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| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| ===World War II=== | |||
| Air defense of the west coast, May–June 1942, and Alaska, June 20 – December 1, 1942; replacement training, April 1943 – April 1944. SAC Fighter-Escort, 1947–1949. Air defense of the Northeast United States, 1953–1954, Icelandic Air Defense, 1954–1995. Effective 1 March 1995, the 57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was deactivated and the 85th Operations Squadron was activated in its place. | |||
| The 57th Pursuit Squadron was established on January 1, 1941 at ], California. Along with the 42nd and 56th squadrons it was a part of the ]. It was formed with a cadre from the ]. | |||
| The squadron operated both Bell ]s and Curtiss ]s alongside each other which was rather unusual, and in June 1942 it was sent to ]. It was first based at ], Anchorage and according to the official records, it would seem that it did not in itself take any part in the action against the Japanese in the ], but a detachment of eleven of the pilots saw service with the 42d which was based at ] NAS, ] and between them got three confirmed victories and two probables. On August 4, 1942, the 57th was moved to Kodiak NAS, Adak and there replaced the 42d. All its pilots were rotated to Adak to gain combat experience. | |||
| The assignment of the 57th to Alaska came to end on November 26, 1942 and the P-39s were to be flown to ], San Antonio, Texas for depot-level overhaul. With the squadron back at ], Baton Rouge, it was reequipped with the North American ], thereby becoming the first P-51 unit in the AAF. On May 12, 1943 the 54th Group with the 57th and 56th squadrons was transferred to ], Florida. There it became a replacement training group, training P-51 pilots for overseas duty. It reequipped with P-51Bs at Bartow. The 57th squadron was disbanded on April 30, 1944, being replaced by an Army Air Force Base Unit as part of a re-orgazation of training units. | |||
| ===Air Defense Command=== | |||
| ===Lineage=== | ===Lineage=== | ||
Revision as of 02:16, 13 November 2011
| 57th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of the 57th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron | |
| Active | 1940–1995 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Fighter-Interceptor |
The 57th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, also known as "The Black Knights of Keflavik", is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The 57 FIS was last stationed at Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland. It was inactivated on 1 March, 1995.
History
World War II
The 57th Pursuit Squadron was established on January 1, 1941 at Hamilton Field, California. Along with the 42nd and 56th squadrons it was a part of the 54th Pursuit Group. It was formed with a cadre from the 35th Pursuit Group.
The squadron operated both Bell P-39 Aircobras and Curtiss P-40 Warhawks alongside each other which was rather unusual, and in June 1942 it was sent to Alaska. It was first based at Elmendorf Field, Anchorage and according to the official records, it would seem that it did not in itself take any part in the action against the Japanese in the Aleutians, but a detachment of eleven of the pilots saw service with the 42d which was based at Kodiak NAS, Adak and between them got three confirmed victories and two probables. On August 4, 1942, the 57th was moved to Kodiak NAS, Adak and there replaced the 42d. All its pilots were rotated to Adak to gain combat experience.
The assignment of the 57th to Alaska came to end on November 26, 1942 and the P-39s were to be flown to Duncan Army Airfield, San Antonio, Texas for depot-level overhaul. With the squadron back at Harding Army Airfield, Baton Rouge, it was reequipped with the North American P-51A Mustang, thereby becoming the first P-51 unit in the AAF. On May 12, 1943 the 54th Group with the 57th and 56th squadrons was transferred to Bartow Army Airfield, Florida. There it became a replacement training group, training P-51 pilots for overseas duty. It reequipped with P-51Bs at Bartow. The 57th squadron was disbanded on April 30, 1944, being replaced by an Army Air Force Base Unit as part of a re-orgazation of training units.
Air Defense Command
Lineage
- Constituted 57th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on November 20, 1940.
- Activated on January 15, 1941.
- Redesignated 57th Fighter Squadron on May 15, 1942
- Disbanded on May 1, 1944.
- Reconstituted on March 24, 1947.
- Activated in the reserve on May 15, 1947.
- Inactivated on June 27, 1949.
- Redesignated 57th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on February 11, 1953.
- Activated on March 27, 1953
- Inactivated on March 1, 1995
Assignments
- Fourth Air Force, January 15, 1941 – May 11, 1943
- Third Air Force, May 11, 1943 – May 1, 1944
- 459th Bombardment Group, May 15, 1947 – June 27, 1949
- 528th Air Defense Group, March 27, 1953
- Iceland Air Defense Force, November 13, 1954
- 1400th Operations Group, December 18, 1955
- Air Forces Iceland, July 1, 1960
- 35th Wing, June 4, 1992 – 1 Oct 1994
- 85th Group, 1 Oct 1994 - 1 Mar 1995
Stations
- Hamilton Field, California, January 15, 1941
- Everett, Washington, June 26, 1941
- Harding Field, Louisiana, January 31, 1942
- Detachment operated from: San Diego Airport, California, May 28 – June 12, 1942
- Detachment operated from: Elmendorf Airfield, Alaska, June 20 – September 30, 1942
- Detachment operated from: Kodiak, Alaska, September 29 – December 1, 1942
- Bartow AAF, Florida, May 12, 1943 – May 1, 1944
- Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona, May 15, 1947 – June 27, 1949
- Presque Isle AFB, Maine, March 27, 1953
- Keflavik Aprt (later NAS Keflavik), Iceland, November 12, 1954 – March 1, 1995
Aircraft
- P-39 Airacobra, 1941–1943
- P-51 Mustang, 1943–1944
- F-89C Scorpion, 1953–1962
- F-102 Delta Dagger, 1962–1973
- F-4 Phantom II, 1973–1985
- F-15 Eagle, 1985–1995
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
- Maurer, Maurer. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force: World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1982.
- USAF Aerospace Defense Command publication, The Interceptor, January 1979 (Volume 21, Number 1).
