| 461st Flight Test Squadron | |
|---|---|
 An F-35 Lightning II, marked AA-1, lands at Edwards Air Force Base | |
| Active | 12 December 1942 – Present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Flight Testing |
| Part of |  Air Force Materiel Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Edwards Air Force Base, California |
| Mottos | Caveant Caelum NostrumLatin Beware, Our Sky |
| Engagements | Operation Market Garden |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| 461st Flight Test Squadron emblem (approved 27 August 1957)[1] |  |
| unofficial 361st Fighter Squadron emblem prior to 1945[2][3] |  |
| World War II Squadron Fuselage Code | QI |
| 412th Wing Tail Code | ED |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | F-35 Lightning II |
The461st Flight Test Squadron is aUnited States Air Force squadron, assigned to the412th Operations Group ofAir Force Materiel Command, and is stationed atEdwards Air Force Base, California. The Squadron performs flight testing on theLockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.
The squadron's origins can be traced to the361st Fighter Squadron, which flew combat in theEuropean Theater of Operations, where it won aDistinguished Unit Citation before inactivating in 1945.
In 1985, the 361st Squadron was consolidated with the461st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron. The 461st had been activated in 1956 as the461st Fighter-Day Squadron and served as afighter unit in Europe until 1959. It served as a training unit in Arizona starting in 1977. The consolidated unit was inactivated in 1994, but was activated again in its current role in 2006.
The 461st Squadron tests aircraft systems atEdwards Air Force Base.[1]
The squadron was organized and trained in the Northeast United States byFirst Air Force. During training it was a part of the northeast air defense, linking it to the New York and Boston Fighter Wings.
The 461st Squadron was deployed to England aboard theRMS Queen Elizabeth and served in combat as a part of theVIII Fighter Command from October 1943 to May 1945. The 461st ran operations in preparation for the invasion of the European continent; they supported the landings inNormandy and the Allied drive across France and Germany. The squadron flewRepublic P-47 Thunderbolts until they were replaced byNorth American P-51 Mustangs in November 1944.[citation needed] Aircraft of the 461st were identified by a magenta/blue diamond pattern around their cowling, carrying fuselage code QI.[2]
From October 1943 until January 1944 the squadron operated as escort forBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress andConsolidated B-24 Liberator bombers that attacked industrial areas, missile sites, airfields, and communications.[1]
Fighters from the 461st engaged primarily in bombing andstrafing missions after 3 January 1944. Its targets included U-boat installations, barges, shipyards, aerodromes, hangars, marshaling yards, locomotives, trucks, oil facilities,flak towers, and radar stations. The 461st bombed and strafed theArnhem, Netherlands area on 17, 18, and 23 September 1944 in order to neutralize enemy gun emplacements that were providing support to Allied ground forces duringOperation Market-Garden. In early 1945, the squadron's Mustangs clashed with GermanMesserschmitt Me 262 jet aircraft.[1] The squadron flew its last combat mission, escorting B-17's dropping propaganda leaflets, on 7 May 1945.[citation needed]
The squadron remained in the United Kingdom during the balance of 1945, most personnel were demobilized and returned to the United States, with aircraft being sent to storage facilities in the UK. The squadron was inactivated atCamp Myles Standish, Massachusetts on 10 November 1945.[1]
The 461st Fighter-Day Squadron was reactivated atHahn Air Base, West Germany during February 1956, equipped withNorth American F-100 Super Sabres, being one of the firstUnited States Air Forces Europe squadrons equipped with supersonic jet aircraft. The aircraft carried three black diagonal stripes on the tail. Between 1956 and 1959, it conducted air superiority and general support missions as directed byTwelfth Air Force and, later by United States Air Forces in Europe. It also maintained and trained forces for a limited fighter-bomber capability with basic air-to-air weapons. The squadron was inactivated in August 1959.[1]
The 461st was reactivated on 1 July 1977 atLuke Air Force Base, Arizona as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) for theMcDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle, conducting fighter aircraft aircrew training for pilots. The improved F-15C/D model arrived in 1982 for pilot training. In 1985 the Air Force consolidated the 461st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron with the World War II 361st Fighter Squadron,[1] giving the squadron a combat heritage and lineage.
In the late 1980s, the F-15E Strike Eagle dual-role version of the F-15C arrived at Luke. The 461st received the first new F‑15E on 12 April 1988. Thesquadron continued to gain aircraft and the first F‑15E transition class graduated on 24 February 1989. Once qualified, the crews were reassigned to an operational squadron at the4th Tactical Fighter Wing atSeymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. It was inactivated on 5 August 1994[1] as part of the phase-down of F-15 training at Luke.
The squadron was reactivated at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 2006. Its mission is flight testing aircraft, primarily theF-35 Lightning II.[1]
On 22 January 2019, aBoeing KC-46 Pegasus from the418th Flight Test Squadron made connection with anF-35A from the 461st Flight Test Squadron. It is the first time the KC-46 connected with afifth-generation jet fighter.[4]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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