World War II The
squadron was activated on 1 April 1943 at the
Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics,
Orlando Army Air Base, Florida. After several months of training with
Douglas P-70 Havoc night fighters, the unit was deployed to the
Pacific Theater, moving first to
Camp Patrick Henry, near
Newport News, Virginia where they boarded the
USS General John Pope, sailing through the
Panama Canal to Milne Bay, New Guinea. In New Guinea, the squadron was assigned to
Fifth Air Force and initially stationed at
Dobodura Airfield in November 1943. It was the first dedicated night interceptor squadron assigned to the Pacific Theater. However, it was found that the P-70 was not very successful in actual combat interception of Japanese fighters at night and after a short time, Fifth Air Force modified some
Lockheed P-38F Lightnings in the field as single-seat night fighters by fitting an SCR-540 radar with
Yagi antennae on the nose on both sides of the planes' central
nacelle, and above and below the wings. The Lightnings were much more successful than the P-70s, and
Lockheed Aircraft Company sent field representatives to New Guinea to study the modified aircraft for a new production model, the P-38M, which it began producing in 1944. As the war progressed, the squadron moved west along the northern coast of New Guinea, moving to several
advance airfields on the island through 1943 and 1944. In September 1944, the squadron was re-equipped with
Northrop P-61 Black Widows and moved to
Morotai Island in the Netherlands East Indies where they engaged enemy aircraft. In the East Indies, additional
North American B-25 Mitchells and P-38s were assigned, using the B-25s for night intruder operations, P-61s for night fighter operations and the P-38s for searchlight cooperation operations. In November the squadron moved to the Philippines, arriving on
Leyte on 14 November. It was programmed to be a
North American F-100A Super Sabre air superiority squadron. However, before the squadron was manned or equipped, it was decided to base a
fighter-bomber unit at Misawa. In March 1958, the squadron was replaced by the
416th Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Misawa and moved on paper to
Clark Air Base, Philippines. The squadron remained without its complement of personnel, although deliveries of F-100s began before it was inactivated on 1 July 1958, and the
72d Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated in its place.
Luftwaffe training Because of the more favorable weather in the southwestern United States, the
German Air Force began training fighter pilots at
Luke Air Force Base, Arizona., beginning with training with the
Republic F-84F Thunderstreak in 1957. On 1 March 1964,
Tactical Air Command (TAC) organized the 4518th Combat Crew Training Squadron at Luke to train German pilots on the
Lockheed TF-104G Starfighter and assigned it to the 4510th Combat Crew Training Wing. On 1 April 1964, the squadron became part of the new 4540th Combat Crew Training Group, but the 4540th Group was inactivated on 1 December 1966 and the squadron returned to wing assignment. The training was in support of foreign military sales, and the squadron operated twin-seat trainers with USAF markings and serial numbers, although the planes were produced in Germany by
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) under license from Lockheed and were owned by the German government. However, the 4518th was a
Major Command controlled unit and did not have a permanent history. TAC determined to replace its temporary training units with permanent ones. In this reorganization, on 15 October 1969 the 418th Squadron was again activated under the
58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing and assumed the personnel and equipment of the 4518th. F-104G production ended with the delivery of the last aircraft by MBB in 1973 to the squadron, the last German Air Force students graduated in the summer of 1976. The squadron became nonoperational on 17 August 1976 and was inactivated on 1 October.
Test and evaluation The squadron was redesignated the
418th Test and Evaluation Squadron and activated at
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona on 1 October 2021. It is assigned to the
53rd Test and Evaluation Group at
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. ==Lineage==