The 440th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

unit. Its last assignment was with the

86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing The 86th Airlift Wing (86 AW) is a United States Air Force wing, currently assigned to the Third Air Force, United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. The 86th AW is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The wing's primary mi ...

at Erding Air Station, Germany, where it was inactivated on 1 January 1960. The squadron served as a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

unit from February 1953. The squadron was originally established as a Replacement Training Unit during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in February 1943, but was disbanded when the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

reorganized its training units in 1944.

History

World War II

The

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

was first activated as the 440th Fighter Squadron at

Sarasota Army Air Field Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

, Florida in 1943 when the 337th Fighter Group expanded from three to four squadrons.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 215–216 It served 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 combat ...

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team ...

Replacement Training Unit. The squadron was disbanded in May 1944 and its personnel and equipment transferred to the 341st AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter).

European air defense

Reactivated in 1953 as a

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",) was an American transonic jet fighter aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s, it was an interceptor ...

interceptor squadron. Moved to West Germany, attached to the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing at

Landstuhl Air Base Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...

. The squadron moved to

Erding Air Base Erding Air Base (German: ''Fliegerhorst Erding'', ICAO: ETSE) is a German Air Force airfield near the town of Erding, about northeast of central Munich in Bavaria. It is the home of the 5th Air Defense Missile Squadron and the 1st Air Force M ...

in Bavaria, operating as a forward-deployed squadron near the Czech border until inactivated in January 1960 with the withdrawal of the F-86D from West Germany.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 440th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine 12 February 1943 : Activated on 24 February 1943 : Disbanded on 1 May 1944 * Reconstituted, and redesignated 440th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 3 February 1953 : Activated on 18 February 1953 : Inactivated on 1 January 1960

Assignments

* 337th Fighter Group, 24 February 1943 – 1 May 1944 * 530th Air Defense Group, 18 February 1953 *

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

(attached to 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing), 1 July 1954 *

7486th Air Defense Group The 7486th Air Defense Group is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Twelfth Air Force, being stationed at Landstuhl Air Base, West Germany. It was inactivated on 12 September 1957. History Lineage * ...

(later 7486th Air Base Group), 2 December 1954 *

86th Fighter-Interceptor Group The 86th Operations Group (86 OG) is the flying operational component of the 86th Airlift Wing, United States Air Force. The group is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The mission of the 86 OG (Tail Code: RS) is to conduct airlift, air ...

, 3 January 1956 * 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 8 March 1958 – 1 January 1960

Stations

* Sarasota Army Air Field, Florida, 24 February 1943 *

Pinellas Army Air Field Pinellas Army Airfield, was a United States Army Air Forces installation during World War II, located 9.8 miles northwest of St. Petersburg, Florida. History Constructed on the site of the Pinellas County Municipal Airport, construction of the ...

, Florida, 15 April 1943 – 1 May 1944 *

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

, Washington, 18 February 1953 * Landstuhl Air Base, Germany, 4 July 1954 * Erding Air Base, Germany, 17 February 1956 – 31 December 1959

Aircraft

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

, 1943–1944 * North American P-51 Mustang, 1944 * North American F-86D Sabre, 1953–1960

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed

440 Year 440 (CDXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinianus and Anatolius (or, less frequently, year 1193 ''Ab urbe ...

Military units and formations established in 1953 Aerospace Defense Command units