303rd Fighter Squadron

World War II The squadron was constituted on 28 May 1943 and activated on 1 September, as the 303d Troop Carrier Squadron, one of four squadrons assigned to the 442d Troop Carrier Group at Sedalia Army Air Field, now Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The 303d, with its parent unit, was created to provide airlift support of Allied forces in Europe during World War II using cargo aircraft and gliders. Following their stateside training, the squadron arrived at RAF Fulbeck, England on, 23 March 1944, where they made final preparations for the pending invasion of Europe. On D-Day, 6 June 1944, the 303d participated in the airborne assault of the 82nd Airborne Division four hours in advance of the first seaborne landings at the Normandy beaches. The squadron went on to participate in other major operations in Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Germany throughout the remainder of the war in Europe. In April 2023, a group of A-10s were deployed to Thessaloniki Airport, Greece for the DEFENDER 23 exercise to train alongside the 113th Fighter Squadron of the Hellenic Air Force ==Lineage==

• Constituted as the 303d Troop Carrier Squadron on 25 May 1943 : Activated on 1 September 1943 : Inactivated on 30 September 1946 • Redesignated 303d Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium' on 10 May 1949 : Activated in the reserve on 27 June 1949 : Ordered to active service on 10 March 1951 : Inactivated on 12 March 1951 • Activated in the reserve on 15 June 1952 : Redesignated 303d Troop Carrier Squadron, Heavy on 8 May 1961 : Ordered to active service on 1 October 1961 : Relieved from active duty on 27 August 1962 : Redesignated 303d Air Transport Squadron, Heavy on 1 December 1965 : Redesignated 303d Military Airlift Squadron on 1 January 1966 : Redesignated 303d Tactical Airlift Squadron on 27 June 1971 : Redesignated 303d Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 October 1982 : Redesignated 303d Fighter Squadron on 1 February 1992 England, 27 March 1944 • RAF Weston Zoyland (AAF-447), France, 5 October 1944 • Saint-André-de-l'Eure Airport (B-24), Aircraft • Douglas C-47 Skytrain (1943–1946, 1949–1950) • Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (1943–1945) • Waco CG-4 (1944–1945) • Consolidated C-109 Liberator Express (1945) • Piper L-4 Grasshopper (1945) • Aeronca L-3 Grasshopper (1945) • Waco CG-15 (1945) • North American T-6 Texan (1949–1950) • Beechcraft T-7 Navigator (1949–1951) • Beechcraft T-11 Kansan (1949–1951) • Curtiss C-46 Commando (1949–1957) • Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (1957–1961) • Douglas C-124 Globemaster II (1961–1971) • Lockheed C-130 Hercules (1971–1982) • Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II (1982–present) ==References==