555th Fighter Squadron
555th Fighter Squadron | |
---|---|
Commanders | |
Current commander | Lt Col John Ryan |
Notable commanders | Joseph Kittinger David L. Goldfein |
Insignia | |
555th Fighter Squadron emblem[a][3] | |
555th Tactical Fighter Squadron emblem[b][3] | |
555th Bombardment Squadron emblem[4] |
The 555th Fighter Squadron is part of the 31st Operations Group at Aviano Air Base, Italy. It operates General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting multirole air and ground missions.
The
Mission
The 555th Fighter Squadron provides combat airpower on demand to U.S. and NATO Combatant Commanders as well as the National Command Authority in order to meet National Security objectives.
It also performs air and space control and force application roles of counterair, strategic attack and counterland, including interdiction and close-air support, with 26 F-16CM Vipers employing state of the art munitions in support of the joint, NATO, and combined operations.
History
World War II
The squadron was first activated at
Upon arrival in England, the squadron was stationed at
During its first month of combat the squadron concentrated on attacks on enemy
Shortly after its transfer to
The squadron provided
In October, the squadron moved to
Shortly after the fighting in the
Vietnam Era & Late Cold War Era
On 8 January 1964, the 555th re-emerged at
The conflict in Southeast Asia was escalating and throughout 1965 the wing supported
A
Udorn RTAFB was small and when a squadron of USAF
The 8 TFW later became known as the "Wolfpack" and the 555th led the first strike against MiG airfields in North Vietnam. The 555 TFS launched night bombing attacks against North Vietnam on 29 September 1967. While at Ubon, the 555th downed additional Migs, including four Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21s on 2 January 1967. The unit thus became the only "Quad Ace" fighter squadron to that point, with 20 MiGs to its credit.[16] In 1968, the Triple Nickel participated in the campaign against the
After nine years of combat operations, the 555th returned to the United States. In 1974, the squadron moved to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, where it transitioned to the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and became part of the 405th Tactical Training Wing, training pilots transitioning to the F-15 Eagle.
The squadron was redesignated the 555th Fighter Squadron (555 FS) on 1 November 1991 and inactivated on 25 March 1994.
Reactivation in Italy
On 1 April 1994, the unit was reactivated and reassigned to
2013 Sequestration
Air Combat Command (ACC) officials announced a stand down and reallocation of flying hours for the rest of the fiscal year 2013 due to mandatory budget cuts. This also impacted USAF tactical flying units in USAFE, PACAF, the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard. The across-the board spending cuts, called sequestration, took effect 1 March 2013 when Congress failed to agree on a deficit-reduction plan.[17]
Squadrons either stood down on a rotating basis or kept combat ready or at a reduced readiness level called "basic mission capable" for part or all of the remaining months in fiscal year 2013.[17] This affected the 555th Fighter Squadron with a stand-down grounding from 9 April to 30 September 2013.[17]
Operations
- World War II
- Vietnam War
- Operation Deny Flight
- Operation Deliberate Force
- Operation Deliberate Guard
- Operation Allied Force[3]
- Operation Northern Watch
- Operation Southern Watch
- Operation Enduring Freedom
- Operation Iraqi Freedom
- Operation Freedom's Sentinel
- Operation Inherent Resolve
Lineage
- Constituted as the 555th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 25 November 1942
- Activated on 1 December 1942
- Redesignated 555th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 9 October 1944
- Redesignated 555th Bombardment Squadron, Light on 23 June 1945
- Inactivated on 7 November 1945
- Redesignated 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, activated and organized on 8 January 1964
- Redesignated 555th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 5 July 1974
- Redesignated 555th Fighter Squadron on 1 November 1991
- Inactivated on 25 March 1994
- Activated on 1 April 1994[3]
Assignments
- 386th Bombardment Group, 1 December 1942 – 7 November 1945
- 12th Tactical Fighter Wing, 8 January 1964 (attached to 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, c. after 22 February 1966)
- Thirteenth Air Force, 4 March 1966 (attached to 8th Tactical Fighter Wing until 24 March 1966)
- 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, 25 March 1966
- 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 1 June 1968
- 58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing(later 58 Tactical Training Wing), 5 July 1974
- 405th Tactical Training Wing, 29 August 1979
- 58th Operations Group, 1 October 1991 – 25 March 1994
- 31st Operations Group, 1 April 1994 – present[3]
Stations
|
|
Aircraft
- Martin B-26 Marauder (1943–1945)
- Douglas A-26 Invader (1945)
- McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II (1964–1974)
- McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle (1974–1994)
- F-16C/D Block 40 Fighting Falcon (1994 – present)[3]
References
- Explanatory notes
- ^ Approved 29 August 2007.
- ^ Approved 13 March 1975.
- Compeigne, France.Baugher, Joe (1 April 2023). "1941 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 25 April 2023. Missing Air Crew Report 15252.
- ^ Aircraft is Douglas A-26C-2-DL Invader, serial 41-39199.Baugher, Joe (1 April 2023). "1941 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 25 April 2023. Taken on 2 December 1944.
- Davis-Monthan AFB on 6 May 1988 and scrapped on 2 January 1997.Baugher, Joe (9 February 2023). "1965 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ Aircraft is F-15A-13-MC Eagle, serial 75-0038. The plane was sent to AMARC on 15 January 2008 and scrapped on 14 July 2009.Baugher, Joe (9 April 2023). "1975 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 25 April 2023. Taken 1979.
- Citations
- ^ a b "F-16 Units - USAFE 555th Fighter Squadron". F-16.net. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ^ McCool, Michael (31 December 2018). The World Famous Highly Respected Triple Nickel.
- ^ a b c d e f g Dollman, TSG David (16 October 2016). "Factsheet 555 Fighter Squadron (USAFE)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- ^ Watkins 2008, pp. 72–73.
- ^ a b Maurer 1982, p. 657.
- ^ a b c d e f g Maurer 1983, pp. 273–274.
- ^ Freeman 1970, p. 254.
- ^ Freeman 1970, p. 50.
- ^ Freeman 1970, p. 58.
- ^ Freeman 1970, pp. 58–59.
- ^ Freeman 1970, p. 60.
- ^ Freeman 1970, p. 62.
- ^ Rust 1967, p. 49.
- ^ Rust 1967, p. 173.
- ^ Martin [page needed]
- ^ a b "Factsheets : 555th Fighter Squadron Triple Nickel". 17 December 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013.
- ^ a b c Everstine, Brian; Weisgerber, Marcus (8 April 2013). "Reduced flying hours forces grounding of 17 USAF combat air squadrons". Air Force Times. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b c Station number in Anderson.
- ^ a b Station number in Johnson
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2.
- Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988). U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Martin, Patrick (1994). Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings. Schiffer Military Aviation History. ISBN 0-88740-513-4.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. LCCN 61060979.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. OCLC 72556.
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
- Rust, Kenn C. (1967). The 9th Air Force in World War II. Fallbrook, CA: Aero Publishers, Inc. LCCN 67-16454.
- Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors. Vol. III Insignia and Markings of the Ninth Air Force In World War II. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-2938-8.