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431st Test and Evaluation Squadron
Emblem of the 431st Test and Evaluation Squadron
Active	1943–1992
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Test and Evaluation
Commanders
Notable commanders	Major Thomas McGuire

The 431st Test and Evaluation Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Tactical Air Command 57th Fighter Wing stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. It was inactivated on 30 June 1992.

History

World War II

Established by Fifth Air Force in Australia in May 1943 specifically to accommodate very long range Lockheed P-38J Lightnings at Amberley Airfield in Queensland, Australia. The 431st was specifically trained to provide long-range escort for bombers during daylight raids on Japanese airfields and strongholds in the Netherlands East Indies and the Bismarck Archipelago. On 14 August 1943, the 431st transferred from Amberley Airfield to Port Moresby. New Guinea.

Engaged in combat operations, providing escort for North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers that were engaged in strafing attacks on airdromes at Wewak but also destroyed a number of the enemy fighter planes that attacked the formation. Also intercepted and destroyed many Japanese aircraft which were sent against American shipping in Oro Bay on 15 and 17 October 1943. Covered landings in New Guinea, New Britain, and the Schouten Islands. After moving to Biak in July 1944, the squadron flew escort missions and fighter sweeps to the southern Philippines, Celebes, Halmahera, and Borneo.

Moved to the Philippines in October 1944 and attacked enemy airfields and installations, escorting bombers, and engaging in aerial combat during the first stages of the Allied campaign to recover the Philippines, October–December 1944. The squadron flew many missions to support ground forces on Luzon during the first part of 1945. Also flew escort missions to Southeast China and attacked railways on Formosa. Began moving to Ie Shima near Okinawa in August 1945 but the war ended before the movement was completed.

After active combat ended, on 22 September 1945, the squadron moved to Seoul Airfield, Korea for occupation duty as part of the 308th Bomb Wing, assigned to the 315th Air Division of Far East Air Forces. The unit moved to Kimpo Airfield, on 7 January 1946 where it converted to the very long-range P-51H Mustang. The squadron was reassigned to Nagoya Airfield, Japan in March 1947 and later moved to Itazuke Airfield, Japan in August 1948. It became a subordinate unit of 475th Fighter Wing on 10 August.

The squadron was inactivated on 1 April 1949 at Ashiya Airfield, Japan.

Cold War

Reactivated as part of Air Defense Command (ADC) in November 1952, replacing the federalized 172d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the Michigan Air National Guard. Stationed at Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan with mission of air defense of the Detroit/Akron area and Great Lakes initially flying the North American F-86F Sabres reassigned from the 63rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Oscoda Air Force Base, Michigan.

Relieved from duty with ADC and reassigned to United States Air Forces Europe under Seventeenth Air Force. Flying from Wheelus Air Base, Libya to provide air defense over the large North African base and expansive training ranges. Replaced its Korean War vintage F-86F's with new F-86D Sabre interceptors in January 1955. Moved to Zaragoza Air Base, Spain in September 1958 where new Convair F-102A Delta Dagger interceptors replaced the F-86D's. The unit was reassigned to the Strategic Air Command Sixteenth Air Force. Inactivated in 1964 with withdrawal of B-47 Stratojet from inventory and SAC turning jurisdiction of its Spanish refueling bases to USAFE.

Was reassigned to Tactical Air Command, being stationed at George AFB, California, assigned to 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. Equipped with F-4C Phantom II tactical fighter-bomber, engaged in training, participated in numerous exercises, operational readiness inspections, deployments. Re-equipped with new F-4D Phantom II in 1965 and reassigned to 479th Tactical Training Wing at George AFB. The F-4D was an improved version of the F-4C, which the 8th TFW had been deployed with to Southeast Asia.

In February 1966, the squadron began McDonnell F-4D Phantom II replacement pilot training for personnel to be deployed to Southeast Asia. Along with the USAF fighter pilot training, the squadron began training foreign personnel in F-4 operations and maintenance in March 1969. Pilots were trained from Israel, Iran, Japan, and West Germany. Inactivated on 30 October 1970 due to budget reductions.

Reactivated at George Air Force Base in 1975 as part of the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing. Engaged in F-4E "Wild Weasel" training as a tactical fighter training squadron against Republic F-105G Thunderchiefs. Inactivated due to budget cuts in 1978.

Fighter Weapons Squadron

Reactivated at McClellan Air Force Base, California in 1980 as a General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark evaluation squadron, assuming mission of Detachment 3, 57th Fighter Weapons Wing, being a geographically separated unit of the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing. McClellan was the Air Force Logistics Command prime support depot for the F-111 and changes and modifications could be made there and tested by the detachment.

The 431st's mission was to test and evaluate Time Compliance Technical Order modifications to the F-111A/D/E and F models prior to those changes being released to operational F-111 tactical wings in the United States and Europe. In addition was tasked with exploiting foreign technologies, and developing leading-edge tactics to improve the future combat capability of aerospace forces.

Squadron remained active until June 1992 when the F-111 was retired at the end of the Cold War.

Lineage

• Activated on 14 May 1943 by special authority prior to constitution as 431st Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1943.

Inactivated on 1 April 1949.

• Redesignated 431st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 11 September 1952.

Activated in November 1952.

Inactivated on 18 May 1964

• Reactivated and redesignated as 431st Tactical Fighter Squadron, 25 July 1964

Inactivated on 30 October 1970

• Reactivated and redesignated as 431st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, 15 January 1976

Inactivated on 1 October 1978.

• Reactivated and redesignated as 431st Fighter Weapons Squadron, 1 October 1980

Redesignated: 431st Test and Evaluation Squadron on 30 December 1981

Inactivated on 30 June 1992

Assignments

• 475th Fighter Group, 14 May 1943 – 1 April 1949

Attached to 347th Fighter Group, 15 November 1947 – 28 August 1948

• 4708th Defense Wing, 1 November 1952
• 575th Air Defense Group, 16 February 1953
• Seventeenth Air Force, 10 July 1953
• 1603d Air Transport (later 7272d Air Base) Wing, 20 July 1953
• 7272d Operations Group, 1 March 1958
• 65th Air Division, 1 September 1958
• United States Air Forces in Europe

Attached to 86th Air Division, 1 July 1960 – 18 May 1964

• 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, 25 July 1964 – 6 December 1965

Detached to 479th Tactical Fighter Wing, 6 December 1965 – 14 June 1968

• 479th Tactical Fighter Wing, 15 June 1968 – 30 October 1970
• 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, 15 January 1976 – 1 October 1978
• 57th Fighter Weapons Wing, 1 October 1980 – 30 June 1992

Stations

Aircraft

• P-38 Lightning, 1943–1946
• P-51 Mustang, 1946–1949; F-51, 1952–1953
• F-86D Sabre Interceptor, 1953–1960
• F-102 Delta Dagger, 1960–1964
• F-4 Phantom II, 1964–1970; 1976–1978
• F-111 Aardvark, Various, 1980–1992

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

1. http://acepilots.com/usaaf_mcguire.html Ace Pilots

• Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946 – 1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2012.* Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) . 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.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) . 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.
• "ADCOM's Fighter Interceptor Squadrons". The Interceptor. 21 (1). Aerospace Defense Command: 5–11, 26–31, 40–45, 54–59. January 1979.

v t e Aerospace Defense Command (ADC)
Bases	CONUS Amarillo Beale Charleston Davis-Monthan Dobbins Dover Dow Duluth Eglin Edwards Ellington Ellsworth England Ent Ethan Allen Fairfax Fallon Fort Gregg-Adams Fort Heath Geiger George Glasgow Grand Forks Grenier Griffiss Gunter Hamilton Hancock Homestead Hurlburt Hunter Imeson Key West Kincheloe Kingsley Kirtland Lackland Laredo Larson Luke MacDill March Malmstrom McCoy McChord McClellan McGhee Tyson McGuire Minneapolis-St. Paul Minot Mitchel New Castle Niagara Falls Norton O'Hare Otis Oxnard Paine Perrin Peterson Pittsburgh Portland Presque Isle R.I. Bong Richards-Gebaur Robins K.I. Sawyer Selfridge Seymour Johnson Sioux City Stead Stewart Suffolk County Tinker Travis Truax Tyndall Vandenberg Vincent Walker Webb Westover Wright-Patterson Wurtsmith Youngstown Overseas Ernest Harmon Frobisher Bay Goose Keflavik McAndrew Pepperrell Thule
Stations	CONUS Adair Aiken Almaden Alpena Antigo Arlington Heights Baker Bedford Bellefontaine Belleville Benton Blaine Brookfield Brunswick Bucks Harbor Burns Calumet Cambria Cape Charles Cape Cod Carmi Caswell Chandler Charleston Cheyenne Mountain Claysburg Clear Colville Condon Continental Divide Cottonwood Cross City Crystal Springs Curlew Custer Cut Bank Dallas Center Dauphin Island Dickinson Duncanville Eldorado Empire Finland Finley Flintstone Fordland Fort Fisher Fort Lee Fortuna Gettysburg Grand Marais Grand Rapids Guthrie Hanna City Havre Highlands Houma Hutchinson Joelton Keno Killeen Kingman Kirksville Klamath Lake Charles Lake City Las Cruces Las Vegas Lewistown Lockport Lufkin Lyndonville Madera Makah Mica Peak Miles City Mill Valley Minot Montauk Moriarty Mount Hebo Mount Laguna Mount Lemmon Naselle North Bend North Charleston North Truro Oklahoma City Olathe Omaha Opheim Osceola Othello Owingsville Ozona Palermo Point Arena Port Austin Port Isabel Pyote Red Bluff Rochester Rockport Rockville (Indiana) Roslyn Rye Saint Albans San Clemente Island Santa Rosa Island Saratoga Springs Sault Ste Marie Shemya Snelling Snow Mountain Sweetwater Texarkana Tierra Amarilla Thomasville Tonopah Topsham Two Creeks Wadena Walnut Ridge Watertown Waverly West Mesa Willow Run Winnemucca Winslow Winston-Salem Woomera Yaak Zapata Overseas Armstrong Baldy Hughes Beausejour Cape Makkovik Cartwright Cut Throat Island Elliston Ridge Fox Harbour Hofn Hopedale Kamloops La Scie Langanes Latrar Melville Puntzi Mountain Ramore Red Cliff Rockville Saglek St. Anthony Saskatoon Mountain Sioux Lookout Spotted Island Stephenville
Air Defense units	Forces Central Air Defense Eastern Air Defense Iceland Western Air Defense First Fourth Tenth Fourteenth Air Divisions 8th 9th 20th 21st 23d 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32d 33d 34th 35th 36th 37th 58th 64th 73d 85th Sectors Albuquerque Bangor Boston Chicago Detroit Duluth Goose Grand Forks Great Falls Kansas City Los Angeles Minot Montgomery New York Oklahoma City Phoenix Portland Reno Sault Sainte Marie San Francisco Seattle Sioux City Spokane Stewart Syracuse Washington Wings Fighter 1st 4th 23d 32d 33d 50th 52d 56th 78th 81st 325th 328th 507th Detection and Control 71st 73d 551st 552d Air Defense 46th 4620th 4621st 4622d 4624th 4625th 4627th 4628th 4683d 4700th 4702d 4703d 4704th 4705th 4706th 4707th 4708th 4709th 4710th 4711th 4750th 4751st 4752d 4756th 4780th Groups Fighter 1st 4th 14th 15th 23d 32d 33d 50th 52d 53d 54th 56th 57th 78th 79th 81st 82d 84th 325th 326th 327th 328th 329th 337th 343d 355th 408th 412th 414th 473d 475th 476th 478th 507th Air Defense 10th 500th 501st 502d 503d 514th 515th 516th 517th 518th 519th 520th 521st 525th 527th 528th 529th 530th 533d 534th 564th 566th 567th 568th 575th 637th 665th 678th 692d 701st 751st 762d 765th 778th 780th 827th 858th 4606th 4620th 4676th 4700th 4721st 4722d 4727th 4728th 4729th 4730th 4731st 4732d 4733d 4734th 4735th 4750th 4756th Aircraft Control & Warning 503d 505th 540th 541st 542d 543d 544th 545th 546th 563d 564th 565th 566th Squadrons Aerospace Defense Command Fighter Squadrons Aircraft Control and Warning Squadrons
Major weapon systems	Electronic TB-29 EB-57 EC-121 Fighters Propeller: F-47 F-51 P-61 F-82 Subsonic Jet: P-80 F-84 F-86 F-89 F-94 Supersonic Jet: F-101 F-102 F-104 F-106 Missiles AIM-4 AIM-26 AIR-2 CIM-10 Ships Guardian Interceptor Interdictor Interpreter Investigator Locator Lookout Outpost Pickett Protector Scanner Searcher Skywatcher Tracer Watchman Vigil Texas Towers Texas Tower 2 Texas Tower 3 Texas Tower 4
Miscellaneous	Air Defense Command Emblem Gallery (on Wikimedia Commons) General Surveillance Radar Stations

• Test and evaluation squadrons of the United States Air Force