457th Fighter Squadron

457th Fighter Squadron

Emblem of the 457th Fighter Squadron
Active 1944-June 1949; 1972–present
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force/AFRC
Role Fighter
Part of 301st Fighter Wing
12th Air Force
Garrison/HQ NAS Fort Worth JRB (formerly Carswell AFB)
Nickname(s) Spads
Motto(s) Spad to the Bone
457th FS F-16C Block 30A, AF Serial No. 85-1412, at NAS Fort Worth JRB

The 457th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) unit, assigned to the 301st Operations Group. Stationed at Carswell Field, Texas, the squadron flies the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Overview

The 457th FS is part of the only Air Force Reserve unit in the state of Texas. Since 11 September 2001, 301st Fighter Wing units and individual personnel in various career fields have supported a number of missions related to Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Noble Eagle's homeland defense, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.[1] The 457th FS ended a two-month deployment to Balad AB in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in December 2005.[2]

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 was known as Carswell AFB was TF.

History

Trained in the continental United States, Oct 1944-Feb 1945. Moved to western Pacific Ocean in spring of 1945. Escorted B-29 bombers in raids against Japan, and attacked targets such as enemy airfields, May-Aug 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.

Took part in Operation Deny Flight, enforcing a no-fly zone over Bosnia, in mid-1990s. Participated in training exercises and deployments. Provided resources for Operations Northern Watch (1999-2000), Southern Watch (2001), Noble Eagle (2001-), and Iraqi Freedom (2003-).

Lineage

Activated on 21 Oct 1944
Inactivated on 16 Dec 1945
Activated on 20 Jan 1953
Redesignated as: 457 Fighter-Day Squadron on 1 Jul 1957
Redesignated as: 457 Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 1 Jan 1958
Redesignated as: 457 Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 Jul 1958
Inactivated on 1 Apr 1959
Re-designated as: 457 Fighter Squadron on 1 Feb 1992

Assignments

Stations

Air echelon operated from West Field, Tinian, 23 Mar – 11 May 1945

Aircraft

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

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