34th Fighter Squadron

34th Fighter Squadron

F-16C Fighting Falcons of the 34th Fighter Squadron[1]
Active 1944–1946; 1954–1959; 1966–2010, 2015-present
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Type Fighter
Part of Air Combat Command
Twelfth Air Force
388th Fighter Wing
388th Operations Group
Nickname(s) Rude Rams
Decorations Presidential Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat V Device
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
Commanders
Current
commander		 Lt Col George R. Watkins[2]as of 17 July 2015
Notable
commanders		 Brig Gen Robinson Risner
Insignia
34th Fighter Squadron emblem (Approved 9 November 1945)[3]

The 34th Fighter Squadron is part of the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. It operated the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting air superiority missions. The Air Force announced that the 34th Fighter Squadron will be equipped with the F-35A in late 2015, when Hill AFB starts to receive the new fighter.[4]

Mission

Conduct air-to-air and air-to-ground operations for daylight and nighttime missions.[5]

History

World War II

The 34th was activated at Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina on 15 October 1944, flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. The squadron served in the final stages of World War II, seeing combat operations in the Western Pacific from May 1945 to August 1946, while it was stationed in the Ryukyu Islands, first on Ie Shima and later on Okinawa.[5]

The 34th FS was inactivated on 15 October 1946, following the war, and was redesignated the 34th Fighter-Day Squadron prior to its reactivation in November 1954, at George Air Force Base, California. It was part of the 413th Fighter-Day Group and was equipped with the North American F-86 Sabre. The 34th transitioned into the F-100 Super Sabre in 1956, which it flew until 1959 when it was again inactivated.[5]

Vietnam War

On 2 May 1966, the 34th FS was again activated and assigned to Pacific Air Forces. The squadron was part of the 41st Air Division at Yokota Air Base, Japan. One month later, the 34th deployed and was attached to the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. The unit was equipped with the Republic F-105 Thunderchief and conducted combat operations until May 1969. While assigned at Korat, the squadron transitioned into the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II and continued combat operations in Southeast Asia.[5]

The Rams participated in Operation Prize Bull on 21 September 1971. This was the first time U.S. forces bombed North Vietnam using all-weather capability. The 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron performed strike missions in support of a recovery operation for the SS Mayagüez, a merchant freighter captured by Cambodian Khmer Rouge guerrillas in May 1975.[5]

Return to the United States

On 23 December 1975, the 34th, as part of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, was relocated to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, still flying the F-4D Phantom II. In November 1979, the 34th TFS became the first fighter squadron to be fully equipped with the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. For the next several years, the squadron conducted initial qualification training for pilots from around the world, including those from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Israel, and Norway.[5]

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, the 34th found themselves backing up the front-line forces of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) in Southwest Asia for Operation Desert Storm. The squadron flew their desert missions at Torrejon Air Base, Spain.[5]

After the Gulf War, the 34th deployed in support of Operation Southern Watch. Between 1991 and 1996, the 34th FS deployed to Southwest Asia a total of five times. Several members of the 34th were injured on 25 June 1996 when the Khobar Towers housing compound was attacked.[5]

During December 1998, the 34th flew combat missions as part of Operation Desert Fox, a punitive operation aimed to make Iraq comply with United Nations sanctions. In June 2000, the 34th was the first active duty squadron deployed to Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles in support of Operation Coronet Nighthawk, flying drug interdiction missions in Latin America.[5]

The 34th flew F-16s combat air patrol sorties in support of Operation Noble Eagle during the 2002 Winter Olympics. In February 2003 the 34th supported Operation Noble Eagle from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia by patrolling the skies over Washington, D.C., during the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom.[5] They flew in support of Operation Noble Eagle again in October 2009 from Hill.

The 34th were deployed to Balad AB and flew combat air patrols over the skies of Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from May to October 2008. They were also deployed to Bagram Air Base from January to June 2010 to fly combat air support missions in support of the NATO ISAF in Afghanistan. The 34th was inactivated on 16 July 2010 due to military restructuring designed to save money by retiring aircraft from the active inventory.[2]

The 34th was activated on 17 July 2015 and will be the first combat squadron of the 388th Fighter Wing (and the first in the Air Force) to receive the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.[3][4] The squadron was not equipped with aircraft immediately, but received its first F-35 on 2 September 2015.[6] Based on the predicted delivery rate for its new planes, it should reach Initial Operational Capability in August 2016.[2]

Operations

Lineage

Activated on 15 October 1944
Inactivated on 15 October 1946
Activated on 11 November 1954
Inactivated on 15 March 1959
Activated on 2 May 1966 (not organized)
Organized on 15 May 1966
Inactivated on 16 July 2010
Activated on 17 July 2015[3]

Assignments

Stations

Deployed to
Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, 6 June - c. 13 July 1956
Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico, 17 – 22 June 1957)
Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, 13 – 26 July 1958

Aircraft

  • Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (1944–1946)
  • North American F-86 Sabre (1954–1956)
  • North American F-100 Super Sabre (1956–1959)
  • Republic F-105 Thunderchief (1966–1969)
  • McDonnell F-4 Phantom II (1969–1975, 1976–1979)
  • General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon (1979–2010)

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Aircraft are F-16C block 40 Serials 89-2090 and 89-2092, flying over the Gulf of Mexico in support of the Combat Archer Air-to-Air Weapons System Evaluation Program on 22 January 2004
  2. 1 2 3 Shaw, Mitch (July 22, 2015). "First F-35 fighter squadron activated at Hill". Hilltop Times. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Factsheet 34 Fighter Squadron". Air Force Historical Research Agency. July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Shaw, Mitch (23 June 2014). "Hill Historic fighter squad is coming back". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Factsheet 34th Fighter". Hill Air Force Base Public Affairs. October 21, 2002. Archived from the original on November 17, 2007. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  6. ↑ Garbarino, Micah. "First operational F-35As arrive at Hill AFB". 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs. Retrieved September 6, 2015.

Bibliography

See also

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