480th Fighter Squadron

480th Fighter Squadron
Emblem of the 480th Fighter Squadron
Active	1942-1944, 1951-1956, 1957-1994 2010-
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Fighter
Part of	United States Air Forces in Europe Third Air Force 52d Fighter Wing 52d Operations Group
Garrison/HQ	Spangdahlem Air Base
Nickname(s)	Warhawks
Commanders
Current commander	Lt Col Paul "Dino" Murray

The 480th Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 52d Operations Group, stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. It was reactivated on 13 August 2010.

History

Established by III Bomber Command as a B-26 Marauder training squadron.

The 480 TFS was established in 1957 at England Air Force Base, Louisiana, as the 480th Fighter Bomber Squadron, flying North American F-100 Super Sabres. In 1959 it was inactivated again due to budgetary reductions. Three years later it was reactivated again under United States Air Forces in Europe, flying the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak. In 1963 it way re-equipped with F-100s, but withdrawn from France upon request of French government.

Reassigned to Hollomon AFB, New Mexico (USA), it was re-equipped with F-4C Phantom II fighters. The squadron was deployed to Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, in 1966 as part of USAF buildup in Southeast Asia and was engaged in combat operations, primarily over North Vietnam, from 1966 to 1971. In November 1967, a member of the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Capt. Lance Sijan, ejected his disabled aircraft and was badly injured in North Vietnam. Despite his injuries, he evaded enemy forces for more than 40 days and then, when captured, managed to escape briefly. Captain Sijan later died in a prison camp and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. In 1969 the squadron moved to Phu Cat Air Base (tail code: HK), South Vietnam, scoring nine MiG kills, including the first MiG-21 kill of the war. The continued drawdown of United States forces from Vietnam resulted in the inactivation of 37th TFW at Phu Cat AB on 31 March 1970. The wing assets remained and were re-designated as the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing when the 12 TFW was moved without personnel or equipment from Cam Ranh Bay Air Base on 1 April 1970, to replace the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing and its units. On 20 October 1971, the 480th TFS flew its last combat mission, which was also the last combat sortie for 12 TFW. 480 TFS F-4Ds were originally scheduled for redeployment to Holloman AFB, however, instead were distributed to bases throughout Southeast Asia: Clark AB, Philippines; Ubon AB and Udon AB, Thailand; Da Nang AB; and Inspection and Repair as Necessary facilities (IRAN) at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base Taiwan. The 480 TFS was therefore inactivated, again.

The 480th began its service with the 52d Tactical Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem Air Base, when it moved to the base in 1976, flying F-4D Phantom IIs, then F-4G Advanced Wild Weasels as part of the Wild Weasel mission. In 1987, the 480th started flying F-16C Fighting Falcon and became the USAF's first squadron to be equipped with the Block 50 F-16s in 1993. In 1994 the squadron was inactivated again as part of the post Cold War force reductions.

In April 2010 the 52nd Fighter Wing's strength was reduced by one third when 20 F-16Cs were transferred to other units. As a result of the drawdown of F-16s, the 22d and 23d Fighter Squadrons were inactivated on 13 August 2010 and formed a single "new" squadron, the 480th Fighter Squadron.

In March 2012, the 480th was sent to train the Turkish Air Force in Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, which is the 480th's specialty.

Lineage

• Constituted 480th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 9 July 1942

Activated on 15 July 1942

Disbanded on 1 May 1944

• Reconstituted and consolidated (19 September 1985) with the following units:

480th Air Resupply Squadron

Constituted as 580th Aerial Resupply Squadron on 15 March 1951

Activated on 16 April 1951

Redesignated as 580th Air Resupply Squadron on 5 November 1951

Inactivated on 18 October 1956

Redesignated as 480th Air Resupply Squadron on 31 July 1985

and

480th Tactical Fighter Squadron

• Constituted as 480th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 1 September 1957

Activated on 25 September 1957

• Redesignated as 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 July 1958

Inactivated on 1 April 1959

• Activated on 8 May 1962

Inactivated on 17 November 1971

• Activated on 15 November 1976

Redesignated as 480th Fighter Squadron on 1 October 1991

Inactivated on 1 October 1994

• Activated on 13 August 2010

Assignments

• 336th Bombardment Group (Medium), 15 July 1942 – 1 May 1944
• 580th Air Resupply and Communications (later, 580th Air Resupply) Group, 16 April 1951 – 18 October 1956
• 366th Fighter Bomber (later Tactical Fighter) Wing, 25 September 1957 – 1 April 1959; 8 May 1962 – 1 February 1966 (not operational, 4 March – 1 April 1959)
• 6252d Tactical Wing, 1 February-1966-8 April 1966

Attached from 366th Tactical Fighter Wing entire period

• 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, Attached 8 April – 22 June 1966, assigned 23 June – 10 October 1966
• 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, 10 October 1966
• 37th Tactical Fighter Wing, 15 April 1969 – 31 March 1970
• 12th Tactical Fighter Wing, 31 March 1970 – 17 November 1971
• 52d Tactical Fighter Wing, 15 November 1976

52d Operations Group, 1 October 1991 – 1 October 1994, 13 August 2010 - present

Stations

• MacDill Field, Florida, 15 July 1942
• Fort Myers Army Airfield, Florida, 10 August 1942
• Avon Park Army Air Field, Florida, 13 December 1942
• MacDill Field, Florida, 13 October 1943
• Lake Charles Army Air Field, Louisiana, 6 November 1943 – 1 May 1944
• Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, 16 April 1951 – 19 September 1952
• Wheelus Field (later, Wheelus AB), Libya, 28 September 1952 – 18 October 1956
• Alexandria (later England) AFB, Louisiana, 25 September 1957
• Phalsbourg-Bourscheid Air Base, France, 8 May 1962
• Holloman AFB, New Mexico, 16 July 1963
• Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, 1 February 1966
• Phu Cat Air Base, South Vietnam, 15 April 1969 – 17 November 1971
• Spangdahlem Air Base, West Germany (later Germany), 15 November 1976 – 1 October 1994, 13 August 2010–present

Aircraft

• B-26 Marauder, 1942–1944
• B-29, 1951–1956
• C-119, 1951–1956
• SA-16, 1951–1956
• F-100 Super Sabre, 1957–59, 1963
• F-84F Thunderstreak, 1962–1963
• F-4C/D Phantom II, 1963–1971
• F-4D/E/G Phantom II, 1976–1987
• F-16C Fighting Falcon, 1987–1994; 2010–present

A 480th TFS F-4D at Phu Cat AB.

A 480th TFS F-4E, 1982.

A 480th TFS F-4G with an F-16C over Germany, 1989.

480th FS F-16Cs in Bulgaria, in October 2010.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• Maurer, Maurer, ed (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/Publications/fulltext/combat_sq_of_the_af_wwii.pdf.