The 54th Fighter 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 to the

3d Operations Group The 3rd Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 3rd Wing. It is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska, and is assigned to Pacific Air Forces' Eleventh Air Force. The group is a comp ...

, being stationed at

Elmendorf Air Force Base Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally known as Elmendorf Field, it became Elmendorf Air Force Base after World War II. It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command ( ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. It was inactivated on 28 April 2000.

History

World War II

Activated on 15 Jan 1941 at Hamilton Field, California as a

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

pursuit unit as part of the defense buildup of the United States prior to World War II. Deployed to Alaska in mid-1942 and engaged the Japanese during the

Aleutian Campaign The Aleutian Islands campaign () was a military campaign fought between 3 June 1942 and 15 August 1943 on and around the Aleutian Islands in the American theater (World War II), American Theater of World War II during the Pacific War. It was t ...

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 ...

. Engaged in combat in the Aleutians, 1942–1943 with long-range

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

s. Remained in Alaska after the removal of Japanese forces, flying long range escorts for

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

bombing attacks of northern Japanese

Kurile Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

, inactivated in 1946.

Air Defense

54th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Northrop F-89J-50-NO Scorpion 53-2453 1957

Reactivated in 1952 at

Rapid City Air Force Base Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota, just north of the town of Box Elder. The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing (28 BW). Assigned to the Globa ...

, South Dakota, assuming the personnel and aircraft of the

175th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 175th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the South Dakota Air National Guard 's 114th Operations Group stationed at Joe Foss Field Air National Guard Station, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The 175th is equipped with the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon. Hist ...

, a

North Dakota Air National Guard The North Dakota Air National Guard (ND ANG) is the aerial militia of the North Dakota, State of North Dakota, United States. It's a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the North Dakota Army National Guard is an element of the ...

that had been called to active service for the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and which returned to state control. Mission was to provide air defense for North Central United States. Assumed ANG

North American F-51D Mustang Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts. Allison-engined Mustangs NA- ...

s, upgraded to Republic F-84D Thunderjet jet aircraft being returned from combat in Korea in July 1953. Upgraded to F-84Gs in December 1953; upgraded to

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 ...

in April 1954; upgraded to

Northrop F-89J Scorpion The Northrop F-89 Scorpion is an all-weather, twin-engined interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the first jet-powered aircraft to be designed for the interceptor role f ...

interceptors in 1957. Inactivated on 25 December 1960.

Return to Alaska

Reactivated as a

McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's desi ...

air superiority squadron in Alaska in 1987, it provided air defense until being inactivated in 2000.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 54th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 20 November 1940 : Activated on 15 January 1941 : Redesignated 54th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) (Twin Engine) on 31 January 1942 : Redesignated 54th Fighter Squadron (Twin Engine) on 15 May 1942 : Redesignated 54th Fighter Squadron, Two Engine on 20 Aug 1943 : Inactivated on 21 Mar 1946 * Redesignated 54th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 10 October 1952 : Activated on 1 December 1952 : Discontinued and inactivated on 25 December 1960 * Redesignated 54th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 13 January 1987 : Activated on 8 May 1987 : Redesignated 54th Fighter Squadron on 26 September 1991 : Inactivated on 28 April 2000

Assignments

* 55th Pursuit Group (later 55th Fighter Group), 15 Jan 1941 (attached to

XI Fighter Command The XI Fighter Command was a command of the United States Army Air Forces. It was assigned to Eleventh Air Force, stationed at Adak Army Airfield, Alaska. The command controlled fighter units in Alaska during the World War II Aleutian Islands ...

after 31 May 1942)Both Maurer and the 54th Fighter Squadron give this date as 1941. This seems doubtful since the squadron moved to Alaska in May 1942. The Maurer entry appears to be a typographic error and the factsheet is based on Maurer. Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 223-224 * 343d Fighter Group, 11 September 1942 – 21 March 1946 *

31st Air Division The 31st Air Division (31st AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to Tenth Air Force, being stationed at Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa. It was inactivated on 3 ...

, 1 December 1952 *

29th Air Division The 29th Air Division (29th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, being stationed at Duluth International Airport, Minnesota. It was inactivated on 15 November 1969. History ...

, 16 February 1953 – 25 December 1960 *

21st Tactical Fighter Wing The 21st Wing (21 WG) is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force. It was established in 1953 as the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing, deploying to Europe to join NATO's Allied Command Europe, before being inactivated in 1958. It reactivated i ...

, 8 May 1987 *

21st Operations Group Mission Delta 2 (MD2) is the United States Space Force's space domain awareness Space Delta, delta, headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Mission Delta 2 tracks and monitors all human made objects from low Earth orbit to geosync ...

, 26 September 1991 *

, 19 December 1991 – 28 April 2000

Stations

* Hamilton Field, California, 15 January 1941 *

Portland Army Air Base Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, Oregon, 22 May 1941 *

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, 22 January – 25 May 1942 *

Elmendorf Field Elmendorf may refer to: People with the surname * Dave Elmendorf, former NFL player *Douglas Elmendorf, former director of the Congressional Budget Office * Lucas Conrad Elmendorf, United States Representative from New York * Steven Elmendorf, lobb ...

, Alaska, 31 May–c. 24 August 1942 : Detachments at Fort Randall Army Air Field, Alaska, c. 6 Jun-c. 31 Jul 1942 and

Fort Glenn Army Air Base Cape Air Force Base also known as Fort Glenn Army Air Base, is a site significant for its role in World War II fighting, operating alongside Naval Air Facility Otter Point. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and declared ...

, Alaska, c. 6 June–c. 19 September 1942 * Adak Army Air Field, Alaska, c. 31 August 1942 *

Amchitka Army Air Field Amchitka Air Force Base is an abandoned Air Force Base located on Amchitka, in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. History Aleutians campaign The Aleutian Islands Campaign was not considered a priority by the Joint ...

, Alaska, 12 March 1943 *

Shemya Army Air Field Eareckson Air Station , formerly Shemya Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands. The airport was closed as an active Air Force Station on 1 July 1994. However, ...

, Alaska, c. 18 October 1943 *

Alexai Point Army Air Field Alexai Point Army Airfield is an abandoned World War II airfield with two runways laid across Alexai Point on Attu Island, Alaska. The remains of the Seabee built airbase are located about 4 miles east of the closed Casco Cove Coast Guard Statio ...

, Attu, Alaska, c. 20 November 1943 – 8 March 1946 *

Fort Lawton Fort Lawton was a United States Army Military base, post located in the Magnolia, Seattle, Washington, Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington overlooking Puget Sound. In 1973 a large majority of the property, 534 acre ...

, Washington, 20–21 March 1946 * Rapid City Air Force Base (later Ellsworth Air Force Base), South Dakota, 1 December 1952 – 25 December 1960 *

, Alaska, 8 May 1987 – 28 April 2000

Aircraft

Seversky P-35 The Seversky P-35 is an American fighter aircraft built by the Republic Aviation, Seversky Aircraft Company in the late 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, the P-35 was the first single-seat fighter in United ...

, 1941–1942 * Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1941–1942 *

Republic P-43 Lancer The Republic P-43 Lancer was a single-engine, all-metal, low-wing monoplane fighter aircraft built by Republic, first delivered to the United States Army Air Corps in 1940. A proposed development was the P-44 Rocket. While not a particularly out ...

, 1941–1942 * Lockheed F-5 Lightning, 1943 * Lockheed P-38 Lightning, 1942–1946 * North American F-51D Mustang, 1952–1953 * Republic F-84G Thunderjet, 1953–1954 * North American F-86D Sabre, 1954–1957 * Northrop F-89J Scorpion, 1957–1960 * McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle, 1987–2000 * McDonnell Douglas F-15D Eagle, 1987–2000

References

; Notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed 054 Aleutian Islands campaign Military units and formations in Alaska 054