555th Fighter Squadron



The 555th Fighter Squadron (555 FS) is part of the 31st Operations Group at Aviano Air Base, Italy. It operates General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting an air superiority mission.

Mission
The 555th Fighter Squadron provides combat airpower on demand to U.S. and NATO Combatant Commanders as well as the National Command Authority in order to meet National Security objectives.

It also performs air and space control and force application roles of counterair, strategic attack and counterland, including interdiction and close-air support, with 21 F-16CMs employing state of the art munitions in support of the joint, NATO, and combined operations.

World War II
The squadron's heritage began on 25 November 1942 when the 555th Bombardment Squadron, Medium, was constituted flying the Martin B-26 Marauder. During World War II, the 555th led offensive actions against Axis forces from bases in England, France, and Belgium. For gallantry in action, the squadron was awarded the first of its four Presidential Unit Citations. The squadron was inactivated shortly after the war ended.

Vietnam Era
On 8 January 1964, the 555th re-emerged at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, operating the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. The squadron was organized from elements of the 557th, 558th and 559th TFS at MacDill, when the parent 12th Tactical Fighter Wing reduced the number of aircraft from three squadrons of 25 aircraft each to four squadrons of 18 aircraft each.

The conflict in Southeast Asia was escalating and throughout 1965 the wing supported Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Contingency Operations by rotating combat squadrons quarterly to Naha AB in the Ryuku Islands. The 555th TFS began its permanent deployment to the first Air Force expeditionary airfield at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, South Vietnam on 6 November 1965. Ultimately, the 559th TFS took the place of the 555th when the squadron was diverted to a second TDY in February 1966 with the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Naha Air Base, Okinawa, followed by a re-assignment to the 8th TFW at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. At Ubon, the squadron scored their first two MiG victories on 23 April 1966, and became the first "Ace" Squadron in Southeast Asia with six kills one week later.

In June 1966, the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron moved to Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base and joined the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing "Wolfpack". There, the squadron led the first strike against MiG airfields in North Vietnam. The 555 TFS launched the first night bombing attacks against North Vietnam on 29 September 1967. While at Ubon, the 555th downed an additional 14 aircraft, including four Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21s on 2 January 1967. The unit thus became the only "Quad Ace" Fighter Squadron to that point, with 20 MiGs to its credit.

In 1968, the Nickel participated in the campaign against the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Linebacker campaigns against the North Vietnam heartland in 1972. During Linebacker I and Linebacker II, the 555th returned to its air superiority role and brought its MiG tally to 39 confirmed victories—10 MiG-17s, 3 MiG-19s, and 26 MiG-21s, producing the first and second USAF aces, and earning the motto, "World's Largest Distributor of MiG Parts". From 1966 to 1973, the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron earned three more Presidential Unit Citations, five Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards with combat "V" device, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm, and the 1973 Hughes achievement award.

After nine years of combat operations, the 555th returned to the United States. In 1974, the squadron moved to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, where it transitioned to the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and became part of the 405th Tactical Training Wing, training pilots transitioning to the F-15 Eagle.

Modern era
On 1 April 1994, the unit was reassigned to NATO and stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy, absorbing the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and equipment of the inactivated 526th Fighter Squadron, which had been inactivated at Ramstein AB, Germany when the 86th FW became an airlift wing (86th AW). At Aviano, the squadron returned to its previous mission as an operational combat fighter squadron.

2013 Sequestration
Air Combat Command officials announced a stand down and reallocation of flying hours for the rest of the fiscal year 2013 due to mandatory budget cuts. The across-the board spending cuts, called sequestration, took effect 1 March when Congress failed to agree on a deficit-reduction plan.

Squadrons either stood down on a rotating basis or kept combat ready or at a reduced readiness level called “basic mission capable” for part or all of the remaining months in fiscal 2013. This affected the 555th Fighter Squadron with a stand-down grounding from 9 April-30 September 2013.

Operations

 * World War II
 * Vietnam War
 * Operation Deny Flight
 * Operation Deliberate Force
 * Operation Deliberate Guard
 * Operation Allied Force

Lineage

 * Constituted 555th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 25 Nov 1942
 * Activated on 1 Dec 1942
 * Redesignated: 555th Bombardment Squadron, Medium, on 9 Oct 1944
 * Redesignated: 555th Bombardment Squadron, Light, on 23 Jun 1945
 * Inactivated on 7 Nov 1945


 * Redesignated: 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, activated, and organized, on 8 Jan 1964
 * Redesignated: 555th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 5 Jul 1974
 * Redesignated: 555th Fighter Squadron on 1 Nov 1991
 * Inactivated on 25 Mar 1994


 * Activated on 1 Apr 1994.
 * Designated as: 555th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and placed in provisional status when deployed to United States Air Forces Central as part of the Global War on Terrorism after 11 September 2001.

Assignments

 * 386th Bombardment Group, 1 Dec 1942 – 7 Nov 1945
 * 12th Tactical Fighter Wing, 8 Jan 1964
 * Attached to 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing, 12 Dec 1964 – 9 Mar 1965, 11 Dec 1965-21 Feb 1966
 * Attached to 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, c. 22 Feb – 4 Mar 1966


 * Thirteenth Air Force, 4 Mar 1966
 * Attached to 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, 4-24 Mar 1966)


 * 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, 25 Mar 1966
 * 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 1 Jun 1968
 * 58th Tactical Fighter (later, 58 Tactical) Training Wing, 5 Jul 1974
 * 405th Tactical Training Wing, 29 Aug 1979
 * 56th Operations Group, 1 Oct 1991 – 25 Mar 1994
 * 31st Operations Group, 1 Apr 1994 – present

Stations

 * MacDill Field, FL, 1 Dec 1942
 * Lake Charles Army Airfield, LA, 9 Feb – 8 May 1943
 * RAF Snetterton Heath (AAF-138), England, 4 Jun 1943
 * RAF Boxted (AAF-150), England, 10 Jun 1943
 * RAF Great Dunmow (AAF-164), England, 24 Sep 1943
 * Beaumont-sur-Oise Airfield (A-60), France, 2 Oct 1944
 * Sint-Truiden Airfield (A-92), Belgium, 9 Apr – 27 Jul 1945
 * Seymour Johnson Field, NC, 11 Aug 1945
 * Westover Field, MA, 29 Sep – 7 Nov 1945


 * MacDill AFB, FL, 8 Jan 1964
 * Deployed to Naha AB, Okinawa, 12 Dec 1964-9 Mar 1965 and 11 Dec 1965-c. 21 Feb 1966


 * Udorn RTAFB, Thailand, c. 25 Feb 1966
 * Ubon RTAFB, Thailand, 20 Jul 1966
 * Udorn RTAFB, Thailand, 28 May 1968 – 5 Jul 1974
 * Luke AFB, AZ, 5 Jul 1974 – 25 Mar 1994
 * Aviano AB, Italy, 1 Apr 1994 – present

Aircraft Operated

 * Martin B-26 Marauder (1943–1945)
 * Douglas A-26 Invader (1945)
 * McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II (1964–1974)
 * McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle (1974–1994)
 * F-16C/D block 40 Fighting Falcon (1994 – present)