| 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron | |
|---|---|
 SquadronF-16A Fighting Falcon[a] | |
| Active | 1943-1945, 1949-1951, 1954-1991 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Fighter |
| Nickname | Fighting 612th |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations Vietnam War |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Presidential Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award withCombat "V" Device Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm |
| Insignia | |
| 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron patch showing squadron emblem[b][1] |  |
| 612th Bombardment Squadron Emblem[c] |  |
| ETO Fuselage Code[2] | FN |
The612th Tactical Fighter Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the401st Tactical Fighter Wing atTorrejon Air Base, Spain, where it was inactivated on 1 October 1991.
Thesquadron was first activated duringWorld War II as the612th Bombardment Squadron. After training in the United States it moved to England, where it participated in thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany. It earned twoDistinguished Unit Citations for combat action. FollowingV-E Day, the squadron was inactivated in England. It was briefly active in thereserves from 1947, becoming a corollary unit in 1949. In the spring of 1951, it wasmobilized for theKorean War and its personnel were used to fill out other units before the squadron was inactivated
The squadron was redesignated the612th Fighter-Bomber Squadron and activated in 1954 atAlexandria Air Force Base, Louisiana. In 1965 in moved to Japan, but most of the squadron was assigned to a detachment located in Vietnam. In 1971 it formally moved to Vietnam for a few months before it moved toTorrejon Air Base, Spain, where it continued fighter operations until inactivating in 1991.
The612th Bombardment Squadron was activated March 1943 atEphrata Army Air Base Washington as one of the original squadrons of the401st Bombardment Group.[1][3] The initialcadre for the squadron was drawn from the395th Bombardment Group at Ephrata and the383d Bombardment Group atRapid City Army Air Field, South Dakota. The cadre soon departed forOrlando Army Air Base, Florida, where they conducted simulated combat missions with theArmy Air Forces School of Applied Tactics out ofBrooksville Army Air Field.[4]
The ground echelon moved toGeiger Field, Washington in May 1943 and toGreat Falls Army Air Base, Mount in July. At Great Falls the first combat crews were assigned to the squadron.[5] In the final stage of training the squadrons dispersed with the 612th remaining at Great Falls, while the other squadrons trained at bases in Montana and Wyoming.[6]
After completing training the ground echelon left for overseas on 19 October 1943. After staging atCamp Shanks, New York they embarked on theRMS Queen Mary and sailed on 27 October disembarking atGreenock on theFirth of Clyde on 3 November 1943. The air echelon staged for deployment atScott Field, Illinois then flew to England under the control ofAir Transport Command via Newfoundland, Iceland and Scotland.[6]
On arrival in England, half of the 401st group'saircrews were immediately reassigned to the351st Bombardment Group.[6] The rest of the squadron became part ofEighth Air Force atRAF Deenethorpe. The 612th became part of the92d Combat Bombardment Wing of the1st Bombardment Division. Its tail code was Triangle-S.[2]
On 26 November the 612th flew its first combat mission againstBremen, Germany.[7] The 401st group did not suffer the combat loss of an airplane until its ninth mission on 30 December.[8] The squadron operated chiefly againststrategic targets, bombing industries, submarine facilities, shipyards, missile sites, marshalling yards, andairfields.[3] On 11 January 1944 the squadron was in the lead group of the 1st Bombardment Division in an attack against aircraft manufacturing facilities atOschersleben, Germany. Although the bombers were able to attack, poor weather conditions prevented the division from receiving effective fighter cover. For over three hours the bomber formation suffered more than 400 attacks byLuftwaffe fighters, includingair-to-air rocket attacks. Despite these attacks the unit continued its attack and struck a telling blow against German aircraft production for which the squadron was awarded theDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC).[3][9]
A little over a month later, on 20 February, the squadron earned its second DUC for an attack on theErla Maschinenwerke aircraft manufacturing facilities inLeipzig, Germany. Despitefighter attacks and battle damage to the 612th's planes, 100% of the unit's bombs fell within 1000 feet of the aiming point.[3][10] Beginning in October 1944, the unit concentrated its attacks on Axis oil reserves.[3]
In addition to strategic missions, squadron operations included attacks on transportation, airfields, and fortifications prior to theNormandy invasion. OnD-Day the 612th attacked Normandy beachhead areas dropping bombs five minutes before troops landed.[11] The following month it providedclose air support for the breakthrough atSaint-Lô, it also supported the siege ofBrest in August andOperation Market Garden in September. During theBattle of the Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945, the unit attacked transportation and communications in the battle area. It supported airborne forces involved inOperation Varsity in March 1945.[3]
The squadron flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945 againstBrandenberg.[12] It had flown 254 combat missions from Deenethorpe airfield.[13] AfterV-E Day, the squadron flew missions toLinz, Austria to evacuate British and French prisoners of war. It also flew "Trolley" sightseeing missions at low level, flying ground support personnel over theRuhr andFrankfurt am Main to see the damage that had been done as a result of their efforts.[14]
The unit was alerted for redeployment to the Pacific Theater and the last plane departed Deenethorpe in early June. The ground echelon sailed on theRMS Queen Elizabeth on the fifth.[15] Upon arrival in the US, personnel were granted thirty days leave, reassembling atSioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, but plans had changed and personnel were either transferred toBoeing B-29 Superfortress units or processed for discharge and the squadron was inactivated.[16]
The squadron was activated at Brooks Field (laterBrooks Air Force Base), Texas in June 1947 as a unit of thereserves.[1] It trained under the supervision of the 178th AAF Base Unit (later 2593d Air Force Reserve Training Center) ofAir Defense Command (ADC).[17] It is not clear whether or not the squadron was fully staffed or equipped.[18] In 1948,Continental Air Command assumed responsibility for managing reserve andAir National Guard units from ADC.[19] PresidentTruman's reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force.[20] As a result, in June 1949, the 612th moved toBiggs Air Force Base and became a corollary unit ofStrategic Air Command's97th Bombardment Wing, which was stationed there.[1] The May 1949 Air Force Reserve program had called for this new type of unit, which was a reserve unit integrated with an active duty unit. The plan was viewed as the best method to train reservists by mixing them with an existing regular unit to perform duties alongside the regular unit.[21]
All reserve corollary units weremobilized for the Korean war.[22] The 612th was called up on 1 May 1951. Its personnel were used as fillers for other organizations and it was inactivated on 25 June.[1]
The squadron was redesignated the612th Fighter-Bomber Squadron and activated atAlexandria Air Force Base, Louisiana in February 1954. Initially equipped withNorth American F-86 Sabres, then withRepublic F-84F Thunderstreaks, by 1957 the squadron was flyingNorth American F-100 Super Sabres as the612th Tactical Fighter Squadron.[1] The squadron participated in firepower demonstrationsmilitary exercises and maneuvers, It deployed aircraft and personnel to Europe and the Middle East to supportNATO. During theCuban Missile Crisis, the squadron operated fromHomestead Air Force Base, Florida. By 1965, however, deployments had begun to the Pacific and Southeast Asia.[23]
The squadron moved toMisawa Air Base, Japan in November 1965, where it was assigned to the39th Air Division.[24] From Misawa, the squadron deployed aircraft and crews to Detachment 2 of the 39th Division, located atKunsan Air Base, South Korea.[25] In 1966, the squadron deployed toPhan Rang Air Base, South Viet Nam. On 10 October, Detachment 1 of the squadron was formed at Phan Rang, where it came under the operational control of the35th Tactical Fighter Wing. Although the squadron continued to exist as a paper unit at Misawa, all of its resources were assigned to the detachment, which engaged in combat operations in Vietnam.[26] Between June 1967 and April 1969, the detachment operated fromPhu Cat Air Base under the control of the37th Tactical Fighter Wing,[27] before returning to Phan Rang.[26]
In January 1968, the 39th Air Division was inactivated and the475th Tactical Fighter Wing moved to Misawa. The squadron was reassigned, but remained a paper unit until March 1971, when it moved without personnel and equipment and replaced Detachment 1 at Phan Rang. The American presence in Vietnam was being reduced, however, and the squadron's time at Phan Rang was limited. Combat operations ceased in late June, and on 15 July the squadron moved without personnel and equipment for the second time.[26]
The squadron moved on paper to rejoin the 401st Wing atTorrejon Air Base, Spain in July 1971, replacing the308th Tactical Fighter Squadron and assuming its personnel andMcDonnell F-4 Phantom IIs.[28] The squadron deployed to advanced locations in Europe and the Middle East, where it stoodalert status. In 1983, the squadron converted to theGeneral Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. It deployed its forces toIncirlik Air Base, Turkey in 1990, where they formed the 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Provisional) under the7440th Composite Wing (Provisional). After return to Torrejon the squadron was inactivated in the fall of 1991 as the United States removed its combat units permanently stationed in Spain.[citation needed]
|
|
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 11 January 1944 | Germany, 612th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 20 February 1944 | Germany, 612th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Presidential Unit Citation | 10 October 1966 – 10 April 1967 | 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron[35] |
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award withCombat "V" Device | 15 March 1971 – 25 June 1971 | 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron[36] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 January 1963 – 31 December 1963 | 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 8 August 1964 – 15 November 1964 | 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron[35] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1983–30 June 1985 | 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 April 1989–31 March 1991 | 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron |
 | Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm | 29 June 1966 – 15 July 1971 | 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron[36][g] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Europe | 4 November 1943 – 5 June 1944 | 612th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 612th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 612th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 612th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 612th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Central Europe | 2 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 612th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
 | Commando Hunt V | 15 March 1971 – 14 May 1971 | 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron[36] |
| Commando Hunt VI | 15 May 1971 – 15 July 1971 | 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron[36] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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