The 337th Squadron (, 337 M),

callsign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assi ...

Ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

", is the third oldest squadron in service with the

Hellenic Air Force The Hellenic Air Force (HAF; , sometimes abbreviated as ΠΑ) is the air force of Greece (''Hellenic'' being the endonym for ''Greek'' in the Greek language). It is considered to be one of the largest air forces in NATO, and is globally placed 1 ...

, forming part of the

110th Combat Wing Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'', ...

. It is based at

Larissa Air Base Larissa State Airport "Thessaly" () was built in 1912. It was the commercial airport of Larissa until 1997 when it closed for civilian traffic. Currently the airport is being used only by military aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force, whose 110th ...

, and operates the F-16 Block 52+ aircraft.

History

The 337th Squadron traces its origins to the Greek air force in exile 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 ...

, starting as a

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

-equipped flight in No. 339 Wing RAF. In 1946 it moved to

Elefsis Air Base Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...

, and was raised to full squadron in 1948. in 1952, the 337th became the first squadron of the Greek air force to be equipped with jet aircraft, its Spitfires being slowly replaced with

Republic F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet is an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thunde ...

s and

Lockheed T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

s. The squadron was relocated to

and redesignated 337th Fighter-Bomber Squadron (). During this time, the squadron formed the first Greek

aerobatic team Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

, the . The squadron returned to Elefsis in 1956, before moving to

Tanagra Air Base Tanagra Air Base is a large military air base situated in Tanagra, Greece. The air base is adjacent to Hellenic Aerospace Industry facilities. It is used as the home-base of the 114th Combat Wing (114 Πτέρυγα Μάχης, 114 ΠΜ) of the H ...

in 1959 to start its equipment with the

North American F-86D Sabre The North American F-86D/K/L Sabre (initially known as the YF-95 and widely known informally as the "Sabre Dog") is an American transonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor. Developed for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s, it was ...

. Redesignated 337th All-Weather Squadron (), it was based at Larissa from 1960 to 1967. In 1967 the squadron was re-equipped with

Northrop F-5 The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models: the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants, and th ...

s, moving to

Nea Anchialos Air Base Nea Anchialos National Airport () is an airport located near the town of Nea Anchialos in Greece. It serves the regional unit of Magnesia and is also known as ''Central Greece Airport''. Overview The airport is at an elevation of above mean ...

as the 337th Day Interceptor Squadron (). The squadron returned to Larissa in 1978 and was re-equipped with McDonnell Douglas F-4E aircraft, assuming the title 337th All-Weather Interceptor Squadron (). The squadron was temporarily decommissioned in 2005, in preparation for its transition to the F-16 Block 52+ aircraft. It resumed operation in 2006, under its current designation.

References

{{Hellenic Air Force squadrons Military units and formations established in 1948 Squadrons of the Hellenic Air Force Larissa