The 456th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...
unit. Its last assignment was with the
Air Defense Command San Francisco Air Defense Sector
The San Francisco Air Defense Sector (SFADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 28th Air Division, being stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California.
The sector was established in February 19 ...
stationed at
Oxnard Air Force Base
Oxnard Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base, located in the city of Camarillo, California.
History
Camarillo Airport was originally established in 1942 when the California State Highway Department constructed an auxiliary la ...
, California. It was inactivated on 18 July 1968.
History
World War II
It was established in late 1944 as a very long range
Republic P-47N Thunderbolt
The P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II fighter aircraft built by Republic Aviation from 1941 to 1945.
Early designs
XP-47 (AP-10)
In response to a USAAC requirement for a new fighter aircraft, Republic Aviation engineer Alexander Kartveli p ...
fighter squadron. It trained under
III Fighter Command. The 456th was deployed to
Pacific Theater of Operations, and assigned to
XXI Bomber Command
The XXI Bomber Command was a unit of the Twentieth Air Force in the Mariana Islands for strategic bombing during World War II.
The command was established at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas on 1 March 1944. After a period of organization an ...
as a long-range escort squadron for
B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 F ...
bombers engaged in the strategic bombardment of Japan, based on
Iwo Jima. After the Japanese capitulation, it was moved to
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
where the squadron was demobilized; the P-47Ns were returned to storage depots in the United States. It was inactivated as a paper unit in 1946.
Cold War Air Defense
![456th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron North American F-86L-45-NA Sabres](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/456th_Fighter-Interceptor_Squadron_North_American_F-86L-45-NA_Sabres.jpg)
It was reactivated in 1954 under
Air Defense Command as an
air defense interceptor squadron, and stationed at
Truax Field, Wisconsin for the air defense of
the Great Lakes. It was equipped with
North American F-86D Sabres. In August 1955 the unit was inactivated, and was reactivated at
Castle Air Force Base
Castle Air Force Base (Castle AFB, 1941–1995) is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base in California, located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced, and about south of Sacramento.
The Central Valley base in u ...
, California in October 1955 with
North American F-86D Sabres. In 1957 it began re-equipping with the North American North American F-86L Sabre, an improved version of the F-86D which incorporated the
Semi Automatic Ground Environment
The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of large computers and associated networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image of the airspace over a wide area. SA ...
, or SAGE computer-controlled direction system for intercepts. The service of the F-86L was brief, since by the time the last F-86L conversion was delivered, the type was already being phased out in favor of supersonic interceptors.
![F-106-59-148-82dfis-travis-1962](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/F-106-59-148-82dfis-travis-1962.jpg)
The squadron upgraded in June 1958 into supersonic
Convair F-102A Delta Dagger
The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft designed and manufactured by Convair.
Built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s, it entered service in 1956. Its main purpo ...
s. In September 1959 it received
Convair F-106 Delta Dart
The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft of the United States Air Force from the 1960s through to the 1980s. Designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor", it proved to be the last specialist interceptor i ...
s.
On 22 October 1962, before President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
told Americans that missiles were in place in Cuba, the squadron dispersed one third of its force, equipped with nuclear tipped missiles to
Fresno Air Terminal
Fresno Yosemite International Airport is a joint military/public airport in Fresno, California, United States. It is the primary commercial airport for the San Joaquin Valley and three national parks: Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It o ...
at the start of the
Cuban Missile Crisis.
[''NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis'', p. 16] These planes returned to Castle after the crisis.
The squadron moved to
Oxnard Air Force Base
Oxnard Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base, located in the city of Camarillo, California.
History
Camarillo Airport was originally established in 1942 when the California State Highway Department constructed an auxiliary la ...
, California on 18 July 1968 and was inactivated the same day, transferring its mission, personnel and equipment to the
437th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
The 437th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 414th Fighter Group at Oxnard Air Force Base, California, where it was inactivated on 30 September 1969.
The squadron was first ac ...
.
Lineage
* Constituted as the 456th Fighter Squadron on 5 October 1944
: Activated on 15 October 1944
: Inactivated on 25 August 1946
* Redesignated 456th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 23 March 1953
: Activated on 8 August 1954
: Inactivated on 18 August 1955
* Activated on 18 October 1955
[Lineage, including assignments and stations through May 1963 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 562.]
: Inactivated on 18 July 1968
Assignments
*
414th Fighter Group
The 414th Fighter Group is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 944th Fighter Wing of Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.
Th ...
, 15 October 1944 – 25 August 1946
*
520th Air Defense Group
The 520th Air Defense Group is a disbanded United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 4706th Air Defense Wing at Truax Field, Wisconsin, where it was inactivated in 1955. The group was originally activated as a sup ...
, 8 August 1954 – 18 August 1955
*
28th Air Division
The 28th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Tactical Air Command at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It was inactivated on 29 May 1992.
History
Established in December ...
, 18 October 1955
*
San Francisco Air Defense Sector
The San Francisco Air Defense Sector (SFADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 28th Air Division, being stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California.
The sector was established in February 19 ...
, 1 July 1960 – 18 July 1968
[
]
Stations
* Seymour Johnson Field
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The base is named for U.S. Navy Lt. Seymour A. Johnson, a test pilot from Goldsboro who died in an airplane crash near Norbeck, Maryland, ...
, North Carolina, 15 October 1944
* Selfridge Field
Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...
, Michigan, 21 November 1944
* Bluethenthal Field, North Carolina, 19 March – 5 June 1945
* North Field, Iwo Jima, 7 July 1945
* Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, 23 December 1945
* Floridablanca Airfield
Cesar Basa Air Base, or simply Basa Air Base (formerly known as Floridablanca Airfield), is an airbase currently operated by the Philippine Air Force. It is located at Floridablanca, Pampanga about northwest of Metro Manila in the Philippines. ...
, Luzon, Philippines, unknown-25 August 1946
* Truax Field, Wisconsin, 8 August 1954 – 18 August 1955[Maurer incorrectly lists the squadron's station as ]George Air Force Base
George Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, 8 miles northwest, of central Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California.
Established by the United States Army Air C ...
, California during this time. Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 562.
* Castle Air Force Base, California, 18 October 1955 – 18 July 1968[
* Oxnard Air Force Base, California, 18 July 1968
]
Aircraft
* Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1944–1946[
* North American F-86D Sabre, 1954–1955; 1955–1957
* North American F-86L Sabre, 1957–1958
* Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, 1958–1959
* Convair F-106 Delta Dart, 1959–1968
]
References
Notes
; Explanatory notes
; Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
* – Formerly Confidential, declassified 22 March 2000.
* – Formerly Top Secret NOFORN
The United States government classification system is established under Executive Order 13526, the latest in a long series of executive orders on the topic beginning in 1951. Issued by President Barack Obama in 2009, Executive Order 13526 repl ...
, declassified 9 March 1996.
*
External links
The 456th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at 456FIS.org
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed
Fighter squadrons of the United States Air Force
Aerospace Defense Command units