The 498th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive

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. Its last assignment was with

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...

stationed at

Hamilton Air Force Base Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, California. It was inactivated on 30 September 1968.

History

World War II

it was established in early 1942 as a

III Fighter Command The III Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946. History Background GHQ Air Force (GHQ, AF) had been established with two major comba ...

Operational Training Unit (OTU), and equipped with a mixture of second-line single engine training aircraft. The squadron upgraded in 1943 with

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 ...

s for Replacement Crew Training (RTU). It was inactivated in April 1944.

Air Defense of the Pacific Northwest

The squadron was reactivated in August 1955 as a

interceptor squadron, and assigned to Geiger Field, Washington. Its mission was to provide air defense for the Pacific Northwest. It was equipped with F-86D Sabres, and then upgraded to F-102s in 1957 and then to F-106s in 1959. It was the first operational squadron to receive the Delta Dart. 498th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron - F-106s

498th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron - F-106s

On 22 October 1962, before President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

told Americans that missiles were in place in Cuba, the squadron dispersed one third of its force, equipped with nuclear tipped missiles to

Paine Air Force Base Seattle Paine Field International Airport — also known as Paine Field and Snohomish County Airport — is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in unin ...

at the start of the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

. These planes returned to McChord after the crisis. On 15 March 1963 two Soviet bombers overflew Alaska and

Alaskan Air Command The Alaskan Air Command (AAC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command originally established in 1942 under the United States Army Air Forces. Its mission was to organize and administer the air defense system of Alaska, exercise di ...

F-102s were unable to intercept them. The response to this intrusion was to deploy ten F-106s from the squadron and its sister unit, the 318th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron to Alaska in what was called Operation White Shoes. However, maintaining these aircraft for an extended period of time put a strain on the 325th wing's combat readiness back at McChord, and eventually a detachment of maintenance personnel was established to maintain the planes in Alaska. The unit got relief from this commitment while it was upgrading its F-106s from the

1st Fighter Wing The 1st Fighter Wing (1 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, VA. where it is a tenant unit, being supported by the 633d Air Base Wing. Its ...

, which relieved it from March to June 1964. Operation White Shoes terminated in 1965 and the unit's planes returned home.McMullen, pp. 32–34 It moved to McChord AFB in 1963, and to Paine Field in 1966. It moved to

Hamilton AFB Hamilton Field (Hamilton AFB) was a United States Air Force base, which was inactivated in 1973, decommissioned in 1974, and put into a caretaker status with the Air Force Reserve Command, Air Force Reserve until 1976. It was transferred to the ...

, California in 1968 and was inactivated the same day. Its aircraft were reassigned to the 84th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron.

Lineage

* Constituted 303d Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 13 January 1942. : Activated on 10 February 1942 : Redesignated: 303d Bombardment Squadron (Dive) on 27 July 1942 : Redesignated: 498th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 10 August 1943. : Disbanded on 1 April 1944 * Reconstituted, and redesignated 498th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, on 20 June 1955. : Activated on 18 August 1955. : Inactivated on 30 September 1968.

Assignments

* 84th Bombardment (later Fighter-Bomber) Group, 10 February 1942 – 1 April 1944 * 84th Fighter Group (Air Defense), 18 August 1955 *

325th Fighter Wing The 325th Fighter Wing (325 FW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based in Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Mission The 325th Fighter Wing's primary mission is to project combat airpower for the United States Air Force. The wing is curr ...

(Air Defense), 1 July 1963 * 57th Fighter Group (Air Defense), 25 January 1966 * 78th Fighter Group, 30 September 1968

Stations

Hunter Field Hunter Army Airfield , located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart located in Hinesville, Georgia. Hunter features a runway that is long and an Airport ramp, aircraft par ...

, Georgia, 10 February 1942 *

Drew Field Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective May 15, 2025. The airp ...

, Florida, 8 February 1943 * Harding Field, Louisiana, 4 October 1943 * Hammond Army Air Field, Louisiana, c. 11 October 1943 * Abilene Army Air Field, Texas, 11 February – April 1944 *

Geiger Field Spokane International Airport is a commercial airport in Spokane, Washington, United States, located approximately west-southwest of Downtown Spokane. It is the primary airport serving the Inland Northwest, which consists of 30 counties and ...

, Washington, 18 August 1955 *

McChord Air Force Base McChord Field (formerly and still commonly known as McChord Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord AFB is the home of the 62nd Airlift Wing, ...

, Washington, 1 July 1963 *

Paine Field Seattle Paine Field International Airport — also known as Paine Field and Snohomish County Airport — is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in uni ...

, Washington, 14 June 1966 *

California, 30 September 1968

Aircraft

V-72 Vengeance The Vultee A-31 Vengeance is an American dive bomber of World War II that was built by Vultee Aircraft. A modified version was called A-35. The Vengeance was not used operationally by the United States but was operated as a front-line aircraft ...

, 1942 *

A-24 Banshee The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/dive ...

, 1942–1943 *

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 ...

, 1943 *

, 1943–1944 * F-86D Sabre Interceptor, 1955–1957 *

F-102A Delta Dagger The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger is an interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Convair. A member of the Century Series, the F-102 was the first operational supersonic interceptor and Delta wing, delta-wing ...

, 1957–1959 *

F-106A Delta Dart The Convair F-106 Delta Dart is an all-weather interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Convair. The F-106 was designed in response to the 1954 interceptor program. Envisioned as an imagined "Ultimate Int ...

, 1959–1968

References

Bibliography

* * * McMullen, Richard F. (1964) "The Fighter Interceptor Force 1962–1964" ADC Historical Study No. 27, Air Defense Command, Ent Air Force Base, CO (Confidential, declassified 22 March 2000) * ''NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis'', Historical Reference Paper No. 8, Directorate of Command History Continental Air Defense Command, Ent AFB, CO , 1 Feb 63 (Top Secret NOFORN declassified 9 March 1996) * "ADCOM's Fighter Interceptor Squadrons". ''The Interceptor'' (January 1979) Aerospace Defense Command, (Volume 21, Number 1)

External links

{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Fighter squadrons of the United States Air Force Military units and formations established in 1955 1955 establishments in the United States