| 121st Fighter Squadron | |
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121st Fighter Squadron Emblem |
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| Active | since 1940 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Fighter Support |
| Part of | Air National Guard/Air Combat Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Andrews Air Force Base |
| Nickname | Guardians |
The 121st Fighter Squadron flies the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon. It is a unit of the District of Columbia Air National Guard. Its parent unit is the 113th Wing.
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The 121st is an interceptor squadron whose primary mission is the air defense of the District of Columbia.
The DC Air Guard's 121st Tactical Fighter Squadron is the oldest aviation unit in the DC National Guard. The unit, which dates from the 1930s, was established as the 121st Liaison Squadron. The 121st was called into active military service in May 1941, as part of the Army Air Forces. It flew antisubmarine patrols, c. December 1941—October 1942. It then deployed to Europe and engaged in combat in the MTO (Mediterannean Theater of Operations) and the ETO (European Theater of Operations), September 1944-3 May 1945. It went through several reorganizations and changes in aircraft and missions, and ended the war as the 121st Fighter Squadron.
The unit eventually received a fuselage insignia, an iron fist and jet fighter superimposed on a national shield, developed and approved in the early 1960s. It was thought that the unit had no previous insignia, but the designers were incorrect . . . a Maryland Terrapin originally flew with the DC Air Guard and, many years later, was reinstated in the unit's insignia.
The original design, approved in 1943, and authenticated as correct by the Air Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is described as follows:
"A caricatured tan and brown turtle proper , riding a "pogo" stick, leaving a trail of hops and impact marks black, all outlined light turquoise blue. Significance: The turtle depicts slow but sure travel, as characterized by the story of the "Tortoise and the Hare" in "Aesop's Fables." The short hops and limited range of liaison airplanes are depicted by the short hops the turtle is making on the pogo stick."
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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