526th Fighter Squadron

The 526th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 86th Operations Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where it was inactivated on 1 July 1994.

526th Fighter Squadron
526th F-16 Fighting Falcon[a]
Active	1942–1946; 1946–1994
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Fighter
Engagements	Mediterranean Theater of Operations
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[1]
Insignia
Patch with 526th Fighter Squadron emblem[b][1]
526th Fighter-Bomber Squadron emblem (World War II)[2]

The squadron was first activated as the 310th Bombardment Squadron in February 1942. After training in the United States, it was deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it became the 526th Fighter-Bomber Squadron and engaged in combat until the spring of 1945, earning two Distinguished Unit Citations. After VE Day, the squadron became part of the occupation forces in Germany. Briefly inactivated in 1946, it returned to Germany a few months later.

During the Cold War, the squadron served in the fighter bomber role as the 526th Fighter-Bomber Squadron and in the air defense role as the 526th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. It became the 526th Tactical Fighter Squadron in 1968. The squadron again saw combat service in the Gulf War before inactivating in July 1994.

History

World War II

The squadron originally activated on 10 February 1942 at Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma as the 310th Bombardment Squadron (Light), one of the four squadrons of the 86th Bombardment Group.^[1][3][4] In August 1942, it moved to Key Field, Mississippi, where it began training with the Douglas A-20 Havoc. In August, the squadron became a dive bomber unit. Before the end of 1942, the squadron transitioned briefly to Vultee A-31 Vengeance and then to North American A-36 Apache dive bombers.^[1]

86th Group A-36 in north Africa

The squadron boarded the SS John Ericsson in April 1943.^[5] In early May, the squadron arrived at La Senia Airfield, Algeria. The 310th trained at bases in French Morocco and moved to Tafaraoui Airfield, Algeria on 11 June 1943, entering combat on 6 July 1943.^[3] Following Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, the squadron moved to Gela Airfield, Sicily on 20 July 1943, and to Barcellona Landing Ground, Sicily, on 1 September 1943,^[1] to support Allied operations, engaging primarily in close air support, moving forward as the battle line on the ground changed.^[3] In August 1943, the squadron was redesignated the 526th Fighter-Bomber Squadron.^[1]

In July, initial elements of the squadron moved to Sicily. From the Gela West airfield, begin flying combat missions, supporting the 1st Division of II Army Corps. On 27 August, the squadron provided air support for the first Allied landings on the European mainland at Salerno, Italy. On 10 September, three days after the invasion of Salerno, advance echelons of the squadron moved to Sele Airfield, near the beachhead. Enemy shelling of the beaches caused considerable difficulty during the move, and the squadron did not fly its first missions until 15 September.

Moved north through Italy during the Italian Campaign, supported Allied forces by attacking enemy lines of communication, troop concentrations and supply areas. In April 1944 the squadron attacked the German Gustav Line. It also attacked rail and road targets and strafed German troop and supply columns during late spring.

The squadron was an active participant in Operation Strangle, the attempt to cut German supply lines prior to the Allied offensive aimed at rail and road networks, and attacking German troop and supply columns. While Strangle did not significantly cut into German supplies, it did disrupt enemy tactical mobility and was a major factor in the Allies' eventual breakthrough. During this period the squadron received Curtiss P-40 Warhawks to augment its aging North American A-36 Apaches, but the obsolescent P-40s were only a stopgap measure. The squadron welcomed its first Republic P-47 Thunderbolts a few weeks later, on 23 June.

Moved to Corsica in July 1944. From Poretta Airfield, the squadron flew bombing missions against coastal defenses in direct support of Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France 15 August 1944. Allied forces met little resistance as they moved inland twenty miles in the first twenty-four hours. Once the invasion was completed, the squadron moved back to northern Italy and continued its coastal basing by attacking enemy road and rail networks in northern Italy and, for the first time, flying regular escort missions with heavy bombers. The squadron also conducted armed reconnaissance against the enemy in the Po Valley region.

The squadron continued combat in northern Italy until February 1945, when it left the Mediterranean Theater and moved to Tantonville Airfield (Y-1), France, in the Lorraine region, and operations shifted from targets in the Po Valley to those in southern Germany. The squadron's first mission to Germany – a cause of some excitement – was on 25 February 1945, and by March most missions were flown into Germany against rail lines, roads, supply dumps, enemy installations and airfields. The squadron transferred from Tantonville to Braunshardt Airfield (Y-72), near Darmstadt, Germany,

Flew its final combat mission on 8 May 1945.

526th F-47 Thunderbolt, 1948

Just after the war, the squadron performed military occupation duty in Germany, with personnel demobilizing throughout the summer. The squadron's last personnel were sent back to the United States from AAF Station Schweinfurt, Germany, on 15 February 1946, with the squadron inactivated as an administrative unit in March.

Cold War

526th F-84E Thunderjets in 1951, probably at Neubiberg AB

The squadron was reactivated in the postwar era 20 August 1946 at Nordholz Airbase, Germany equipped with surplus P-47 Thunderbolts from storage depots in Europe. Over the next several years, the squadron underwent several redesignations and several station assignments in occupied Germany. In June 1948, the squadron was moved to Neubiberg Air Base, near Munich when tensions with the Soviet Union culminated in the Berlin Blockade. By 1948, it was obvious that the piston-engine Thunderbolts would be no match for Soviet jet fighters, and in early 1950 the squadron was re-equipped with Republic F-84E Thunderjets for air defense of the Munich area.

North American F-86F Sabre, USAFE, 86th FBW, 526th FBS, probably at Landstuhl AB, ca 1953-56

With the arrival of the jet age in Europe, USAFE wanted to move its units west of the Rhine River, as its bases in the Munich area were just a few minutes flying time from Soviet MiG-15 bases in Czechoslovakia. The squadron relocated to a new base, located west of the Rhine River near Kaiserslautern, West Germany in 1952. Landstuhl Air Base opened for operations on 5 August 1952, and the 526th Fighter Bomber Squadron arrived on 21 Aug

In April 1953, the squadron completed its move to Landstuhl and was soon reequipped with the North American F-86F Sabre Jet, the first unit in USAFE to fly the most modern American fighter. The F-86F had been very successful as both a fighter and fighter bomber in the Korean War, and marked a quantum increase in the Wing's capabilities.

526th F-102 Delta Dagger^[c]

A year later the squadron was redesignated the 526th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and assumed a new mission of air defense for the central European region. For this mission, the squadron was re-equipped with the rocket-armed F-86D Sabre interceptor which provided an all-weather capability.

Reassigned to the 86th Air Division and oriented for Air Defense of western Europe in 1960. Re-equipped with the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger. On 14 November 1968 the 86th Air Division was inactivated. The 526th was assigned to the new 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Ramstein which replaced the 86th AD. With the phaseout of the F-102 from Europe, the 526 FIS was redesignated the ]26th Tactical Fighter Squadron and begun converting to the McDonnell F-4E Phantom IIfighter aircraft.

526th F-4E Phantom II^[d]

As part of operation "Creek Action", a command-wide effort to realign functions and streamline operations, HQ USAFE transferred the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing from Ramstein Air Base to Zweibrücken Air Base, and the 526th was assigned to the incoming 86th Tactical Fighter Wing from Zweibrücken to Ramstein on 31 January 1973.

Continued to operate the F-4E until upgraded to General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons 1985. Supported numerous military units located in the area and participated in numerous exercises that provided the wing with air combat tactics training essential to their mission.

Modern era

Taking off from Aviano Air Base, Italy, on 28 February 1994, two F-16Cs of the 526th Fighter Squadron shot down four Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Soko J-21 Jastrebs in support of Operation Deny Flight over Banja Luka, one aircraft scoring three victories. This was the first combat engagement in NATO history.^[6]

In 1994 the decision was made to change the 86th Wing from a composite wing to a wing devoted to intra-theater airlift, and the 86th Wing began to assume the airlift mission previously held by C-130 Hercules aircraft at the 435th Airlift Wing at Rhein Main Air Base, Germany, which was slated for inactivation. With the influx of C-130 personnel, the 526th FS was inactivated on 1 October 1994, with its aircraft and personnel also being moved to Aviano AB, Italy, being assigned to the 510th and 555th Fighter Squadrons.

Lineage

• Constituted as the 310th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 13 January 1942

Activated on 10 February 1942

Redesignated 310th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) on 3 September 1942

Redesignated 526th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 23 August 1943

Redesignated 526th Fighter Squadron on 30 May 1944

Inactivated on 31 March 1946

• Activated on 20 August 1946

Redesignated 526th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 20 January 1950

Redesignated 526th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 9 August 1954^[7]

Redesignated 526th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 November 1968

Redesignated 526th Fighter Squadron on 1 May 1991

Inactivated on 1 July 1994

Assignments

• 86th Bombardment Group (later 86th Fighter-Bomber Group, 86th Fighter Group), 10 February 1942 – 31 March 1946
• 86th Fighter Group (later 86th Composite Group, 86th Fighter Fighter-Bomber; Fighter-Interceptor) Group, 20 August 1946
• 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing (later 86th Air Division), 8 March 1958^[7][e]
• 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 1 November 1968^[8]
• 86th Tactical Fighter Wing, 31 January 1973^[9]
• 86th Tactical Fighter Group, 22 September 1975
• 86th Tactical Fighter Wing (later 86th Fighter Wing), 14 June 1985
• 86th Operations Group, 1 May 1991 – 1 July 1994

Stations

• Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma, 10 February 1942
• Hunter Field, Georgia, 15 June 1942
• Key Field, Mississippi, 7 August 1942 – 19 March 1943
• La Senia Airfield, Algeria, 11 May 1943
• Marnia Airfield, French Morocco, 15 May 1943
• Tafaraoui Airfield, Algeria, 11 June 1943
• Korba Airfield, Tunisia, c. 30 June 1943
• Gela Airfield, Sicily, Italy, 20 July 1943
• Barcellona Landing Ground, Sicily, Italy, 1 September 1943
• Sele Airfield, Italy, c. 15 September 1943
• Serretella Airfield, Italy, c. 5 October 1943
• Pomigliano Airfield, Italy, c. 12 October 1943
• Marcianise Airfield Italy, 30 April 1944
• Rome Ciampino Airport, Italy, c. 11 June 1944
• Poretta Airfield, Corsica, France, 11 July 1944
• Grosseto Airfield, Italy, 16 September 1944
• Pisa Airport, Italy, c. 23 October 1944
• Tatonville Airfield (Y-1),^[10] France, c. 21 February 1945
• Braunshardt Airfield (Y-72),^[11] Germany, c. 16 April 1945
• AAF Station Schweinfurt(R-25),^[12] Germany, 25 September 1945 – 15 February 1946
• Bolling Field, District of Columbia, 15 February – 31 March 1946
• AAF Station Nordholz, Germany, 20 August 1946
• AAF Station Lechfeld, Germany c. 1 December 1946
• AAF Station Bad Kissingen, Germany, c. 6 March 1947
• AAF Station Neubiberg (later Neubiberg Air Force Base, Neubiberg Air Base), Germany, c. 12 June 1947
• Landstuhl Air Base (later Ramstein-Landstuhl Air Base, Ramstein Air Base), Germany, 1 August 1952 – 1 July 1994^[7][13]

Aircraft

• Douglas A-20 Havoc, 1942
• Douglas A-24 Banshee, 1942
• North American A-36 Apache, 1942–1944
• Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1944
• Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1944–1946, 1946–1950
• F-84 Thunderjet, 1950–1953
• North American F-86 Sabre, 1953–1960
• Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, 1960–1968^[7]
• McDonnell F-4 Phantom II, 1968–1986
• General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, 1986–1994