93d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

93d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

Emblem of the 93d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
Active 1942–1960
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Type Fighter-Interceptor
93d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron - North American F-86Fs at Kirtland AFB in 1950
A 93d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron 4 F-86A overflight of Kirtland AFB, New Mexico in 1951. Identified Aircraft are: 48-239, 48-224, 48-263 and 49-1061
93d FIS North American F-86D-35-NA Sabre - 51-6221, about 1955. Aircraft markings were red lightning bolts on the fuselage
Note: For the current USAF unit, see 93d Fighter Squadron

The 93d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Albuquerque Air Defense Sector, stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.

It was inactivated on 8 July 1960.

History

World War II

The squadron was activated in early 1942 under III Fighter Command in North Carolina. It trained initially with P-39 Aircobras, it was then re-equipped with P-38 Lightnings.

Moved overseas between October 1942 and February 1943, the ground echelon established itself in French Morocco with the force that invaded North Africa on 8 November. The air echelon, which had trained for a time in England, arrived in North Africa between late December 1942 and early February 1943.

The unit began combat with the Twelfth Air Force in January 1943, supporting ground operations during the Allied drive against Axis forces in Tunisia. It patrolled the coast of North Africa and protected Allied shipping in the Mediterranean Sea between April and July 1943. It also provided cover for the convoys that landed troops on Pantelleria island on 11 June and on Sicily on 10 July 1943. The squadron supported the landings at Anzio on 22 January 1944 and flew patrols in that area for a short time.

Re-assigned to the China-Burma-India Theater (CBI), it moved to India in February and March 1944. It initially carried out training with P-40 and P-47 aircraft. Moving to China in May, it became part of the Fourteenth Air Force. The squadron continued training and on occasion flew patrols and escort missions before returning to full-time combat duty in January 1945. It attacked enemy airfields and installations, flew escort missions and aided the operations of Chinese ground forces by attacking troop concentrations, ammunition dumps, lines of communication and other targets to hinder Japanese efforts to move men and matèriel to the front.

It was inactivated in China on 27 December 1945.

Cold War

The squadron was reactivated at Wheeler Field, Hawaii Territory in late 1946. It was equipped with P-51 Mustangs and was responsible for the air defense of the Hawaiian Islands until 1949. It was reassigned to the Tactical Air Command, Ninth Air Force, being stationed in New Mexico. Re-equipped with F-80 Shooting Star jet aircraft, it trained as a tactical fighter squadron. The unit upgraded to North American F-86A Sabre day interceptors in 1951, performing air defense duties over the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico at Kirtland AFB.

It was re-equipped with F-86Ds in 1953. It began up-grading to the F-86L in 1957, which incorporated the Semi Automatic Ground Environment, or SAGE computer-controlled direction system for intercepts. The duration of the F-86L's service was destined to be quite brief, since by the time the last 'L' was delivered, the type was already being phased out in favor of supersonic interceptors. The squadron was inactivated in 1960 during an ADC reorganization and phase-out of the F-86 from active-duty units.

Lineage

Activated on 9 February 1942
Redesignated the 93d Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942
Inactivated on 8 December 1945
Redesignated the 93d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 20 January 1950
Discontinued on 8 July 1960.

Assignments

Attached to Albuquerque Air Defense Sector, May 1950
Attached to the 34th Air Division, 10 August 1951

Stations

Operated from Thelepte Airfield, Tunisia, 6 March – c. 5 April 1943
  • Bone Airfield, Algeria, 3 April 1943
  • Monastir Airfield, Tunisia, 22 May 1943
  • Sidi Ahmed Airfield, Tunisia, 23 August 1943
  • Castelvetrano Airfield, Sicily, 21 October 1943
  • Montecorvino Airfield, Italy, c. February 1944
  • Karachi Airport, British India, c. 1 March 1944
  • Kwanghan Airfield, China, c. 11 July 1944
  • Guskhara Airfield, British India, C. October 1944 – 16 October 1945
  • Shanghai Airport, China, c. 9–17 November 1945
  • Camp Stoneman, California, 5–8 December 1945
  • Wheeler Field, Hawaii (Territory), 15 October 1946 – 21 May 1949
  • Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, 17 June 1949 – 8 July 1960.

Aircraft

  • P-39 Aircobra, 1942–1944
  • P-38 Lightning, 1943–1944
  • P-40 Warhawk, 1944
  • P-47 Thunderbolt, 1944–1945
  • P-51 Mustang (later, F-51 Mustang), 1946–1949
  • P-80/F-80 Shooting Star, 1949
  • F-86A Sabre, 1951-1953
  • F-86F Sabre, 1953
  • F-86D Sabre Interceptor, 1953-1957
  • F-86L Sabre Interceptor (SAGE) 1957-1960

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

    • A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
    • Maurer, Maurer. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force: World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1982.
    • USAF Aerospace Defense Command publication, The Interceptor, January 1979 (Volume 21, Number 1).

    External links