331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
Emblem of the 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
Active	1942–1967
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force

4760th Combat Crew Training Squadron F-104 56-867 1967

331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Lockheed F-104A-20-LO Starfighter 56-821 Webb AFB, Texas February 1964

Convair F-102A-80-CO Delta Dagger 56-1466, 1962

The 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command stationed at Webb Air Force Base, Texas. It was inactivated on 1 March 1967.

History

Activated in 1942 as a IV Fighter Command P-38 Lightning Replacement Training Unit (RTU). Trained P-38 pilots in California and Washington State until phaseout of Lightning training in March 1944. Reactivated in 1953 as an Air Defense Command interceptor squadron. Performed air defense mission over New York City and northeast United States, 1953-1958 with F-86Ds and F-102s. Was moved to Webb AFB, Texas for air defense of South Central United States with F-104A Starfighters. In addition, the squadron received the two-seat, dual-control, combat trainer F-104B. The performance of the F-104B was almost identical to that of the F-104A, but the lower internal fuel capacity reduced its effective range considerably.

It was found that the F-104A was not very well suited for service as an interceptor. Its low interception range and its incompatibility with the ADC SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) system and the 4752d ADW was a non-SAGE manual NORAD Sector Combat Center. Flew F-104s until inactivated in 1967 and re-designated as 4760th Combat Crew Training Squadron and became F-104 training organization for Royal Jordanian Air Force F-104 pilots. 4760th FIS inactivated 1 October 1967 when the Jordanian pilots were recalled because of the war with Israel in the summer of 1967.

Lineage

• Constituted 331st Fighter Squadron on 24 June 1942

Activated on 10 July 1942

Disbanded on 31 March 1944

• Reconstituted, and redesignated 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, on 3 February 1953

Activated on 24 February 1953

Inactivated 1 March 1967 and redesignated 4760th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

4760th FIS Inactivated 1 October 1967.

Assignments

• 329th Fighter Group, 10 July 1942 – 31 March 1944
• Air Defense Command

519th Air Defense Group, 24 February 1953

329th Fighter Group, 18 August 1955

33d Air Division, 15 August 1958

Albuquerque Air Defense Sector, 1 January 1960

Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector, 15 September 1960

4752d Air Defense Wing, 1 September 1961 – 1 March 1967

Stations

• Hamilton Field, California, 10 July 1942
• Paine Army Airfield, Washington, 14 July 1942
• Inglewood AAF (Mines Field), California, 10 September 1942
• Van Nuys Airport, California, 4 November 1942
• Olympia AAF, Washington, 13 August 1943;
• Ellensburg Army Airfield, Washington, 1 November 1943
• Ontario AAF, California, 27 December 1943 – 31 March 1944
• Suffolk County AFB, New York, 24 February 1953
• Stewart AFB, New York, 18 August 1955
• Webb AFB, Texas, 15 August 1958 – 1 March 1967

Aircraft

• P-38 Lightning, 1942–1944
• F-51 Mustang, 1953
• F-86D Sabre Interceptor, 1953–1960
• F-102 Delta Dagger, 1960–1963
• F-104A/B Starfighter, 1963-1967

References

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

• 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).