World War II The
squadron was activated in 1942 as the
303rd Bombardment Squadron (Light) at
Savannah Air Base, Georgia, and equipped with
Douglas A-24 Banshee dive bombers as one of the original squadrons of the
84th Bombardment Group. It received its initial
cadre and equipment from the
3d Bombardment Group. It operated briefly with
Vultee V-72 (A-31 Vengeance) aircraft, but its operations showed this aircraft was unsuitable for dive bombing. The OTU program was patterned after the unit training system of the
Royal Air Force. After forming the satellite groups, the parent unit assumed responsibility for satellite training and oversaw its expansion with graduates of
Army Air Forces Training Command schools to become effective combat units. Phase I training concentrated on individual training in
crewmember specialties. Phase II training emphasized the coordination for the crew to act as a team. The final phase concentrated on operation as a unit. The squadron contributed to the 84th Group's role as the parent for elements of several light bombardment groups. In August 1943, the squadron was redesignated the
498th Fighter-Bomber Squadron In October 1943, the squadron moved to
Harding Field, Louisiana, where it became a
Replacement Training Unit (RTU) and also participated occasionally in demonstrations and maneuvers. The squadron was, therefore, disbanded in April 1944
Cold War Air defense In 1955,
Air Defense Command (ADC) implemented Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list fighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars and restore squadrons to the groups they were associated with during World War II. In this reorganization, the 84th Fighter Group was activated at
Geiger Field, Washington to replace the
530th Air Defense Group. As part of this reorganization, the squadron was redesignated the
498th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and activated on 18 August 1955, The squadron was initially equipped with
North American F-86D Sabres, which were equipped with
airborne intercept radar and armed with
FFAR rockets. Although the number of ADC interceptor squadrons remained almost constant in the early 1960s, attrition (and the fact that production lines closed in 1961) caused a gradual drop in the number of planes assigned to a squadron, from 24 to typically 18 by 1964. In February 1962, ADC increased the alert requirement for its units. In addition to the two aircraft the squadron had been maintaining on five minute alert, one third of the unit’s aircraft were placed on fifteen minute alert. On 22 October 1962, before President
John F. Kennedy told Americans that
missiles were in place in Cuba, ADC went to
DEFCON 5 Delta, which put all planes on 5 minute alert, continuing until 27 November. the squadron dispersed one third of its force, equipped with nuclear tipped missiles to
Paine Air Force Base. Dispersed aircraft were armed with their primary armament, including nuclear missiles. Personnel and aircraft were rotated to dispersal sites during the crisis. These planes returned to Geiger Field after the crisis. The squadron moved to
McChord Air Force Base in July 1963. The response to this intrusion was to deploy ten F-106s from the squadron and its sister unit, the
318th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron to Alaska in what was called Operation White Shoes. However, maintaining these aircraft for an extended period of time put a strain on the 325th wing's combat readiness back at McChord, and eventually a detachment of maintenance personnel was established to maintain the planes in Alaska. The unit got relief from this commitment while it was upgrading its F-106s from the
1st Fighter Wing, which relieved it from March to June 1964. Operation White Shoes terminated in 1965 and the unit's planes returned home. In June 1966, the
64th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron deployed to
Clark Air Base, Philippines to reinforce air defenses in Southeast Asia. The squadron moved to Paine Field, Washington to replace it in July, and was assigned to the
57th Fighter Group there. On 30 September 1968, the squadron moved to
Hamilton Air Force Base, California. Upon its arrival, it was inactivated and its personnel and equipment were transferred to the
84th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which used the 498th's F-106s to replace their
McDonnell F-101 Voodoos. ==Lineage==