The 457th Fighter Squadron is a United States

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...

unit, assigned to the 301st Operations Group,

301st Fighter Wing The 301st Fighter Wing (301 FW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Carswell Field, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Tex ...

Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (abbreviated NAS JRB Fort Worth) includes Carswell Field, a military airbase located west of the central business district of Fort Worth, in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. This military a ...

, Texas. The squadron flies the Lockheed-16 Fighting Falcon. If mobilized, the Wing is gained by the

Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...

. 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, ...

was first activated in 1944 as a long range fighter unit. It deployed to

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

in the spring of 1945 and engaged in combat until

V-J Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...

, earning a

Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...

. It returned to the United States in December 1945 and was inactivated. The squadron was again activated in 1953 as the 457th Strategic Fighter Squadron. In 1957, it was transferred from

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

as the 467th Fighter-Day Squadron. The squadron was inactivated in April 1959. It began its current active period in July 1972, when the regular Air Force transferred three squadrons of

Republic F-105 Thunderchief The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vie ...

s to the reserves.

Mission

The 457th Fighter Squadron is part of the only 301st Fighter Wing. The aircraft of the 457th FS carry the base tail code ''TX'' on their F-16s. The tail code carried by 457th TFS aircraft when the

NAS JRB Fort Worth Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (abbreviated NAS JRB Fort Worth) includes Carswell Field, a military airbase located west of the central business district of Fort Worth, in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. This military ai ...

was known as

Carswell AFB Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (abbreviated NAS JRB Fort Worth) includes Carswell Field, a military airbase located west of the central business district of Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth, in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant Coun ...

was ''TF.''

History

World War II

Constituted as 457 Fighter Squadron, Single Engine, on 5 October 1944. Activated on 21 October 1944 at Lakeland Army Airfeild,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

with

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 ...

s. Assigned to the

506th Fighter 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 ...

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Malcolm C. Watters was the unit's first commanding officer. February 1945, the 457th moved to the western Pacific Ocean in spring of 1945. Operated from North Field,

, 25 April - 3 December 1945 (air echelon operated from Tinian, 23 March - 11 May 1945). Escorted B-29 bombers in raids against Japan, and attacked targets such as enemy airfields, May – August 1945. Between 1953 and 1959, and again since July 1972, trained for a variety of tactical air missions. Frequently deployed for training exercises, some of them overseas.

Reserve fighter operations

Took part in

Operation Deny Flight Operation Deny Flight was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operation that began on 12 April 1993 as the enforcement of a United Nations (UN) no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United Nations and NATO later expanded the mis ...

, enforcing a no-fly zone over Bosnia, in mid-1990s. Participated in training exercises and deployments. Provided resources for

Operation Northern Watch Operation Northern Watch (ONW), the successor to Operation Provide Comfort, was a Combined Task Force (CTF) charged with enforcing its own no-fly zone above the 36th parallel in Iraq. Its mission began on 1 January 1997. The coalition partners ...

(1999–2000),

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from Summer 1992 to Spring 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of mon ...

(2001),

Operation Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...

(2001–), and

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

(2003–).

Global War on Terror

Since

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

units and individual personnel in various career fields have supported a number of missions related to

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

, Operation Noble Eagle's homeland defense, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 457th FS ended a two-month deployment to

Balad Air Base Balad Air Base ( ar, قاعدة بلد الجوية) , is an Iraqi Air Force base located near Balad in the Sunni Triangle north of Baghdad, Iraq. Built in the early 1980s, it was originally named Al-Bakr Air Base. In 2003 the base was captured ...

in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in December 2005.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 457th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine, on 5 October 1944 : Activated on 21 October 1944 : Inactivated on 16 December 1945 * Redesignated 457th Strategic Fighter Squadron on 20 November 1952 : Activated on 20 January 1953 : Redesignated 457th Fighter-Day Squadron on 1 July 1957 : Redesignated 457th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 1 January 1958 : Redesignated 457th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 July 1958 : Inactivated on 1 April 1959 * Activated in the reserve on 8 July 1972 : Redesignated 457th Fighter Squadron on 1 February 1992

Assignments

, 21 October 1944 – 16 December 1945 *

506th Strategic Fighter Wing 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 506 Fighter-Day Wing, 506 Fighter-Bomber Wing, 506 Tactical Fighter Wing), 20 January 1953 – 1 April 1959 * 506th Tactical Fighter Group, 8 July 1972 *

301st Tactical Fighter Wing The 301st Fighter Wing (301 FW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Carswell Field, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texa ...

(later 301 Fighter Wing), 25 March 1973 * 301st Operations Group, 1 August 1992 – present

Stations

Lakeland Army Air Field Lakeland Army Airfield, was a World War II United States Army Air Force located 5.3 miles southwest of Lakeland, Florida. From 1960 to 2017 it was Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. In 2017 it was renamed Lakeland Linder International Airport. H ...

, Florida, 21 October 1944 – 16 February 1945 * North Field, Iwo Jima, 25 April–3 December 1945 : Air echelon operated from

West Field Helm Field also called Lemoore Auxiliary Army Airfield A-7 is a former US Army Airfield use for training during World War II. Helm Field was location in the town of Coalinga, California, 70 miles south of Fresno. Helm Field had two 3,000 foot runw ...

, Tinian, 23 March–11 May 1945 *

Camp Anza Camp Anza was a United States Army installation, in what is now Riverside, California, during World War II. Construction began on July 3, 1942, and was completed on February 15, 1943. The camp was named after Juan Bautista de Anza, an early explor ...

, California, 15–16 December 1945 *

Dow Air Force Base Bangor Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard base. Created in 1927 as the commercial Godfrey Field, the airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army just before World War II and renamed Godfrey Army Airfield and later Dow Ar ...

, Maine, 20 January 1953 *

Tinker Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, surrounded by Del City, Oklahoma City, and Midwest City. The base, origina ...

, Oklahoma, 20 March 1955 – 1 April 1959 *

Carswell Air Force Base Carswell Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located northwest of Fort Worth, Texas. For most of its operational lifetime, the base's mission was to train and support heavy strategic bombing groups and wings. Carswe ...

(later Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth), Texas, 8 July 1972 – present

Aircraft

, 1944–1945 *

Republic F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thu ...

, 1953–1957 *

North American F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...

, 1957–1958 *

, 1972–1982 *

McDonnell F-4 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 ...

, 1981–1991 *

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 ...

, 1990–present *

Lockheed Martin F-35A The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather Stealth aircraft, stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and attack ...

, Est 2024

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 457 Military units and formations in Texas Fighter squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1944