("Death to the Enemy")
, colors= Black/Gold
, march=
, mascot=
, equipment =
, battles=
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 ...
War in Kosovo
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
Global War on Terror
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant I ...
, notable_commanders=
, anniversaries=
, decorations=
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 ...
Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the Awards and decorations of the United States Department of the Air Force, unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the A ...
Belgian Fourragère[
, battle_honours=
, identification_symbol=]
, identification_symbol_label=493d Fighter Squadron emblem (approved 20 August 2003)[
, identification_symbol_2=]
, identification_symbol_2_label=493d Tactical Fighter Squadron emblem
, identification_symbol_3=
, identification_symbol_3_label=56th Bombardment Squadron emblem (approved 24 December 1941)[Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 594-595]
, identification_symbol_4= I7 (Jan 1941 – Nov 1945)
LS (Mar 1970 – Dec 1971)
LK (Dec 1971 – July 1972)
LN (July 1972 – present)
, identification_symbol_4_label= Squadron tail codes
The 493rd Fighter Squadron (493rd FS), nicknamed ''the Grim Reapers'', is part of the 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 ...
's 48th Fighter Wing located at RAF Lakenheath
Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, UK, north-east of Mildenhall and west of Thetford. The base also sits close to Brandon.
Despite being an RAF stati ...
, Suffolk, United Kingdom. The 493rd is currently not equipped with any aircraft but is expected to receive the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide ele ...
in late 2022. Between 1993 and 2022 it operated the McDonnell Douglas F-15C/D Eagle, providing air-to-air offensive and defensive support for United States and 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 ...
operations. The squadron has earned multiple commendations and awards, including the Air Force Association
The Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional military association for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, its declared mission is " ...
's Hughes Trophy in 1997 and 1999 and the 2007, 2014, 2016 and 2019 Raytheon Trophies, for being recognized as the top fighter squadron in the United States Air Force.
History
World War II
Activated as a Southeastern Air District Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
training squadron, equipped with a variety of second-line aircraft, both single and twin engine, preparing its pilots and maintenance crews for eventual combat. After the Pearl Harbor Attack
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
, the squadron flew antisubmarine
An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
patrols from March to April 1942. Resumed aircrew training, many of the group's members went on to serve in squadrons stationed in Europe and the Pacific theaters.
Eventually coming under the AAF 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 ...
in 1944, trained replacement pilots 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, Converted in January 1944 to an operational fighter squadron. Deployed to the European Theater of Operations, being assigned to the IX Fighter Command
The IX Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Erlangen, Germany, wheret was inactivated on 16 November 1945.
IX Fighter Command was the primary tactical fighter ...
in England, March 1944.
Almost immediately after their arrival, the squadron began a rigorous training program, flying dive-bombing, glide bombing, night flying, low-level navigation, smoke laying, reconnaissance, and patrol convoy sorties. Over the next two months, the number of sorties steadily increased and the squadron flew its first combat mission on 20 April 1944, an uneventful fighter sweep of the occupied French coast.
Assisted the Normandy invasion by dropping bombs on bridges and gun positions, attacking rail lines and trains, and providing visual reconnaissance reports. Moved to France in mid-June 1944, supporting ground operations of Allied forces moving east across northern France throughout the war: primarily providing support for the United States First Army
First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korea ...
. Eventually was stationed in Occupied Germany on V-E Day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...
.
On 5 July 1945, the squadron arrived in Laon, France
Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
History
Early history
The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held str ...
. After a few weeks back in France the squadron received orders to return to the US. With many of the members separating at port, those remaining set up the headquarters at 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 and was programmed for deployment to Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
to take part in planned Invasion of Japan
Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ...
. Training discontinued after Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...
and the sudden end of the Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
.
Two months later on 7 November 1945, the squadron inactivated as part of the massive postwar draw down.
Cold War
The squadron was reactivated in 1952 as a NATO Fighter-Bomber squadron stationed in France. Equipped initially with Republic F-84G Thunderjets, upgraded in 1954 to North American F-86F Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...
aircraft. conducted operational readiness exercises and tactical evaluations. Honing bombing and gunnery skills, the squadron frequently deployed to Wheelus Air Base
Wheelus Air Base was a United States Air Force base located in British-occupied Libya and the Kingdom of Libya from 1943 to 1970. At one time it was the largest US military facility outside the US. It had an area of on the coast of Tripoli. T ...
, Libya for training.
Then in late 1956 the squadron upgraded to the North American F-100D 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 ...
. However, the nuclear-weapon-capable F-100 caused disagreements with France concerning atomic storage and custody issues within NATO, resulting in a decision to remove Air Force atomic-capable units from French soil. On 15 January 1960, the squadron and its parent 48th Tactical Fighter Wing moved to RAF Lakenheath
Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, UK, north-east of Mildenhall and west of Thetford. The base also sits close to Brandon.
Despite being an RAF stati ...
, UK.
Between 1960 and 1972, the squadron's F-100 fleet maintained its readiness by participating in a number of USAFE and NATO exercises training to react to possible aggression from the Soviet Union. They underwent a series of NATO tactical evaluations. The squadron conducted several deployments to Turkey, Italy, Spain, and across the United Kingdom.
Beginning in late 1971, the squadron started its conversion to the McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed ...
, with the aircraft being transferred from the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing
The 81st Training Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force and the host wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. The 81st Training Wing has the Air Force's largest Technical Training Group and trains more than 40,000 students annually. ...
at RAF Bentwaters
Royal Air Force Bentwaters or more simply RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about northeast of London and east-northeast of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England. Its name was taken fro ...
. The conversion to the F-4D took several years, with the last F-100 departing in August 1974. With the arrival of the Phantoms, the F-4s adopted a common tail code of "LK". This tail code lasted only a few months as in July and August 1972 the 48th Wing further recoded to "LN".
The F-4's service with squadron was short as Operation Ready Switch transferred the F-4Ds to the 474th Tactical Fighter Wing
The 474th Tactical Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was at Nellis Air Force Base (IATA code LSV), Nevada, where it trained combat-ready aircrews and maintained a rapid-reaction capability to execute ...
at Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...
Nevada. The 474th sent their General Dynamics F-111As to the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing
The 347th Rescue Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. It was inactivated on 1 October 2006.
History
: ''For additional ...
at Mountain Home Air Force Base
Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in the western United States. Located in southwestern Idaho in Elmore County, the base is southwest of Mountain Home, which is southeast of Boise via Interstate ...
, Idaho, and the 347th sent their F-111Fs to Lakenheath in early 1977. Unlike the previous F-4 transition, the F-111 change took place quickly and without any significant problems. Almost immediately after changing aircraft, the squadron began a series of monthly exercises and deployments that took the Liberty Wing to Italy, Iran, Greece, and Pakistan.
The 48th Wing also participated in Operation El Dorado Canyon
The 1986 United States bombing of Libya, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, consisted of air strikes by the United States against Libya on Tuesday 15 April 1986. The attack was carried out by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), U.S. Navy and U.S. Ma ...
, the air raid on Tripoli, Libya on 14 and 15 April 1986. It flew combat missions in Southwest Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Anat ...
from January to February 1991 as part of Operation Desert Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
.
The 493rd was redesignated as the 493rd Fighter Squadron on 1 October 1991.[ The 493rd FS was inactivated as a F-111F unit on 18 December 1992.][
]
Eagle (1993–2022)
The unit began working up as a McDonnell Douglas F-15C/D Eagle squadron, receiving their first two jets, F-15C ''86-0164'' and F-15D ''86-0182'', on 15 November 1993 from Bitburg Air Base
Bitburg (; french: Bitbourg; lb, Béibreg) is a city in Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate approximately 25 km (16 mi.) northwest of Trier and 50 km (31 mi.) northeast of Luxembourg city. The American Spangdahlem A ...
, Germany. The change from the F-111F to the Eagle marked the first time that the squadron had flown a specifically air-to-air weapon system, after flying for more than 50 years with an air-to-ground mission. The squadron received the last production block of new F-15 Eagles. The 493rd Fighter Squadron was reactivated on 1 January 1994.[ ''The Grim Reapers'' received the rest of their 18 assigned Eagles from ]Langley AFB
Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the entry of the United States into World War I in April 19 ...
and Eglin AFB
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The 9 ...
, with the last one (''86-0160'') arriving on 22 July 1994.
In 1998, the 493rd FS received another six F-15Cs, increasing the squadron size to 24 aircraft. These came from the 53rd Fighter Squadron based at Spangdahlem Air Base
Spangdahlem Air Base (IATA: SPM, ICAO: ETAD, former code EDAD) is a NATO air base with the USAF as a tenant constructed between 1951 and 1953 and located near the small German town of Spangdahlem, approximately 30 km NNE of the city of Trier ...
, Germany, due to it being inactivated because of the USAF consolidating its squadrons.
On 3 August 2000, F-15C ''86-0173'' was written off after crashing 13 miles NE of Rachel, Nevada
Rachel is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 48. As the closest settlement to the Nellis Air Force Range and Area 51, Rachel enjoys a modest celebrity status, pa ...
, during a Green Flag Exercise – the pilot safely ejected.
On 26 March 2001, two F-15Cs from the 493rd FS (''86-0169'' and ''86-0180'') crashed into Ben Macdui
Ben Macdui ( gd, Beinn MacDuibh, meaning "MacDuff's mountain") is the second-highest mountain in Scotland and all of the British Isles, after Ben Nevis, and the highest of the Cairngorm Mountains. The summit is above sea level and it is class ...
in the Cairngorms
The Cairngorms ( gd, Am Monadh Ruadh) are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national park (the Cairngorms National Park) on 1 S ...
mountain range, both pilots died in the crash.
In June 2008, ''the Grim Reapers'' were selected as the 2007 Raytheon Trophy winners, the first time in 10 years they had been recognised as the best fighter squadron in the USAF.
The squadron participated in Operation Odyssey Dawn
Operation Odyssey Dawn was the U.S. code name for the American role in the international military operation in Libya to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 during the initial period of 19–31 March 2011, which continued aft ...
in Libya in March 2011, along with numerous deployments to Southwest Asia supporting air expeditionary units as part of the ongoing Global War on Terrorism
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...
and as part of 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 ...
and 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 ...
.[
In January 2015, the squadron was named the best fighter squadron in the Air Force, earning the Raytheon Trophy for 2014.]
On 13 May 2017, the 493rd FS were awarded the 2016 Raytheon Trophy at the Imperial War Museum Duxford
Imperial War Museum Duxford is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Britain's largest aviation museum, Duxford houses the museum's large exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraft, military vehicles, artill ...
.
In April 2020, ''the Grim Reapers'' were awarded the 2019 Raytheon Trophy. On 15 June 2020, F-15C ''86-0176'' crashed into the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
during a training mission, killing the pilot.
During the prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
In March and April 2021, the Russian Armed Forces began massing thousands of personnel and military equipment near Russia's border with Ukraine and in Crimea, representing the largest mobilization since the illegal annexation of Crimea ...
, ''the Grim Reapers'' deployed eight F-15C/Ds to Łask Air Base
32nd Air Base ( pl, 32. Baza Lotnicza) is a Polish Air Force base, located in Łask, about 30 km south-west of Łódź. It is one of the two bases where Poland's F-16 fighters are stationed, the other being 31st Air Base. 9 of them wer ...
, Poland, in February 2022 to perform NATO enhanced Air Policing (eAP). It was the last NATO mission the squadron undertook with the Eagle.
Future
In 2022, the 493rd FS will inactivate after its fleet of F-15Cs and Ds return to the United States in preparation to re-equip and reactivate with the F-35A Lightning II. The 493rd's future F-35A flagship (''19-5493'') was delivered to RAF Lakenheath on 15 April 2022.
Lineage
* Constituted as the 56th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 20 November 1940
: Activated on 15 January 1941
: Redesignated 56th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) on 28 August 1942
: Redesignated 493d Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 10 August 1943
: Redesignated 493d Fighter Squadron, Single Engine on 30 May 1944
: Inactivated on 7 November 1945
* Redesignated 493d Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 25 June 1952
: Activated on 10 July 1952
: Redesignated 493d Tactical Fighter Squadron on 8 July 1958
: Redesignated 493d Fighter Squadron on 1 October 1991
: Inactivated on 18 December 1992
* Activated on 1 January 1994[
]
Assignments
* 48th Bombardment Group (later 48th Fighter-Bomber Group, 48th Fighter Group), 15 January 1941 – 7 November 1945
* 48th Fighter-Bomber Group, 10 July 1952
* 48th Fighter-Bomber Wing (later 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, 48th Fighter Wing), 8 December 1957 – 18 December 1992
: Attached to 48th Fighter Wing (Provisional), 2 September 1990 – 15 March 1991; 7440th Composite Wing, September – December 1991
* 48th Operations Group, 1 January 1994 – present[
]
Stations
* Hunter Field
Hunter Army Airfield , located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart located in Hinesville, Georgia.
Hunter features a runway that is 11,375 feet (3,468 m) long and an Airpor ...
, Georgia, 15 January 1941
* Will Rogers Field
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
, Oklahoma, 23 May 1941
* Hunter Field, Georgia, 7 February 1942
* Key Field
Meridian Regional Airport is a joint civil-military public use airport located at Key Field, a joint-use public/military airfield. It is located southwest of Meridian, a city in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States. The Meridian Airpo ...
, Mississippi, 28 June 1942
* William Northern Field
Arnold Air Force Base (Arnold AFB) is a United States Air Force base located in Coffee and Franklin counties, Tennessee, adjacent to the city of Tullahoma. It is named for General Henry "Hap" Arnold, the father of the U.S. Air Force.
There i ...
, Tennessee, 20 August 1943
* Walterboro Army Air Field
Lowcountry Regional Airport is a public use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) northeast of the central business district of Walterboro, a city in Colleton County, South Carolina, United States. It is owned by the city and c ...
, South Carolina, 27 January – 13 March 1944
* RAF Ibsley
Royal Air Force Ibsley or more simply RAF Ibsley is a former Royal Air Force station in Hampshire, England. The airfield is near the village of Ibsley, about north of Ringwood and about southwest of London.
A perimeter track with three run ...
(AAF-347),[Station number in Anderson.] England, 29 March 1944
* Deux Jumeaux Airfield (A-4),[Station number in Johnson.] France, 18 June 1944
* Villacoublay Airfield (A-42),[ France, 29 August 1944
* Cambrai/Niergnies Airfield (A-74),][ France, 15 September 1944
* ]Sint-Truiden Airfield
Sint-Truiden / Brustem Airfield ( nl, Vliegveld Sint Truiden, ) is an airfield located in , southeast of Sint-Truiden (Limburg) and approximately east of Brussels. Formerly known as Sint-Truiden Air Base ( nl, Luchtmachtbasis Sint-Truiden, frenc ...
(A-92),[ Belgium, 30 September 1944
* Kelz Airfield (Y-54),][ Germany, 26 March 1945
* ]Kassel-Rothwesten Airfield
Kassel-Rothwesten Airfield is a former military airfield located in Rothwesten, a part of Fuldatal in Germany about north-northeast of Kassel (Hessen); approximately southwest of Berlin.
Then known as ''Fliegerhorst Kassel'', the facility w ...
(R-12),[ Germany, 18 April 1945
* Illesheim Airfield (R-10),][ Germany, 25 April 1945
* Laon, France (Ground Echelon), 5 July – August 1945
* Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina, 9 September – 7 November 1945
* Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base, France, 10 July 1952
* RAF Lakenheath, England, 11 January 1960 – present
: Deployed to ]Ta’if
Taif ( ar, , translit=aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit=The circulated or encircled, ) is a city and governorate in the Makkan Region of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat M ...
, Saudi Arabia, 2 September 1990 – 15 March 1991; Incirlik Air Base
Incirlik Air Base ( tr, İncirlik Hava Üssü) is a Turkish air base of slightly more than 3320 ac (1335 ha), located in the İncirlik quarter of the city of Adana, Turkey. The base is within an urban area of 1.7 million people, east of t ...
, Turkey, September – December 1991[
]
Aircraft
* Curtiss A-18 Shrike
The Curtiss A-18 ''Model 76A Shrike II'' was a 1930s United States twin-engine ground-attack aircraft. It was the production test version of that company's A-14 Shrike.
Design and development
In the years leading up to World War II, the United ...
(1941)
* Douglas A-20 Havoc
The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II.
Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement f ...
(1941–1942)
* Vultee A-35 Vengeance (1942–1943)
* 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)
* Bell P-39 Airacobra
The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...
(1943–1944)
* 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 ...
(1944–1945)
* Republic F-84G Thunderjet (1952–1954)
* North American F-86F Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...
(1953–1956)
* North American F-100D 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 ...
(1956–1972)
* McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed ...
(1972–1977)
* General Dynamics F-111F Aardvark (1977–1992)
* McDonnell Douglas F-15C/D Eagle (1993–2022)[
]
Operations
*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 ...
*Operation El Dorado Canyon
The 1986 United States bombing of Libya, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, consisted of air strikes by the United States against Libya on Tuesday 15 April 1986. The attack was carried out by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), U.S. Navy and U.S. Ma ...
*Operation Desert Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
References
Notes
; Explanatory notes
; Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Fighter Squadron History
48th Operations Group Fact Sheet
Lakenheath's 493rd FS awarded 2014 Raytheon Trophy
The History, Heritage, and Heraldry of the 48th Fighter Wing
{{USAF Bases in the UK
493
Fighter squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces
Military units and formations established in 1940