313th Tactical Fighter Squadron - McDonnell Douglas F-4E-52-MC Phantom - 72-0165

The 313th Tactical Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the

50th Tactical Fighter Wing The 50th Space Wing was the United States Space Force's space and cyber warfare wing. The 50th Space Wing was assigned to Space Operations Command and headquartered at Schriever Air Force Base. It was activated in 1949 as the 50th Fighter Win ...

and stationed at

Hahn Air Base Hahn Air Base was a United States Air Force installation near Lautzenhausen in Germany for over 40 years. The major unit was the United States Air Force's 50th Tactical Fighter Wing during most of the years it was active. It was originally buil ...

, Germany.

History

World War II

Established under the Northeast Air District as a pursuit squadron, initially equipped with second-line aircraft. Transferred to Southeast Air District (later Third Air Force) in late 1941, re-equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks. Trained in the southeast, becoming a training squadron at the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics in Florida in 1943. Re-equipped with North American P-51 Mustangs and trained as an operational squadron, being deployed to the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

, being assigned to IX Fighter Command in England in May 1944. Re-equipped with

Republic 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, the squadron supported Allied ground forces in France after

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, attacking enemy strong points, troop concentrations, armor formations, bridges and other targets. Moved to Normandy and operated from several forward bases in Northeast France during the summer of 1944 as Allied ground forces moved eastwards towards Germany. Supported the Fifth Army movement from Southern France though the Lyon Valley, then into Occupied Germany as part of the Western Allied invasion in the spring of 1945. Remained in Germany as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe occupation forces, demobilizing over the summer. Inactivated in Colorado, November 1945.

European fighter operations

Reactivated on 15 November 1976 at

, Germany, but remained nonoperational through 26 December.Ravenstein, p. 81 From this perspective the 313th made a huge jump from P-47 Thunderbolts to the

McDonnell F-4E Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bowe ...

. In 1981 the 313th became the first unit to operate the

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

in USAFE. Inactivated at the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

on 30 December 1991.

Lineage

* Constituted 313th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor)' on 21 January 1942. : Activated on 9 February 1942 : Redesignated 313th Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942 : Redesignated 313th Fighter Squadron (Special) on 28 May 1942 : Redesignated 313th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine c. 21 January 1944 : Inactivated on 7 November 1945Lineage, including assignments, through 1945 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 380-381, except as noted. * Redesignated 313th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 November 1976 : Activated on 15 November 1976''See'' Ravenstein, p. 81 (assignment to 50th Wing). : Inactivated on 30 December 1991

Assignments

50th Pursuit Group 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

(later 50th Fighter Group), 9 February 1942 – 7 November 1945 *

, 15 November 1976 – 30 December 1991

Stations

* Selfridge Field, Michigan, 9 February 1942 * Key Field, Mississippi, 3 October 1941 * Orlando Army Air Base, Florida, 22 March 1943 *

Alachua Army Air Field Alachua Army Airfield, was a World War II United States Army Air Force airfield, located northeast of Gainesville, Florida. History Construction of the Gainesville Municipal Airport began in April 1940 as a Works Project Administration (WPA) a ...

, Florida, 20 November 1943 * Orlando Army Air Base, Florida, 1 February–13 March 1944 * RAF Lymington (AAF-551), England, 5 April 1944 *

Carentan Airfield Carentan Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield, which is located near the Communes of France, commune of Carentan in the Normandy Regions of France, region of northern France. Located just outside Carentan, the United States Ar ...

(A-10),Station number in Johnson. France, 25 June 1944 *

Meautis Airfield Meautis Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield, which is located near the commune of Méautis in the Normandy region of northern France. Located to the east of Méautis, the United States Army Air Force established a temporary a ...

(A-17), France, 16 August 1944 *

Orly Airfield Orly Air Base was a United States Air Force Facility during the early part of the Cold War, located at Aéroport de Paris-Orly, south of Paris, France. The American Air Base was located on the north side of the airport, in an area east of the c ...

(A-47), France, 4 September 1944 * Lyon-Bron Airport (Y-6), France, 28 September 1944 * Toul/Ochey Airfield (A-96), France, 3 November 1944 * Giebelstadt Airfield (Y-90), Germany, 20 April 1945 *

AAF Station Mannheim/Sandhofen Coleman Barracks/Coleman Army Airfield ( ICAO: ETOR) is a United States Army military installation located in the Sandhofen district of Mannheim, Germany. It is assigned to U.S. Army, Europe (USAREUR) and administered by the U.S. Army Installati ...

(Y-79), Germany, 21 May–June 1945 *

La Junta Army Air Field La Junta Municipal Airport is three miles north of La Junta, in Otero County, Colorado, United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''general aviation'' facility. Many U.S. airports use the ...

, Colorado, 4 August–7 November 1945Stations through 1945 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 380-381, except as noted. * Hahn Air Base, West Germany, 15 November 1976 – 30 December 1991

Aircraft

* BT-13 Valiant, 1941-1942 *

P-35 Guardsman The Seversky P-35 is an American fighter aircraft built by the 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 States Army Air Cor ...

, 1941-1942 * Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1942-1943 * North American P-51 Mustang, 1943-1944 * Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1943-1945 * McDonnell F-4E Phantom II, 1976-1981 * General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, 1981-1991

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{cite book, last=Ravenstein, first=Charles A., title=Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977, url=https://archive.org/details/airforcecombatwi0000rave, access-date=17 December 2016, year=1984, publisher=Office of Air Force History, location=Washington, DC, isbn=0-912799-12-9, url-access=registration Fighter squadrons of the United States Air Force