24th Fighter Squadron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1917–1919; 1921–1946; 2019-present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Fighter |
| Part of | Air Combat Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth |
| Nickname | Leaping Tigers[1] |
| Mascot | Leaping Tigers |
| Engagements |
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| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Lt Col Matthew Riley[2] |
| Insignia | |
| 24th Fighter Squadron emblem[note 2][3] |  |
| 24th Pursuit Squadron emblem[note 3][3][note 4] |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | F-16C, F-35A |
The24th Fighter Squadron is a United StatesAir Combat Command unit, assigned to the495th Fighter Group atNaval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. The squadron was activated in 2019 and flies the F-35A as an active associate unit of the457th Fighter Squadron.
Thesquadron's first predecessor was organized in June 1917 as the19th Aero Squadron, a provisional unit, atKelly Field, Texas. It deployed to France as the24th Aero Squadron (Observation) and flew combat missions. Following thearmistice, it became part of the Army of Occupation. It returned to the United States and was demobilized in November 1919.
The squadron's second predecessor was formed in 1921 as the24th Squadron (Pursuit). It moved to thePanama Canal Zone the following year and served in theair defense of thePanama Canal until inactivating in 1946. The two squadrons were consolidated in 1924.
The24th Fighter Squadron was formed in early June 1917 as the19th Provisional Aero Squadron, drawing its personnel from Company F, Provisional Aviation School Squadron, which had been organized atKelly Field, Texas on 1 May 1917. It became the24th Aero Squadron on 14 June 1917.[4][3] On 11 November 1917, the original squadron was divided, with half of the squadron being organized as the185th Aero Squadron.[5]
The unit deployed to England after the U.S. entry into World War I on 9 January 1918, and from there moved on to France after a training period in England, on 18 July 1918, positioned first atSt. Maixent Replacement Barracks, and later atOurches Aerodrome.
During itsWorld War I service, the 24th was assigned to theFirst Army Observation Group. Its first combat mission came on 12 September 1918, and 13 more missions were flown during the preceding 10 days. The unit's first confirmed combat victory came on 15 September 1918 when 2nd Lt Roe E. Weils (Pilot) and 2nd Lt Albert W. Swmebroad (Observer) shot down a German aircraft. The unit also lost three aircraft during the same period, and of the crews from these aircraft, two men becamePrisoners of War.[6][7][8][9][10]
The unit went on to fly 155 missions fromGondreville andVavincourt Aerodromes from 22 September 1918 during theMeuse-Argonne Offensive and claimed 11 aerial victories. Of these missions, 22 were termed "special combat missions" in which they were sent out by Army Headquarters to obtain aerial reconnaissance information most urgently needed to support ground operations, all of which were conducted at "extremely low altitude." For these special duties, teams were detached from the squadron and sent to Army Headquarters atSouilly Aerodrome between 9 and 18 October. On one such mission, 1st Lt. Raymond P. Dillon (Pilot) and 2nd Lt. John B. Lee III engaged nine enemy aircraft and claimed three of them.
After the November 1918 Armistice with Germany, the squadron was part of theOccupation of the Rhineland, returning to the United States on 1 October 1919 and being demobilized.[6][7][8]
The24th Squadron (Pursuit) was organized atMitchel Field, New York, and assigned to the6th Composite Group atFrance Field,Panama Canal Zone on 22 April 1922. Ground elements departed 30 April 1922 from the port of New York on the USATSomme en route to the Canal Zone. Air elements concurrently departed Mitchel Field and arrived several days later atFrance Field,Panama Canal Zone. The squadron was redesignated the24th Pursuit Squadron in 1923.[6][4]
The unit remained at France Field until October 1932 when it moved to the newly completedAlbrook Field, where it joined the16th Pursuit Group, to which it had been assigned in 1930. For the rest of its existence, the squadron's mission was the defense of thePanama Canal.[6][11] The squadron was redesignated, in keeping with the changes sweeping through the Army Air Corps, becoming the24th Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942.[3][12]
TheGreat Depression in the United States and lack of funding to theUnited States Army Air Corps led to the fortunes of the unit being at a rather low ebb by 1 January 1939, at which time the squadron consisted of six flying officers and 93 other ranks, the Squadron was equipped with theBoeing P-26A Peashooter. With the breakout ofWorld War II in Europe during September 1939, the Squadron was one of the first to be brought up to strength when, on 7 September 1939, 25 new Second Lieutenants arrived fromBarksdale,Selfridge andLangley Fields in the United States. Between the date of their arrival and thePearl Harbor Attack on 7 December 1941, 13 of these young officers were reassigned to other pursuit squadrons in the Canal Zone, and this marked the beginning of a policy whereby most of the squadrons of the 16th and32d Pursuit Groups grew, almost literally, out of the 24th Pursuit Squadron.[6][11][12]
In October 1939, the Squadron received word that it was to re-equip with the newCurtiss P-36A Hawks. By the end of 1939, the Squadron was at authorized strength with 12 P-36As (the squadron color was yellow at the time), one captain (the squadron commander), 11 Second Lieutenants and 142 enlisted ranks. The year 1940 passed in a series of trainingmaneuvers, and personnel replacements and reassignments. Due to training accidents, as of 31 December 1940, the unit had but eight of its P-36A's left, and officer strength had dwindled to one captain, one first lieutenant and six second lieutenants, but enlisted strength had grown to 158. In June 1941, the Squadron received nine newCurtiss P-40C Warhawks and, with these, a number of long-range navigational flights were undertaken, one going so far asTrinidad.[6][11][12]
After the Pearl Harbor Attack in December 1941, the squadron initially remained on standing alert at Albrook, but dispatched C Flight toSalinas Airport, Ecuador, to provide localair defense for that strategic point on 2 February 1942. The remainder of the squadron moved to La Joya #2 Aerodrome09°04′59″N079°19′00″W / 9.08306°N 79.31667°W /9.08306; -79.31667 on 12 March 1942, where they remained until returning to Albrook on 30 September. For the first four months that the unit was at La Joya #2, they had operated off the very primitive dirt runway there. This field was 25 miles north east of Albrook, just off the mainPan-American Highway toChepo. It was, however, well situated as, just off the runway was heavy jungle growth, which offered excellent revetments and camouflage. The unit had also transitioned from its P-40C's toBell P-39D Airacobras starting 2 May 1942, when it acquired ten of these aircraft From the53d Fighter Group. The field at La Joya became flooded (due to the rainy season) in September 1942, forcing the return of the unit, somewhat ahead of schedule, to Albrook, where conditions were very crowded. By then, the P-39Ds had been exchanged for 14 P-39Ks.[6][12]
On 15 October 1942, eight P-39Ks were dispatched on a mission nearRio Hato to graphically illustrate the effectiveness of the cannon-armed fighter as a ground-attack aircraft. The Airacobras attacked a column of derelict trucks positioned there and, when the dust settled, all but five of the 115 vehicles had been completely destroyed. In addition, between November 1942 and 11 January 1943, the squadron also had a solitaryDouglas P-70 Havoc night fighter, which it maintained and operated on behalf of theXXVI Fighter Command at Albrook. This was the rather weakSixth Air Force response to a concern over the lack of night fighter defenses for the Panama Canal.[6][12]
The respite at Albrook was short-lived, however, as it had now become the policy of Sixth Air Force to rotate its fighter squadrons in and out of remote bases for practical as well as for morale purposes. Thus, on 17 January 1943, (with a total of 17 aircraft on hand) the squadron took up residence again at La Joya #2, following the arrival of the dry season, where it stayed until 28 May, when it returned once again, briefly, to Albrook. However, just prior to the return to Albrook on 24 May, 12 P-39K's flew in support of three NavyPT Boats in a simulated dive-bombing and strafing attack on twoNavy destroyers some ten miles south east ofTaborquilla Island.[6][12]
The next move, however, was toHoward Field (after being yet again flooded out at La Joya), on 9 June 1943, although Flight E was detached to serve onRey Island in theBay of Panama on 15 June (Punta Coco Airfield, at the southern tip la Esmeralda peninsula). Also, the squadron received four P-39Ds which had previously been stationed atLosey Field, Puerto Rico. Fortunately, however, the Squadron flew its last P-39 missions on 25 June 1943 and, ironically, these were replaced on 27 June 1943 by two refurbished Curtiss P-40Cs and on 29 June two new P-40N Warhawks. From that point through until August, the squadron transitioned into new P-40N's, 22 of which were on hand by the end of that month. Meanwhile, the detachment at Rey Island (E Flight) was joined by F Flight, and these were amalgamated into one very large E Flight, still on Rey Island.[6][12]
On 27 August 1943, flying their new P-40N's, A and B Flights flew a mass cross-country to Costa Rica. The next day, they flew down the Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Panama – completely undetected – and made a successful surprise "attack" on theGatun Locks of the Panama Canal. B Flight made three dive-bombing attacks from 10,000 feet while A Flight made four strafing passes. Defending interceptors, finally alerted to the proceedings, didn't show up until the attack was completely over. Effective 1 November 1943, the squadron was assigned directly to the XXVI Fighter Command and, by 31 December, had totally re-equipped with P-4ON's.[6][12][13]
The squadron was moved again toMadden Field (near Madden Dam) on 8 March 1944 and, shortly following, again re-equipped, this time with Bell P-39Q-5s and P-39Q-20s, andPiper L-4s andNorth American AT-6 Texans were also assigned. A "hack"Northrop RA-17 as well as a Curtiss RP-40C were also assigned. By March a singleVultee BT-13A Valiant had also been added, to augment the instrument training program. In July 1944, the squadron was once again tasked to make mock attacks on Panama Canal installations and, later in the same month, conducted very intensiveinterceptor exercises against variousVI Bomber Command elements. By the end of that month, 23 P-39Q's were on hand, of which 21 were combat ready.[6][13][14]
On 15 August 1944, the squadron moved again, this time to France Field and, by October, the unit had reached perhaps its highest state of combat readiness, with 23 of 24 P-39Q's airworthy, the highest percentage in XXVI Fighter Command at the time.[6][13]
In February 1945, the unit was redesignated as the24th Fighter Squadron (Two Engine) and this signaled the advent of the sleekLockheed P-38 Lightning into squadron service. The first P-38 known assigned was P-38J 44-23072, which also suffered a landing accident on 25 February 1945. The squadron moved once again, although the main body was still stationed at France Field, this time toChame Field, Panama, and by March 1945 had a mixed strength consisting of 16 P-39Qs, 11 P-38Js, and single examples of theCessna UC-78, North American AT-6F and a Vultee BT-13A. By June 1945, the P-38 Lightnings predominated, with 20 P-38s on hand and but five P-39Qs, although one of the P-38s was lost that month to an accident, the earlier P-38J's having been augmented by P-38Ls. ABeechcraft UC-45F was also assigned to the squadron to serve as a conversion trainer to twin-engined equipment, augmenting the UC-78.[6]
With the end of the war in September 1945, the squadron reduced its activities, and many personnel were transferred back to the United States for separation. The squadron was placed in a non operational status on 1 November 1945, and inactivated on 15 October 1946. Its remaining aircraft were transferred to the43d Fighter Squadron.[6][15]
Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR)
In April 2023 the 24th Fighter Squadron deployed with the 457th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron to the 378 Air Expeditionary Wing. This marked a return to combat operations for the men and women of the 24 FS and the last operational deployment of the F-16C. The unit was selected for conversion to the F-35A.
The squadron was reactivated on 25 October 2019 atNaval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth as an active duty associate unit ofAir Force Reserve Command's457th Fighter Squadron. At Carswell, it replaced the355th Fighter Squadron, which moved to another base without personnel or equipment. The squadron is assigned to the495th Fighter Group, which is located atShaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.[16] Its assigned pilots flew theGeneral Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons of the 457th until late 2023. On October 1, 2023 the unit was recoded as the newest F-35A Fighter Squadron. The F-35A marks a significant milestone for the men and women of the 24th Fighter Squadron, the unit now hosts the most combat capable fighter aircraft in USAF history.
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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