The 338th Fighter-Bomber Squadron (, 338 MΔΒ),

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 ...

Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...

", is a 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 117th Combat Wing. It is based at

Andravida Air Base Andravida Air Base () is a military airport operated by the Hellenic Air Force, located 2.5 kilometres from the town of Andravida in Elis, Greece, housing the 117th Combat Wing (117 Πτέρυγα Μάχης, 117 ΠΜ), and the Air Force's Air Tac ...

, and is the last Hellenic Air Force unit operating the McDonnell Douglas F-4E aircraft.

History

The 338th Fighter-Bomber Squadron was established on 24 December 1952 at

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 ...

, equipped with Republic F-84G Thunderjets. From April 1953 to November 1956 it was 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 ...

, before returning to Elefsis. In 1958 it became the first unit of the 115th Combat Wing in

Souda Air Base Chania International Airport "Daskalogiannis" is an international airport located near Souda Bay on the Akrotiri peninsula of the Greek island of Crete, serving the city of Chania, away. It is a gateway to western Crete for an increasing numb ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, until the squadron's disbandment in January 1960. The squadron was reconstituted, still at Souda, in August 1964, equipped with

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak is an American swept-wing turbojet-powered fighter-bomber. The RF-84F Thunderflash is variant of the F-84F that was designed for photo reconnaissance. The design was originally intended to be a relatively simp ...

s. It continued in operation there until 30 June 1974, when it was disbanded and its aircraft transferred to the

340th Fighter-Bomber Squadron 34 may refer to: * 34 (number) * 34 BC * AD 34 * 1934 * 2034 Science * Selenium, a nonmetal in the periodic table * 34 Circe, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Music * ''34'' (album), a 2015 album by Dre Murray * "#34" (song), a 1994 song by ...

. On 1 July, the squadron was reactivated as part of

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'', ...

, equipped with McDonnell Douglas F-4E aircraft. The squadron achieved operational capability with the F-4 in March 1975. In 1981, the 338th Squadron and the 337th All-Weather Squadron exchanged their F-4E aircraft with one another. In 1991, the F-4Es were replaced with a newer version of the aircraft from the US inventory, as part of the F-4E Southeastern Regional Agreement (SRA). The F-4Es in Greek service were subjected to a further modernization program (Peace Icarus 2000) in the early 2000s.

References

{{Hellenic Air Force squadrons Military units and formations established in 1952 Squadrons of the Hellenic Air Force Elis 1952 establishments in Greece