World War II In 1942, the
Royal Air Force Eagle Squadrons were turned over to the
United States Army Air Forces, with
No. 121 Squadron being constituted as the
335th Fighter Squadron on 22 August, activated on 12 September and the same day assigned to the
4th Fighter Group of the
VIII Fighter Command. Coming into USAAF service, the squadron was re-equipped with
Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and later
North American P-51 Mustangs. They destroyed 262 enemy aircraft – 165 in the air and 97 on the ground. They remained with the group until they were returned to the United States and inactivated at
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on 10 November 1945.
1940s After less than a year, the 335th was reactivated on 9 September 1946 at
Selfridge Field, Michigan, and has remained on active duty since. In 1947, the squadron was redesignated as the
335th Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled, as it received the new
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars. They flew out of
Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, until 1949, when they moved to
Langley Air Force Base, Virginia and received the
North American F-86 Sabre.
1950s On 10 November 1950 they took their Sabres to Korea as the
335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the
Fifth Air Force. By the end of the
Korean War, the 335th led all squadrons with 218.5 kills (for around forty losses) and had become a part of the "MiG Killer" legend with 12 aces. The 335th remained in the Far East until 8 December 1957, when they moved to their current base at
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, and converted to the
North American F-100 Super Sabre. In May 1958, the squadron deployed to
Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, tasked with operational testing of the new
Republic F-105 Thunderchief for the next three years. In May 1959, the 335th became the first squadron in the Air Force to receive the F-105 Thunderchief, and the transition from F-100s to F-105s began. The squadron returned to Seymour Johnson AFB in November 1961.
1960s The squadron saw action in Southeast Asia in November 1965, flying the F-105 out of
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. In 1969, the 335th transitioned to the airframe its aircrew would fly for the next twenty-three years—the
McDonnell F-4 Phantom II; later this year, they briefly deployed to South Korea.
1970s In 1972, the squadron again saw action in Vietnam, from July to December, flying out of
Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. Later in the 1970s, they became the first operational squadron to qualify with the
GBU-15 guided bomb, and in doing so, exceeded 100,000 consecutive accident-free hours. They deployed briefly to
Ramstein Air Base, Germany in 1978 and 1979, for a month each time.
1990s On 1 March 1990, in conjunction with the fifty-first change of command, the squadron's final F-4 sortie and first
McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle sortie were flown. The 335th was the second fighter squadron in the Air Force to receive the Strike Eagle. from the
4th FW parked during
Operation Desert Shield. On 27 December 1990, the 335th deployed twenty-four F-15Es along with support personnel and equipment to
Al Kharj Air Base in central Saudi Arabia. On the night of 16 January 1991, the 335th participated in the
initial assault on Iraq, hitting communications, power networks, and airfields around Baghdad. The 335th made
aerial warfare history by downing an Iraqi helicopter in the air using a laser-guided bomb. During the war, the squadron flew 1,097 combat missions over Iraq and occupied Kuwait, dropping over 4.8 million pounds of ordnance. After the war, the 335th continued to fly
combat air patrol missions over Iraq and Kuwait until relieved by the
334th Fighter Squadron, departing on 24 June 1991. Since then, the 335th has returned to Southwest Asia several times; three times to
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and twice to
Doha, Qatar, as an Air Expeditionary Force. On 13 January 1993, the ten F-15Es from the 335th took part in a night strike on
Air Defence targets inside Southern Iraq as part of
Operation Southern Watch. The AEF-III deployment in 1996 was the first for an Air Force unit to Doha after the Desert Storm deployment of the
614th Tactical Fighter Squadron's F-16's during 1990–1991.
2000s In January 2002, the 335th deployed to
Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait in support of Southern Watch and
Operation Enduring Freedom. 12 F-15Es deployed, accomplishing 500 sorties comprising 3,000 flying hours. During this time the 335th dropped almost 300 laser guided and dumb bombs, and expended 1200 rounds of 20mm ammunition. The 335th received numerous awards and accolades from Operation Enduring Freedom; four
Silver Stars were awarded as well as eight
Distinguished Flying Crosses. In February 2003 the 335th again deployed to Southwest Asia for
Operation Iraqi Freedom. During Iraqi Freedom and
Operation Southern Watch the squadron deployed 24 F-15Es, and flew 1,500 sorties, totaling 7,000 flying hours. They dropped over one million pounds of precision and non-precision munitions on numerous targets such as key Iraqi leadership, command and control bunkers, artillery Republican Guard units and many others. F-15E serial number 89-0487, known as "America's Aircraft", has the most hours of any F-15 model (C, D, E), and it has one air to air kill (the only air-to-air kill by F-15Es). Throughout the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s the 335th conducted multiple deployments including combat deployments to the Middle East.
2020s In early April 2024, the 335th's F-15Es were urgently deployed to the CENTCOM AOR to bolster US military presence in the region due to possible Iranian military action against US military personnel and Israel tied to the Israel-Hamas War. On April 13-14, 2024, 335th F-15Es assisted in the defense of Israel against an onslaught of drones and surface to air missiles launched from Iran. The 335th's F-15Es, operating with F-15Es from the 494th FS, were credited with over +70 kills of Iranian drones during combat air patrols. Following the April 13-14 operation, the President of the United States called the Commanding Officers of both the 335th FS and 494th FS. The President commended the F-15E squadrons for their excellent airmanship and piloting skills in defense of Israel and US military personnel in the AOR. ==Lineage==