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71st Fighter Squadron | |
|---|---|
 SquadronF-22A Raptor atLangley AFB | |
| Active | 1940–1945; 1946–2010; 2015–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Fighter |
| Part of | Air Combat Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia |
| Nickname | The Ironmen[1] |
| Engagements | World War II Gulf War Operation Southern Watch Operation Noble Eagle Operation Iraqi Freedom |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[2] |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Lt. Col. Andrew Gray[1] |
| Notable commanders | Ronald Keys |
| Insignia | |
| 71st Fighter Squadron Emblem[2] |  |
| 71 Fighter Sq emblem[a][3] | .png) |
| 71st Fighter Squadron emblem[b][4] |  |
| 71st Pursuit Squadron emblem[4] |  |
The71st Fighter Squadron is an active squadron of theUnited States Air Force, part of the1st Operations Group of the1st Fighter Wing. Stationed atJoint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia, the squadron serves as a training unit, flying theLockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.
First activated in 1941, the squadron served in theEuropean theatre of World War II, theVietnam War, theGulf War, as well as theIraq War.
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The 71st Fighter Training Squadron was activated in December 1940 as the71st Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) and assigned to the1st Pursuit Group atSelfridge Field, Michigan on 1 January 1941. Initial training was accomplished in theSeversky P-35. This was changed to theRepublic YP-43 Lancer when the squadron was redesignated as the71st Pursuit Squadron (Fighter) on 12 March 1941. The squadron gained proficiency in the aircraft and theanti-submarine mission while training on theGreat Lakes. On 9 December 1941, just two days after the attack onPearl Harbor, the squadron reported toNAS San Diego in defense of the important Southern California coast. Two months later, the 71st moved north to Los Angeles to transition to theLockheed P-38 Lightning and was renamed the 71st Fighter Squadron. June 1942 saw the 71st become the first single-seat, twin engine fighter unit to deploy to England during World War II.
The 71st became the first P-38 unit in combat. Capt John D. Eiland was credited with the squadron's first-ever combat kill after downing a GermanFocke-Wulf Fw 190 on 4 December 1942. The pilots were continuously at the forefront of the air battles.[citation needed] Seventeen Campaign Participation Credits were awarded to the 71st and they earned threeDistinguished Unit Citations. The squadron claimed 102 kills and produced fiveaces, including one pilot who became an ace in one mission. The 71st Squadron flew under the "Cragmore" callsign during World War II, and its original patch included a skull with lightning bolts in the shape of 71. In June 1943, GeneralCarl Spaatz and GeneralJames H. Doolittle traveled to their UK base to present decorations earned in combat. This award ceremony was soon followed by Distinguished Unit Citations presented on 25 August 1943 and 30 August 1943 for escort missions against Italian targets. The squadron was presented another Distinguished Unit Citation byGeneralNathan Twining in May 1944 for an escort of B-17s against oil installations atPloieşti, Romania. On 10 June 1944, during an otherwise disastrous low-level bombing mission against the oil refineries by two groups of P-38s, 2nd Lt Herbert "Stub" Hatch Jr. achieved 5 kills in one mission, all within one minute, causing the gun barrels of his P-38 to melt. Upon completion of its tour in Europe, the squadron was inactivated in Italy on 16 October 1945.
On 3 July 1946 the 71st was reactivated as part of the 1st Fighter Group atMarch Field, California[3] where it took over the personnel, mission and newLockheed P-80 Shooting Stars of the31st Fighter Squadron, which was inactivated.[5] The squadron flew the P-80 until 1949 when it converted toNorth American F-86A Sabre swept-wing fighters. The following year, asAir Defense Command (ADC) began to deploy its fighter force the squadron was detached from the group and moved twice, finally locating atGreater Pittsburgh Airport, Pennsylvania in October.[3] However ADC was having difficulty under the existing wing base organizational structure in deploying fightersquadrons to best advantage.[6] As a result, the squadron was reassigned to the geographically oriented4708th Defense Wing and support elements at Greater Pittsburgh were organized into the 81st Air Base Squadron.[citation needed]
In 1953 ADC again reorganized its deployed squadrons and organized the500th Air Defense Group at Pittsburgh, with the 71st becoming its operational element. In the summer of 1955 ADC implemented Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list thefighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars.[7] As a result, the 71st moved on paper to Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan, where it was reunited with the 1st Fighter Group.[2]
At Selfridge, the squadron re-equipped with rocket armed and airborne interceptradar equippedNorth American F-86D Sabres. In 1957 it began upgrading to the North American F-86L Sabre, an improved version of the F-86D which incorporateddata link to communicate directly with theSemi Automatic Ground Environment, or SAGEanalog computer-controlled direction system for intercepts. The 71st then converted to the supersonicConvair F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor from 1958 to 1960 and theConvair F-106 Delta Dart from 1960 to 1971.[citation needed]
In 1965, the unit won the F-106 category in the William Tell Interceptor Competition. In December 1969, the 71st was awarded the 1969 Hughes Achievement Award, presented annually to the most outstanding fighter interceptor squadron[c] for the first time.[8] in the United States Air Force. In 1970, an F-106 of the 71st glided onto a field in Montana and subsequently became known as theCornfield Bomber. In 1970, the 71st won the William Tell Competition taking the F-106 category and the overall category for the first time for an F-106 unit.[citation needed]
A major change occurred in July 1971 which encompassed changing aircraft, location, and designation. The squadron was redesignated as the71st Tactical Fighter Squadron and joined theTactical Air Command (TAC) with the1st Tactical Fighter Wing atMacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It was there that the 71st was equipped with theMcDonnell F-4E Phantom II aircraft. During the time the squadron was at MacDill it trained combat fighter crews in the complex F-4 weapon system for deployment to tactical units stationed worldwide. Graduates of the 71st participated in the final operations against North Vietnam which terminated the war in Southeast Asia. While graduating over 370 fighter crew members the 71st received three consecutive TAC Unit Achievement Awards for a record 4 years of accident-free flying through October 1974. In July 1975, the 71st moved with the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing toLangley Air Force Base, where it was equipped with theMcDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter.[citation needed]
In 1976 the 71st assumed the name of "Ironmen" as a result of the fist of mail (knight's armored glove) on the squadron's emblem. 1982 saw the 71st become the first TAC squadron fully equipped with the factory new F-15C Eagle aircraft. The 71st routinely deployed throughout the US and Europe to hone its skills during theCold War.[citation needed]
On 7 August 1990, the 71st deployed to Saudi Arabia with 24 F-15C air-superiority fighter aircraft as the first US combat force to land in support ofOperation Desert Shield. Over the next five months, the Ironmen flew nearly a year's worth of flying hours, over 13,000 hours and 3,300 sorties—all a prelude to war. In the early morning hours of 17 January 1991, while sweeping the skies nearBaghdad, the 71st achieved one of the first aerial victories ofOperation Desert Storm and helped pave the way for one of the most significant events in the history of the USAF: complete and total air domination of an adversary, the 71st having flown 1091 missions and 5881 hours in six short weeks. On 7 March 1991, the 71st redeployed to Langley.[citation needed]
Since the first Gulf War, the 71st successfully supported the UN-sanctionedOperation Southern Watch andOperation Northern Watch in Iraq with many deployments to Saudi Arabia andTurkey. 71 FS pilots defeated dozens of Iraqisurface-to-air missiles (SAM) attacks, and hundreds of anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) attacks while enforcingUnited Nations sanctions, without loss or damage to a single aircraft.[citation needed]
In 1992 the 71st FS set the all time flying safety record for the F-15 with 124,790 hours of accident free flying.[citation needed]
Minutes after the9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the 71st launched its F-15s to patrol the skies of the US east coast, intercepting and escorting dozens of airliners to safe landings at airports around the country. The 71st also had aircraft deployed toNellis Air Force Base, Nevada at the time of the attacks, and were the first fighters to take to the skies to patrolLas Vegas and southern California.[citation needed]
During the second Gulf War in 2003,Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 71st deployed to Tabuk, KSA[jargon] and flewcombat air patrols for the first part of the war, and helped to gain totalair superiority for the duration of the conflict.[citation needed]
In 2006, the 71st Fighter Squadron was awarded the Hughes/Raytheon Trophy for outstanding aerial achievement for a record 5th time.[8][d] On 1 September 2010 the last F-15s assigned to the 71st departed Langley (slightly ahead of schedule) as a prelude to unit inactivation programmed for the end of September 2010, ending the association of the F-15 at Langley.[citation needed] On 30 September 2010 the 71st Fighter Squadron was inactivated.[9]
The 71st was renamed the71st Fighter Training Squadron and reactivated in August 2015, flying theNorthrop T-38 Talon. Its mission was to conduct adversarial air training for theLockheed Martin F-22 Raptors flown by the other squadrons of the 1st Fighter Wing. This training was previously performed by F-22s of the27th Fighter Squadron at substantially more expense.[1] The squadron continued this mission through 2021, until its personnel and aircraft were withdrawn and it became a paper unit.[10]
In October 2022, the squadron again became the71st Fighter Squadron.[9] On 6 January 2023, the squadron again received personnel. Its mission is to serve as a formal training unit for the F-22.[11] The first F-22 arrived on 29 March 2023.[12]
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In the 2007 movieTransformers, theDecepticonStarscream, disguised as anF-22 Raptor, bears the fuselage and tail markings of theAir Combat Command, the1st Fighter Wing the 71st, 94th and 27th; All current Air Force fighter aircraft unit Wing Flagship aircraft display all squadrons contained within the wing; however, as previously noted, the 71st has not switched to the F-22.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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