World War II The 428th Fighter Squadron was activated on 1 August 1943 as a
Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter squadron under
IV Fighter Command in
Southern California as part of the
474th Fighter Group. It trained with the P-38 over the
Mojave Desert, moving to the
European Theater of Operations, and was assigned to
Ninth Air Force in
England during March 1944. It operated out of Warmwell, Britain, and Saint Lambert, St. Marceau, and Peronne, France, Florennes, Belgium, and Strassfeld, Langensalza, Schweinfurt, and Stuttgart, Germany during and immediately after the war in 1945. Squadron markings on the vertical tail surfaces were a black triangle and "F5" with call sign "Geyser". It provided bomber escort but the primary role was as an attack and interdiction fighter. It flew its first combat missions on 25 April 1944. As part of the 474th Fighter Group, they attacked bridges and railroads in France in preparation for the Normandy invasion, provided air cover for the invasion force, and flew bombing missions to support the landings. Subsequently it conducted armed reconnaissance missions after D-Day and attacked highways and troops to support the Allied breakthrough at St Lo. The Squadron supported the British attack on Holland in Sep 1944; the Battle of the Bulge Dec 1944-Jan 1945; and the airborne assault across the Rhine in Mar 1945. As part of the 474th, it was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for a mission on 23 August 1944 and twice the Order of the Day, Belgian Army. Returned to
Clovis Air Force Base, New Mexico in November 1954. The Squadron was re-equipped with
North American F-86H Sabre fighter-bomber aircraft, being assigned to
Twelfth Air Force,
Tactical Air Command. It maintained proficiency in tactical fighter operations, deploying components, aircraft, and crews on a global basis in support of NATO, PACAF, AAC, and other organizations. Deployed to southeastern United States during the
Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The Squadron moved to
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada in 1966 to be part of the
474th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW). The 474th (Roadrunners) became the first USAF operational wing equipped with the
General Dynamics F-111. On 20 January 1968 the 474th Tactical Fighter Wing was activated at
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada from the 4480th TFW, giving the base an operational tactical fighter wing assigned to
Twelfth Air Force. In early 1968, the Air Force decided to send a small detachment of F-111As to Southeast Asia under the "Combat Lancer" program. Six 428th TFS Harvest Reaper F-111As were allocated to Combat Lancer under "Detachment 1" under the command of Colonel Ivan H. Dethman, and they departed Nellis for
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base on 15 March 1968. The six F-111s, accompanied by KC-135 tankers, departed for
Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The over 13-hour trip was flown using the F-111's inertial navigation system and with topoff refueling from the tankers, arriving at Andersen AFB on the 16th. The Detachment departed Andersen and arrived at Takhli on 17 March. The Detachment was attached to the F-105 Thunderchief-flying
355th Tactical Fighter Wing in what was officially seen as the first stage in replacement of the Wing's F-105s with the F-111A. F-111 combat operations began on 25 March using the aircraft's unique terrain following radar (TFR) capability to conduct surprise night deep
interdiction strikes. By the end of the deployment, 55 night low-level missions had been flown against targets in
North Vietnam, but three aircraft had been lost. Aircraft 66022, call sign
Omaha 77, was lost on 28 March with the loss of the crew, Colonel Hank McCann and Captain Dennis Graham. On 30 March, the crew of Major Sandy Marquardt and Captain Joe Hodges in aircraft 66017,
Hotrod 73, successfully ejected and was recovered uninjured in Thailand. Replacement aircraft had left Nellis, but a third loss halted F-111A combat operations. On 22 April,
Tailbone 78, aircraft 66024, crewed by Lieutenant Commander Spade Cooley and by Lieutenant Colonel Ed Palmgren, was lost. After the 3rd loss, the Detachment remained poised for combat, but they saw no combat action before their return to the U.S. on 22 November. When reactivated the 428th was a hybrid US Air Force/Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) F-16 Fighter Squadron manned by highly experienced USAF instructor pilots, maintenance and support personnel. The squadron operated 12 RSAF-owned Block 52, F-16C/Ds. With approximately 25 USAF personnel and 140 RSAF personnel, the unit was responsible for continuation training of Singapore personnel in rapid deployment and tactical employment of the F-16 throughout a wide spectrum of missions including air-to-air, joint maritime and precision air-to-ground weapons delivery. Inactivated on 5 July 2005 with the phaseout of the F-16 at Cannon, and the base being transferred to Air Force Special Operations Command. Reactivated in May 2009 at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho as a F-15SG Strike Eagle fighter training squadron, part of the Peace Carvin V program for the RSAF. The squadron, previous commanded at reactivation 2009 by Keith Gibson, LTC, USAF, is commanded by Lt Col Nathaniel Bell, USAF with Lt. Col Sivaraj Arumugam, RSAF as senior ranking officer. ==Lineage==