The 312th Fighter Squadron is an active

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

unit, stationed at

Luke Air Force Base Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States., effective 20 December 2007 It is located west of the central business district of Glendale, Arizona, Glendale, and west of Phoenix, Arizona, P ...

, Arizona. Its last previous assignment was with the 58th Tactical Training Wing at Luke, where it was inactivated on 18 January 1991. Upon inactivation, the squadron's personnel, equipment and aircraft were transferred to the 311th Fighter Squadron. The squadron was first activated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and served as a fighter replacement training unit until it was disbanded in 1944 in a reorganization of

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

training units. It was reconstituted and activated once again in 1984.

History

World War II

The squadron was activated as part of the 338th Fighter Group at Dale Mabry Field, Florida in July 1942.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 379Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 217–218 The 312th initially flew the

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by th ...

. The squadron's mission was to act as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). RTUs were oversized units that trained individual

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

aircrew Aircrew are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions In commercial aviatio ...

s following their graduation from flight school. In June 1943, the 338th Group began a split organization and the 312th and 441st Fighter Squadrons moved to Perry Army Air Field, Florida,Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p 546 while group

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

and the other two squadrons remained at Dale Mabry Field.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 369Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 370 After September 1943, the group focused on

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

training, although the squadron had some P-40s in 1944. However, the

was finding that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible

tables of organization A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of military units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of a unit as well ...

were not proving well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system for its training bases in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. The squadron was disbanded in May 1944, and its personnel, equipment and mission transferred to the 342d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter).

Tactical Air Command

The 312th was reconstituted, designated the 312th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron and reactivated by

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Lang ...

, Arizona in October 1984 as the first

General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolv ...

training squadron in the USAF. The squadron once again acted as a replacement training unit. It was initially equipped with new Block 25 Fighting Falcons, but it converted to new Block 42 planes in 1990. Its aircraft carried "LF" tail code with a black tail stripe outlined in red. It was inactivated in 1991 and most of its aircraft reassigned to 308th, 309th and 310th Fighter Squadrons.

Air Combat Command

On 1 June 2023, the squadron was activated and redesignated as the 312th Fighter Squadron as an

F-35A Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...

training unit, primarily training F-35 crew for the

Belgian Air Component The Belgian Air and Space Component (, ) is the Air force, air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force (; ). It was founded in 1909 and is one of the world's oldest air services. ...

Lineage

* Constituted as the 312th Fighter Squadron on 16 Ju1y 1942 : Activated on 22 Ju1y 1942 : Disbanded on 1 May 1944 * Reconstituted and redesignated 312th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 1 May 1984 : Activated 1 October 1984 : Inactivated on 18 January 1991 * Redesignated 312th Fighter Squadron on 2 May 2023 : Activated on 1 June 2023

Assignments

* 338th Fighter Group, 22 July 1942 – 1 May 1944 * 58th Tactical Training Wing, 1 October 1984 – 18 January 1991 * 56th Operations Group, 1 June 2023 – present

Stations

* Dale Mabry Field, Florida, 22 Ju1y 1942 * Perry Army Air Field, Florida, 13 Jun 1943 – 1 May 1944 * Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, 1 October 1984 – 18 January 1991 * Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, 1 June 2023 – present

Aircraft

* Bell P-39 Airacobra, 1942–1943 * Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1943–1944 * Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1944Aircraft through 1944 in Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 217–218 * General Dynamics F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, 1984–1991 * Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, 2023 -

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* *: * * * * {{cite book, last=Rogers, first=Brian., title=United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978, year=2005, publisher=Midland Publications, location=Hinkley, UK, isbn=1-85780-197-0 Fighter squadrons of the United States Air Force Military units and formations established in 1942 Fighter squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces