79th Fighter Squadron

The 79th Fighter Squadron traces its history back to February 1918, when it was first organized as the 79th Aero Squadron. The unit was inactive from November 1918 until April 1933, when it became the 79th Pursuit Squadron, flying the Boeing P-12 at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. From 1940 to 1942, the squadron trained combat pilots and flew the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk from bases on the East Coast. Second World War In 1943, the 79th converted to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, flying out of Northamptonshire, England, performing duties as bomber escorts and conducting fighter sweeps over Germany. The 79th remained at English bases throughout the war, supporting both the Normandy invasion and the allied drive into Germany. The squadron returned to the States and was inactivated on 19 October 1945. On 1 January 1994, the 79th was reactivated at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, transitioning to the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and assuming the mission of suppression of enemy air defenses. Since that time, the 79th has continuously supported Operations Northern and Southern Watch in Southwest Asia. Squadrons either stood down on a rotating basis or kept combat ready or at a reduced readiness level called "basic mission capable" for part or all of the remaining months in fiscal 2013. This affected the 79th Fighter Squadron, with a reduction of its flying hours, placing it into a basic mission capable status from 5 April – 30 July, then returning it to combat mission ready through September 2013. ==Lineage==

; Squadron B, Taliaferro Field, Texas • Organized as 79th Aero Squadron on 22 February 1918 : Redesignated Squadron B, Taliaferro Field, Texas on 23 July 1918 : Demobilized on 15 November 1918 : Activated on 1 April 1933 • Eighth Corps Area, 18 October 1927 (in inactive status) Stations • Waco, Texas, 20 February 1918 • Taliaferro Field, Texas, 28 February–15 November 1918 • San Antonio, Texas, 7 September 1932 England, c. 27 August 1943 – 11 October 1945 • Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, 16–18 October 1945 • Biggs Field, Texas, 29 July 1946 • Shaw Field (later, Shaw Air Force Base), South Carolina, c. 25 October 1946 • Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, 19 November 1951 – 22 May 1952 • RAF Wethersfield, England, 1 June 1952 • RAF Woodbridge, England, 1 October 1952 • RAF Upper Heyford, England, c. 1 May 1970 – 30 September 1993 (deployed at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, 1–31 August 1990 and February 1991 • Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, 1 January 1994 – present Aircraft • Curtiss JN-4, 1918 • Curtiss JN-6, 1918 • Thomas-Morse S-4, 1918 • Boeing P-12, 1930–1935 • Boeing P-26 Peashooter, 1934–1938 • Curtiss P-36 Hawk, 1938–1940 • Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1940–1942 • Bell P-39 Airacobra, 1942–1943 • Lockheed P-38 Lightning, 1943–1944 • North American P-51 Mustang, 1944–1945, 1946–1948 • Republic F-84 Thunderjet, 1948–1957 • North American F-100 Super Sabre, 1957–1970 • General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, 1970–1993 • General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, 1994–present ==See also==