Jacksonville Air Force Base - An F-15 of the 159th Fighter Wing over Jacksonville Beach, FL. The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas F-15C-21-MC Eagles, AF Ser. No. 78-0487; 78-0527 and 78-0493
Blue tail stripe with white trim, white "Florida" lettering outside, 125th FW inside, blue lightning bolt
Jacksonville Air Force Base
The 159th Fighter Wing (159 FS) is a unit of the 125th Fighter Wing of the Florida National Guard (125 FW) located at Jacksonville Air Force National Guard Base at Jacksonville International Airport, Florida. The 159th Squadron is currently equipped with F-15Cs and F-15D Eagles and is expected to transition to the F-35A Lightning II in 2024.
A Row Of 125th Fighter Wing F 15s From Jacksonville Fla., Stack The Eglin Air Force Base Flightline Oct. 7. The Air National Guard Unit Sent 15 Aircraft To Ride Out Hurricane Matthew
The squadron primarily flies the single-seat F-15C Eagle, along with the two-seat F-15D, in the air dominance/air dominance role. As part of the Florida Air National Guard, the 159 FS and 125 FW report to Air Force 1 (1 AF) in Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida and are assigned to Air Combat Command (ACC) of the United States Air Force acquired. The main body of the squadron is based at Jacksonville ANGB but also operates and maintains a rotating warning team on a permanent basis at Homestead Air Force Reserve Base, Florida.
The mission of 159 FS is to provide air defense capabilities to the southeastern United States, as directed by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), in an area stretching from the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. ) to the southern tip of Florida and across the Florida panhandle. In addition, the 159 FS provides the Commander of the Continental NORAD Area (CONR) with a rapid armed response to incursions into the sovereign airspace of the United States and can respond with appropriate defensive measures against all hostile actions against persons and property of the United States.
The squadron, as part of the division wing, is also available for forward deployment by other combatant commanders to perform air superiority/air superiority missions in battlefields other than the United States.
Formed late in 1942 as the US Army Air Defense Forces (USAAF) P-47 Thunderbolt fighter squadron, the squadron trained under the I Fighter Command in the mid-Atlantic states. The 159th aircraft also performed air defense missions as part of the Philadelphia Fighter until it was deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), assigned to Fighter Command. Battle VIII in June 1943.
Finland, Switzerland Considering F 35s And Super Hornets In Upcoming Fighter Contests
The unit mainly functioned as an escort organization, covering the destruction, attack, and withdrawal of United States Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bomber formations without the air force. American troops attacked targets on the European continent. The squadron also participated in counter-attack patrols, fighter sweeps, air raids and dive bombing missions. It hit targets such as German and German-occupied airfields, concentration camps, missile sites, industrial parks, arsenals, oil refineries, trains, and highways. During its operations, the unit took part in the attack on the Luftwaffe and the German aircraft industry during Great Week, 20-25 February 1944, and the attack on transport facilities before the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 and supports the invasion force that followed. , including the Battle of Saint-Lo in July 1944.
The squadron supported air raids over the Netherlands in September 1944 and was upgraded to a P-51 Mustang in October It was deployed to Chievres Airport (ALG A-84), Belgium from February to April 1945 performed tactical ground support missions over the Rhine. air attack The unit returned to the line and performed its final combat duty on 20 April 1945. It was discharged in the summer of 1945 at the line and decommissioned in the United States as a paper unit on October 1945.
When World War II ended, work began to organize a unit of the National Air Defense Force for Florida. A National Police Department document, dated March 16, 1946, authorized states to request the assignment of an Army Air Defense unit. Months later, Florida received the 159th Fighter Squadron with an authorized number of 50 officers and 303 enlisted men. Governor Millard F. Caldwell formally accepted the unit on August 30, 1946, and full federal recognition was granted on February 9, 1947.
A facility to house the units was available in temporary World War II buildings on the west side of Thomas Cole Imeson Airport in Jacksonville, Florida. When the unit's first aircraft, the P-51D Mustang, (later renamed the F-51D in 1947) arrived at Imeson Airport, the 159th became an Air National Guard unit. First operation in Florida. With the creation of the United States Air Force as an independent service in September 1947, the 159th became a USAF organization. In its second year of operation, FLANG became one of the first six Air National Guard squadrons in the United States to be equipped with jet aircraft. The conversion from the F-51D Mustang to the F-80C Shooting Star became official on 1 August 1948, when the unit was renamed the 159th Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled (159 FSJ).
Air Force One
In the fall of 1950, American entry into the Korean War required commitments of extended air power from the United States Air Force (United States Air Force). To ease the strain on active duty forces, President Truman activated the FLANG on October 10, 1950, and FLANG pilots were ordered to report to George Air Force Base, California. Upon arrival at George AFB, the 159th Fighter Squadron joined the 116th Fighter Group - an organization that included National Air Defense units from Florida, Georgia (158) and California (196). The group and squadrons were reorganized under the Wing Base Plan on 1 November 1950 as an F-84 Thunderjet unit and renamed the 116th Fighter Bomber Group, led by Lt. Col. Howard L. Galbreath in command. The group received instructions to move to the Far East, which canceled their original order to Europe to replace a squadron of U.S. Air Force missions scheduled to arrive in Korea.
On August 10, 1951, upon arrival overseas, the 159th Fighter Squadron operated under the command of Major Dan Sharpe, United States Air Force. The 116th Fighter Group was assigned to the 5th Air Force commanded by Lieutenant General Thomas C. Waskow at its new home, Misawa Air Base, Japan. The Florida Air National Guard's primary requirement during the Korean War was one of the Air Defense Forces associated with combat missions over Korea. There, 159 FSJ concentrated on dangerous ground attack missions against emy's supply lines and troops in the field. The pilots flew 92 sorties in 4 days with very reliable results. For its part in the war, the unit earned a Korean Service Commendation with a Bronze Service Star.
US Air Force pilots, Lt Wally Gre and Capt Dick Locker of the 159th Interceptor Squadron, 125th Interceptor, Florida Air National Guard, race their North American F-86D-25-NA Saber fighter against machines during an alert battle over Jacksonville, Florida (U.S. ), late 1950s
After discharge, the unit returned on 9 July 1952 with its new commander to Imeson City Airport in Jacksonville. The unit's F-84Es and all of its ground equipment were transferred to the United States Air Force and left to Japan. On 10 July 1952, 159th Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled, was renamed 159th Bomber Squadron, disbanding 159th Utility Flight and merging it into the unit. Six months later, 159th Fighter Bomber Squadron was refitted with F-51H Mustangs and renamed 159 Augmted Bomber Squadron (159 FBSA). From October to December 1954, 159 FBSA was equipped with 9 different types of aircraft such as T-6 Texan, B-26 Invader, C-45 Expeditor, C-47 Skytrain, C-54 Skymaster, F-51H Mustang, T- 33 Shooting Star, F-80 Shooting Star, and F-86A Sabre. By December 12, 1954, everything was stable and the 159 FBSA for the second time had a set of F-80C tires. At this point there are 43 officers and police officers and 472 people are listed in the unit.
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In July 1955, while still armed with F-80Cs, the unit was renamed 159th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (159 FIS), with a change of mission to Air Defense. On 1 July 1956, the division was reorganized into the 125th Fighter-Interceptor Group (125 FIG) and both organizations were taken over by the Air Defense Command (ADC). . The activation of the 125th aircraft coincided with the transition to the F-86D Sabre, an all-weather interceptor. The F-86 transformed the 125th into a self-supporting unit capable of performing Air Defense missions in all types of weather, day or night. In 1959 and 1960, the 125th made two aircraft conversions, which greatly increased the unit's inventory and operating costs. In June 1959, the unit transformed from the F-86D to the F-86L Saber. Another major transition began on July 1, 1960, when the unit converted from the F-86L to the F-102A Delta Dagger supersonic fighter-interceptor.
After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the 125th also formed a squadron of no less than two rotating F-102s, pilots and support personnel at Homestead AFB in southern Florida to maintain an armed alert. 24/7/365, to reinforce other F-102 aircraft on armed alert over Jacksonville. By the late 1960s, 159 FIS and 125 FIG would also see their locations of operations change. Due to limited capacity to handle newer business jets, local government officials in Jacksonville and
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