418th Test and Evaluation Squadron | |
|---|---|
%2c_USA_-_Air_Force_AN1310414.jpg) LockheedEC-130H Compass Call | |
| Active | 1943-1947; 1957-1958; 1969-1976; 2021-present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army United States Air Force |
| Type | squadron |
| Role | Test and evaluation |
| Part of | Air Combat Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Davis-Monthan AFB |
| Engagements | Southwest Pacific Theater[1] |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Philippine Presidential Unit Citation[1] |
| Insignia | |
| 418th Test and Evaluation Squadron emblem[note 1][2] | _emblem.png) |
| 418th Night Fighter Squadron emblem[note 2][1] |  |
The418th Test and Evaluation Squadron is an activeUnited States Air Force unit assigned to the53rd Test and Evaluation Group, and stationed atDavis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, where it was activated on 1 October 2021.
The unit was originally formed as the418th Night Fighter Squadron in 1943. After training, it was deployed toFifth Air Force and ordered to New Guinea to provide air defense interceptor protection against Japanese night air raids on US airfields. It later served in thePhilippines Campaign where in addition to night interceptor missions it also flew day and night interdiction missions against enemy troop movements, bridges and other targets of opportunity. It later served in Occupied Japan and Okinawa where it was inactivated in 1947.
During theCold War, thesquadron was briefly activated in the Philippines in 1958 as the418th Fighter-Day Squadron, but was not manned before it was replaced by another unit. In 1969, it was redesignated the418th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron and replaced another unit atLuke Air Force Base, Arizona, trainingGerman Air Force pilots in theLockheed F-104G Starfighter at Luke, continuing this mission until inactivated on 1 October 1976 as the Starfighter was replaced in German service.
Develop and implement new tactics, techniques and procedures to more effectively useLockheed HC-130J Combat King II andLockheed EC-130H Compass Call aircraft for combatant commands.[3]
Thesquadron was activated on 1 April 1943 at theArmy Air Force School of Applied Tactics,Orlando Army Air Base, Florida. After several months of training withDouglas P-70 Havoc night fighters, the unit was deployed to thePacific Theater, moving first toCamp Patrick Henry, nearNewport News, Virginia where they boarded theUSSGeneral John Pope, sailing through thePanama Canal to Milne Bay, New Guinea.[4]
In New Guinea, the squadron was assigned toFifth Air Force and initially stationed atDobodura Airfield in November 1943. It was the first dedicated night interceptor squadron assigned to the Pacific Theater. However, it was found that the P-70 was not very successful in actual combat interception of Japanese fighters at night[5] and after a short time, Fifth Air Force modified someLockheed P-38F Lightnings in the field as single-seat night fighters by fitting an SCR-540 radar withYagi antennae on the nose on both sides of the planes' centralnacelle, and above and below the wings. The Lightnings were much more successful than the P-70s, andLockheed Aircraft Company sent field representatives to New Guinea to study the modified aircraft for a new production model, the P-38M, which it began producing in 1944.[6]
As the war progressed, the squadron moved west along the northern coast of New Guinea, moving to severaladvance airfields on the island through 1943 and 1944. In September 1944, the squadron was re-equipped withNorthrop P-61 Black Widows and moved toMorotai Island in the Netherlands East Indies where they engaged enemy aircraft. In the East Indies, additionalNorth American B-25 Mitchells and P-38s were assigned, using the B-25s for night intruder operations, P-61s for night fighter operations and the P-38s for searchlight cooperation operations. In November the squadron moved to the Philippines, arriving onLeyte on 14 November.[4]
The unit was attached to different units throughout the war, and remained in the Philippines until July 1945 when it moved toOkinawa. FromKadena Airfield, the unit attacked a wide range of enemy targets onHainan Island,Hong Kong, and along the east China coast. Its first mission against targets on the Japanese Home Islands took place on 28 July when it attacked targets onKyūshū and also in theShanghai area of enemy-controlled China.[4]
AfterV-J Day, the 418th moved briefly toAtsugi Airfield, Japan during October 1945 where it was part of the occupying forces. It returned to Okinawa on 15 June 1946, conducting training operations until 20 February 1947 when the unit was inactivated. Its personnel, aircraft and equipment were transferred to the4th Fighter Squadron (All Weather).[1]
The squadron was activated atMisawa Air Base, Japan in late 1957 and assigned to the39th Air Division, which was responsible for theair defense of northern Japan.[7] It was programmed to be aNorth American F-100A Super Sabre air superiority squadron. However, before the squadron was manned or equipped, it was decided to base afighter-bomber unit at Misawa. In March 1958, the squadron was replaced by the416th Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Misawa and moved on paper toClark Air Base, Philippines.[8] The squadron remained without its complement of personnel, although deliveries of F-100s began before it was inactivated on 1 July 1958, and the72d Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated in its place.[1][9]
Because of the more favorable weather in the southwestern United States, theGerman Air Force began training fighter pilots atLuke Air Force Base, Arizona., beginning with training with theRepublic F-84F Thunderstreak in 1957.[10] On 1 March 1964,Tactical Air Command (TAC) organized the 4518th Combat Crew Training Squadron at Luke to train German pilots on theLockheed TF-104G Starfighter and assigned it to the 4510th Combat Crew Training Wing. On 1 April 1964, the squadron became part of the new 4540th Combat Crew Training Group, but the 4540th Group was inactivated on 1 December 1966 and the squadron returned to wing assignment.[11] The training was in support of foreign military sales, and the squadron operated twin-seat trainers with USAF markings and serial numbers, although the planes were produced in Germany byMesserschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) under license from Lockheed and were owned by the German government.[12]
However, the 4518th was aMajor Command controlled unit and did not have a permanent history. TAC determined to replace its temporary training units with permanent ones. In this reorganization, on 15 October 1969 the 418th Squadron was again activated under the58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing and assumed the personnel and equipment of the 4518th. F-104G production ended with the delivery of the last aircraft by MBB in 1973 to the squadron, the last German Air Force students graduated in the summer of 1976. The squadron became nonoperational on 17 August 1976 and was inactivated on 1 October.[12][13]
The squadron was redesignated the418th Test and Evaluation Squadron and activated atDavis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona on 1 October 2021. It is assigned to the53rd Test and Evaluation Group atNellis Air Force Base, Nevada.[2]
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Previously: Philippine Department Air Force (1941); Far East Air Force (1941-1942) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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