496th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

The 496th Tactical Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe, 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, at Hahn Air Base, Germany, where the squadron was inactivated on 15 May 1991.

The unit was first activated as the 301st Bombardment Squadron in 1942, and served until April 1944 as a replacement and operational training unit for light bombardment and. later, as the 496th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, fighter-bomber units and crews. It was disbanded in a reorganization of training units by the Army Air Forces, It was again active as the 496th Fighter All-Weather Squadron, a reserve unit, from 1949 to 1951, flying the aircraft of the regular 52d Fighter-All Weather Group until it was called to active duty for the Korean War and its personnel used to fill out other units.

Its longest period of active duty started in 1953, when it was activated as the 496th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. After training in the Western United States, it moved to Germany, serving in the air defense of Western Europe until 1968, when it became the 496th Tactical Fighter Squadron and added the tactical fighter mission.

History

World War II

The squadron was activated in 1942 as the 301st Bombardment Squadron (Light) at Savannah Air Base, Georgia, and equipped with Douglas A-24 Banshee dive bombers as one of the original squadrons of the 84th Bombardment Group.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 150 It received its initial cadre and equipment from the 3d Bombardment Group. It operated briefly with Vultee V-72 (A-31 Vengeance) aircraft, but its operations showed this aircraft was unsuitable for dive bombing. The squadron served as an Operational Training Unit (OTU), equipping with Douglas A-24 Banshees and Bell P-39 Airacobras.

The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to “satellite groups " The OTU program was patterned after the unit training system of the Royal Air Force. After forming the satellite groups, it assumed responsibility for their training and oversaw their expansion with graduates of Army Air Forces Training Command schools to become effective combat units. Phase I training concentrated on individual training in crewmember specialties. Phase II training emphasized the coordination for the crew to act as a team. The final phase concentrated on operation as a unit. It contributed to the 84th Group's role as the parent for elements of several light bombardment groups.

In August 1943, the squadron was redesignated the 496th Fighter-Bomber Squadron as were other Army Air Forces (AAF) single engine bombardment units, and was re-equipped with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. It continued to serve as an OTU until October 1943. During the fall of 1943, operations dwindled and by the end of September 1943 only five aircraft were assigned to the entire 84th Group.

The squadron then became a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) and also participated occasionally in demonstrations and maneuvers. RTUs were also oversized units, but with the mission of training individual pilots or aircrews. However, the AAF found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were not proving well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. The squadron was, therefore, disbanded in April 1944 and replaced by the 261st AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training School, Fighter), which took over the personnel, equipment and mission of the squadron at Abilene Army Air Field.

Air reserve

The May 1949 Air Force Reserve program called for a new type of unit, the corollary unit, which was a reserve unit integrated with an active duty unit. The plan called for corollary units at 107 locations. It was viewed as the best method to train reservists by mixing them with an existing regular unit to perform duties alongside the regular unit.
As part of this program, the squadron was reconstituted as the 496th Fighter Squadron, All Weather and activated at Mitchel Air Force Base, New York in the air reserve to train as a fighter corollary unit of the 52d Fighter Group of the regular Air Force, moving with the 52d to McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey a few months later. The squadron was apparently undermanned and thus performed very little training. In February 1950, it was redesignated 496th Fighter All-Weather Squadron. During its only 2-week summer encampment (12–26 June 1950), the entire 84th Group had only four pilots capable of flying the 52d's North American F-82 Twin Mustangs provided for their training. Like with other corollary units, the parent 52d Fighter-All Weather Wing made little use of the 496th, focusing on the wing's combat mission instead. The 84th Group was ordered to active service on 1 June 1951, inactivated the next day, and its few people became "fillers" for the 52d Wing or for other USAF units.

Interceptor operations

The squadron was redesignated the 496th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and activated in March 1953 at Hamilton Air Force Base, California in early 1953. The squadron was initially formed with World War II era North American F-51D Mustangs. By December, however, it was equipped with North American F-86D Sabres, equipped with airborne intercept radar and armed with Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets. The squadron departed Hamilton at the end of May 1954 for Europe.

The squadron was assigned to Twelfth Air Force, but attached to the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing) on 1 July 1954 and arrived at Landstuhl Air Base, Germany on 4 July. In December, United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE) formed the 7486th Air Defense Group at Landstuhl and the squadron was assigned to it. In July 1955, the 7486 became an air base group, but the squadron remained assigned to it until January 1956, when the 496th became part of the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Group. In November 1956, the squadron moved to Hahn Air Base, Germany.

The 86th Fighter-Interceptor Group was inactivated in March 1958, and the squadron was reassigned to the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing. In 1959, the squadron began to transition from its Sabres to the Convair F-102A Delta Dagger, which was equipped with data link for interception control and armed with AIM-4 Falcon missiles. It completed the changeover in 1960.

Tactical fighter operations

On 1 November 1968, the squadron became the 496th Tactical Fighter Squadron, and two weeks later was assigned to the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, which was flying McDonnell F-4D Phantom IIs. The squadron began returning its F-102s to the United States, where they were transferred to the 194th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, in 1970 and became the first squadron in the 50th Wing to equip with the F-4E model of the Phantom II. Despite its change of name and aircraft, the squadron retained air defense as its primary mission until 1977, when the 50th Wing was entirely equipped with the F-4E and became dedicated to the tactical fighter mission.

In December 1981, the 50th Wing became the first USAFE unit to upgrade to the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, completing the transition in June 1982. Between March 1985 and December 1987, the wing upgraded its Block 15 F-16As and F-16Bs to Block 25 F-16Cs and F-16Ds. Although the squadron did not participate in the Gulf War as a unit, it deployed personnel and equipment to support it.

The squadron was inactivated in May 1991 as the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing began to draw down at Hahn in preparation for its inactivation with the termination of Hahn as an operational base in September.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 301st Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 13 January 1942
: Activated on 10 February 1942
: Redesignated 301st Bombardment Squadron (Dive) on 27 July 1942
: Redesignated 496th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 10 August 1943
: Disbanded on 1 April 1944
* Reconstituted, and redesignated 496th Fighter Squadron, All Weather on 16 May 1949
: Activated in the reserve on 1 June 1949
: Redesignated 496th Fighter-All Weather Squadron on 1 March 1950
: Ordered to active service on 1 June 1951
: Inactivated on 2 June 1951
* Redesignated 496th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 11 February 1953
: Activated on 20 March 1953Lineage, including assignments, stations and aircraft through 1963 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 598.
: Redesignated 496th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 1 November 1968
: Inactivated 15 May 1991

Assignments

* 84th Bombardment Group (later 84th Fighter-Bomber Group), 10 February 1942 – 1 April 1944
* 84th Fighter Group, 1 June 1949 – 2 June 1951
* 566th Air Defense Group, 20 March 1953
* Twelfth Air Force (attached to 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing), 1 July 1954
* 7486th Air Defense Group (later 7486th Air Base Group), 2 December 1954
* 86th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 3 January 1956
* 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing (later 86th Air Division), 8 March 1958 (attached to 50th Tactical Fighter Wing after 1 November 1968)
* 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, 25 November 1968 – 15 May 1991

Stations

* Savannah Air Base (later Hunter Field), Georgia, 10 February 1942
* Drew Field, Florida, 8 February 1943
* Harding Field, Louisiana, 4 October 1943
* Hammond Army Air Field, Louisiana, 9 November 1943
* Abilene Army Air Field, Texas, 11 February – 1 April 1944
* Mitchel Air Force Base, New York, 1 June 1949
* McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, 10 October 1949 – 2 June 1951
* Hamilton Air Force Base, California, 20 March 1953
* Landstuhl Air Base, Germany, 4 July 1954
* Hahn Air Base, Germany, 8 November 1956 – 15 May 1991

Aircraft

* Vultee V-72 Vengeance, 1942
* Douglas A-24 Banshee, 1942–1943
* Bell P-39 Airacobra, 1943
* Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1943–1944
* North American F-82 Twin Mustang
* North American F-51 Mustang, 1953
* North American F-86D Sabre, 1953–1960
* Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, 1959–1970
* McDonnell F-4 Phantom II, 1970–1982
* General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, 1982–1991

Awards and campaigns

See also

* Aerospace Defense Command Fighter Squadrons
* List of F-86 Sabre units
* List of F-4 Phantom II operators
* General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon operators

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes

; Citations

Bibliography

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* (renumbered AF Pamphlet 36-2801, Vol. I)
* (renumbered AF Pamphlet 36-2801, Vol. II)
; Further reading
* (link is to Amazon listing of book)
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{{USAAF 3d Air Force World War II

Fighter squadrons of the United States Air Force