in November 1954, at

F-100 Super Sabre in 1956, which it flew until 1959, when it was again inactivated.[5]

Vietnam War

On 2 May 1966, the 34th FS was again activated and assigned to

McDonnell F-4 Phantom II and continued combat operations in Southeast Asia.[5]

The Rams participated in Operation Prize Bull on 21 September 1971. This was the first time U.S. forces bombed

guerrillas in May 1975.[5]

Return to the United States

On 23 December 1975, the 34th, as part of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, was relocated to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, still flying the F-4D Phantom II. In November 1979, the 34th TFS became the first fighter squadron to be fully equipped with the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. For the next several years, the squadron conducted initial qualification training for pilots from around the world, including those from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Israel, and Norway.[5]

When

Torrejon Air Base, Spain.[5]

After the

Khobar Towers housing compound was attacked.[5]

During December 1998, the 34th flew combat missions as part of

Operation Desert Fox, a punitive operation aimed to make Iraq comply with United Nations sanctions. In June 2000, the 34th was the first active duty squadron deployed to Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles in support of Operation Coronet Nighthawk, flying drug interdiction missions in Latin America.[5]

The 34th flew F-16s in

Operation Iraqi Freedom.[5]
It flew in support of Operation Noble Eagle again in October 2009 from Hill.

The 34th were deployed to

ISAF in Afghanistan. The 34th was inactivated on 16 July 2010 due to military restructuring designed to save money by retiring aircraft from the active inventory.[2]

The 34th was activated on 17 July 2015 with plans for it to become the first combat squadron of the 388th Fighter Wing (and the first in the U.S. Air Force) to receive the

Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.[1][3] The squadron was not equipped with aircraft immediately, but received its first F-35A on 2 September 2015.[6] On 2 August 2016, the U.S. Air Force declared the 34th FS to be the first Air Force squadron to have reached initial operational capability with the F-35A.[4]

Operations

Lineage

  • Constituted as the 34th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine
Activated on 15 October 1944
Inactivated on 15 October 1946
  • Redesignated 34th Fighter-Day Squadron on 26 August 1954
Activated on 11 November 1954
  • Redesignated 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 July 1958
Inactivated on 15 March 1959
Activated on 2 May 1966 (not organized)
Organized on 15 May 1966
  • Redesignated 34th Fighter Squadron on 1 November 1991
Inactivated on 16 July 2010
Activated on 17 July 2015[1]

Assignments

  • 413th Fighter Group
    ; 15 October 1944 – 15 October 1946
  • 413th Fighter-Day Group: 11 November 1954 (attached to Ninth Air Force 6 June – c. 13 July 1956)
  • 413th Fighter-Day Wing (later 413th Tactical Fighter Wing): 8 October 1957 – 15 March 1959
  • Pacific Air Forces: 2 May 1966 (not organized)
  • 41st Air Division: 15 May 1966 (attached to
    388th Tactical Fighter Wing
    )
  • 347th Tactical Fighter Wing
    : 15 January 1968 (remained attached to 388th Tactical Fighter Wing)
  • 388th Tactical Fighter Wing (later 388th Fighter Wing): 15 March 1971
  • 388th Operations Group: 1 December 1991 – 16 July 2010
  • 388th Operations Group: 17 July 2015[1]

Stations

  • Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina, 15 October 1944
  • Bluethenthal Field, North Carolina, 9 November 1944 – 7 April 1945)
  • Ie Shima Airfield, Japan, 19 May 1945
  • Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, c. 17 October 1945
  • Yontan Airfield
    , Okinawa, 19 January 1946 – 15 October 1946
  • George Air Force Base, California, 11 November 1954 – 15 March 1959
Deployed to
Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, 6 June – c. 13 July 1956
Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico, 17 – 22 June 1957)
Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, 13 – 26 July 1958
  • Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, 15 May 1966 (operated from Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand 1 – 27 February 1969)
  • Hill Air Force Base, Utah, 23 December 1975 – 16 July 2010
  • Hill Air Force Base, Utah, 17 July 2015[1]

Aircraft

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Haulman, Daniel L. (15 July 2015). "Factsheet 34 Fighter Squadron". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b Shaw, Mitch (22 July 2015). "First F-35 fighter squadron activated at Hill". Hilltop Times. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  3. ^ a b Shaw, Mitch (23 June 2014). "Hill Historic fighter squad is coming back". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  4. ^ a b Insinna, Valerie (2 August 2016). "Air Force Declares F-35A Ready for Combat". DefenseNews.com. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Factsheet 34th Fighter". Hill Air Force Base Public Affairs. 21 October 2002. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  6. ^ Garbarino, Micah. "First operational F-35As arrive at Hill AFB". 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs. Retrieved 6 September 2015.

Bibliography


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