Military unit
The458th Tactical Fighter Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the506th Tactical Fighter Wing atTinker Air Force Base , Oklahoma, where it was inactivated on 1 April 1959.
Squadron P-51Ds at Iwo Jima Trained in the continental United States, Oct 1944 – Feb 1945. Moved to western Pacific Ocean in spring of 1945. EscortedBoeing B-29 Superfortress bombers in raids against Japan, and attacked targets such as enemy airfields, May-Aug 1945.
Between 1953 and 1959 the unit trained for a variety of tactical air missions. Frequently deployed for training exercises, some of them overseas.
Constituted as the458th Fighter Squadron , Single Engine on 5 October 1944 Activated on 21 October 1944 Inactivated on 16 December 1945 Redesignated458th Strategic Fighter Squadron on 20 November 1952 Activated on 20 January 1953 Redesignated458th Fighter-Day Squadron on 1 July 1957 Redesignated458th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 1 January 1958 Redesignated458th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 July 1958 Inactivated on 1 April 1959[ 1] Lakeland Army Air Field , Florida, 21 October 1944 – 16 February 1945North Field , Iwo Jima, 24 April – 3 December 1945Camp Anza , California, 15–16 December 1945Dow Air Force Base , Maine, 20 January 1953Tinker Air Force Base , Oklahoma, 20 March 1955 – 1 April 1959[ 1] Explanatory notes ^ Approved 14 April 1954. Based on World War II emblem. Watkins, p.46 Citations ^a b c d e f g Maurer,Combat Squadrons , pp.564-565 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961].Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-02-1 .LCCN 61060979 . Archived fromthe original (PDF) on 15 January 2021. Retrieved17 December 2016 . Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969].Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-405-12194-6 .LCCN 70605402 .OCLC 72556 . Archived fromthe original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977 (PDF) . Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-12-9 . Retrieved17 December 2016 . Watkins, Robert A. (2017).Insignia and Aircraft Markings of the U.S. Army Air Force In World War II . Vol. VI, China-Burma-India & The Western Pacific. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing, Ltd.ISBN 978-0-7643-5273-7 .