539th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

539th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
Convair F-106B Delta Dart 57-2530 with a load of AIM-4 Falcons at McGuire AFB about 1966
Active	1943–1944; 1954-1967
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Fighter-Interceptor
Insignia
Patch with 539th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron emblem (approved 9 December 1954)^[1]

The 539th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the New York Air Defense Sector at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, where it was inactivated on 31 August 1967.

History

World War II

The 539th Fighter Squadron was activated in October 1943 at Westover Field, Chicopee, Massachusetts in October 1943. Shortly after activation, the squadron moved to Seymour Johnson Field, Goldsboro, North Carolina to become part of the 402d Fighter Group where it operated under the Replacement Training Unit Program of the advanced phase of pilot training. In December 1943, the squadron again moved, this time to Bluethenthal Field, Wilmington, North Carolina, and was assigned to the 326th Fighter Group where it remained until disbanded in April 1944.

Air Defense Command

North American F-86D Sabre 52-3936 at Stewart AFB in 1954

F-106A 57-2467, with light blue thunderbolt on the tail fin

F-106A about 1960, with marking of a triangle pierced by a chevron

It was reactivated as part of the United States Air Force Air Defense Command. In January 1955 it received F-86D's and in August 1955 the unit designation was transferred to McGuire Air Force Base as the 539th Fighter Interceptor Squadron where it received F-86L's. In May 1959 the squadron transitioned to F-106A becoming the first squadron in the United States Air Force to be equipped with the F-106's.

On 22 October 1962, before President John F. Kennedy told Americans that missiles were in place in Cuba, the squadron dispersed one third of its force, equipped with nuclear tipped missiles to Olmsted Air Force Base at the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis.^[2] ^[3] These planes returned to McGuire after the crisis.

The 539th was inactivated 31 August 1967 as part of the phasedown of the ADC interceptor force.

Lineage

Constituted as the 539th Fighter Squadron on 24 September 1943

Activated on 1 October 1943

Disbanded on 10 April 1944
Reconstituted and redesignated 539th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 23 March 1953
Activated on 18 April 1954
Inactivated on 23 August 1967

Assignments

402d Fighter Group, October 1943
326th Fighter Group, 25 November 1943 – 10 April 1944
4709th Defense (later Air Defense) Wing, 18 April 1954
4700th Air Defense Group, 20 September 1954
4709th Air Defense Wing, 18 August 1955
4621st Air Defense Wing (later New York Air Defense Sector), 1 October 1956
4730th Air Defense Group, 8 February 1957
New York Air Defense Sector, 1 August 1959 – 23 August 1967

Stations

Westover Field, Massachusetts, 1 October 1943
Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina, 13 October 1943
Bluethenthal Field, North Carolina, 8 December 1943 – 10 April 1944
Stewart Air Force Base, New York, 18 April 1954
McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, 18 August 1955 – 23 August 1967

Aircraft

References

Notes

↑ Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. pp. 645–646. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
↑ McMullen, Richard F. (1964) "The Fighter Interceptor Force 1962-1964" ADC Historical Study No. 27, Air Defense Command, Ent Air Force Base, CO (Confidential, declassified 22 Mar 2000), pp. 10-12
↑ NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Historical Reference Paper No. 8, Directorate of Command History Continental Air Defense Command, Ent AFB, CO , 1 Feb 63 (Top Secret NOFORN declassified 9 March 1996). P. 16

Bibliography

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

Cornett, Lloyd H.; Johnson, Mildred W. (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center.
Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
McMullen, Richard F. (1964) "The Fighter Interceptor Force 1962-1964" ADC Historical Study No. 27, Air Defense Command, Ent Air Force Base, CO (Confidential, declassified 22 Mar 2000)
NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Historical Reference Paper No. 8, Directorate of Command History Continental Air Defense Command, Ent AFB, CO, 1 Feb 63 (Top Secret NOFORN declassified 9 March 1996)
"ADCOM's Fighter Interceptor Squadrons". The Interceptor (January 1979) Aerospace Defense Command, (Volume 21, Number 1)

External links

Aerospace Defense Command (ADC)

Bases

CONUS	Amarillo Beale Charleston Davis-Monthan Dobbins Dover Dow Duluth Eglin Edwards Ellington Ellsworth England Ent Ethan Allen Fairfax Fallon Fort Heath Fort Lee Geiger George Glasgow Grand Forks Grenier Griffiss Gunter Hamilton Hancock Homestead Hurlburt Hunter Imeson Key West Kincheloe Kingsley Kirtland Lackland Laredo Larson Luke MacDill March Malmstrom McCoy McChord McClellan McGhee Tyson McGuire Minneapolis-St. Paul Minot Mitchel New Castle Niagara Falls Norton O'Hare Otis Oxnard Paine Perrin Peterson Pittsburgh Portland Presque Isle R.I. Bong Richards-Gebaur Robins K.I. Sawyer Selfridge Seymour Johnson Sioux City Stead Stewart Suffolk County Tinker Travis Truax Tyndall Vandenburg Vincent Walker Webb Westover Wright-Patterson Wurtsmith Youngstown

Overseas	Ernest Harmon Frobisher Bay Goose Bay Keflavik McAndrew Pepperrell Thule

Stations

CONUS	Adair Aiken Almaden Alpena Antigo Arlington Heights Baker Bedford Bellefontaine Belleville Benton Blaine Brookfield Brunswick Bucks Harbor Burns Calumet Cambria Cape Charles Cape Cod Carmi Caswell Chandler Charleston Cheyenne Mountain Claysburg Clear Colville Condon Continental Divide Cottonwood Cross City Crystal Springs Curlew Custer Cut Bank Dallas Center Dauphin Island Dickinson Duncanville Eldorado Empire Finland Finley Flintstone Fordland Fort Fisher Fort Lee Fortuna Gettysburg Grand Marais Grand Rapids Guthrie Hanna City Havre Highlands Houma Hutchinson Joelton Keno Killeen Kingman Kirksville Klamath Lake Charles Lake City Las Cruces Las Vegas Lewistown Lockport Lufkin Lyndonville Madera Makah Mica Peak Miles City Mill Valley Minot Montauk Moriarty Mount Hebo Mount Laguna Mount Lemmon Naselle North Bend North Charleston North Truro Oklahoma City Olathe Omaha Opheim Osceola Othello Owingsville Ozona Palermo Point Arena Port Austin Port Isabel Pyote Red Bluff Rochester Rockport Rockville (Indiana) Roslyn Rye Saint Albans San Clemente Island Santa Rosa Island Saratoga Springs Sault Ste Marie Shemya Snelling Snow Mountain Sweetwater Texarkana Tierra Amarilla Thomasville Tonopah Topsham Two Creeks Wadena Walnut Ridge Watertown Waverly West Mesa Willow Run Winnemucca Winslow Winston-Salem Woomera Yaak Zapata

Overseas	Armstrong Baldy Hughes Beausejour Cape Makkovik Cartwright Cut Throat Island Elliston Ridge Fox Harbour Hofn Hopedale Kamloops La Scie Langanes Latrar Melville Puntzi Mountain Ramore Red Cliff Rockville Saglek St. Anthony Saskatoon Mountain Sioux Lookout Spotted Island Stephenville

Air
Defense
units

Forces	Central Air Defense Eastern Air Defense Iceland Western Air Defense First Fourth Tenth Fourteenth

Air Divisions	8th 9th 20th 21st 23d 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32d 33d 34th 35th 36th 37th 58th 64th 73d 85th

Sectors	Albuquerque Bangor Boston Chicago Detroit Duluth Goose Grand Forks Great Falls Kansas City Los Angeles Minot Montgomery New York Oklahoma City Phoenix Portland Reno Sault Sainte Marie San Francisco Seattle Sioux City Spokane Stewart Syracuse Washington

Wings	Fighter 1st 4th 23d 32d 33d 50th 52d 56th 78th 81st 325th 328th 507th Detection and Control 71st 73d 551st 552d Air Defense 46th 4620th 4621st 4622d 4624th 4625th 4627th 4628th 4683d 4700th 4702d 4703d 4704th 4705th 4706th 4707th 4708th 4709th 4710th 4711th 4750th 4751st 4752d 4756th 4780th

Groups	Fighter 1st 4th 14th 15th 23d 32d 33d 50th 52d 53d 54th 56th 57th 78th 79th 81st 82d 84th 325th 326th 327th 328th 329th 337th 343d 355th 408th 412th 414th 473d 475th 476th 478th 507th Air Defense 10th 500th 501st 502d 503d 514th 515th 516th 517th 518th 519th 520th 521st 525th 527th 528th 529th 530th 533d 534th 564th 566th 567th 568th 575th 637th 665th 678th 692d 701st 751st 762d 765th 778th 780th 827th 858th 4606th 4620th 4676th 4700th 4721st 4722d 4727th 4728th 4729th 4730th 4731st 4732d 4733d 4734th 4735th 4750th 4756th Aircraft Control & Warning 503d 505th 540th 541st 542d 543d 544th 545th 546th 563d 564th 565th 566th

Squadrons	Aerospace Defense Command Fighter Squadrons Aircraft Control and Warning Squadrons

Major
weapon
systems

Electronic	TB-29 EB-57 EC-121

Fighters	Propellor: F-47 F-51 P-61 F-82 Subsonic Jet: P-80 F-84 F-86 F-89 F-94 Supersonic Jet: F-101 F-102 F-104 F-106

Missiles	AIM-4 AIM-26 AIR-2 CIM-10

Ships	Guardian Interceptor Interdictor Interpreter Investigator Locator Lookout Outpost Pickett Protector Scanner Searcher Skywatcher Tracer Watchman Vigil

Texas Towers	Texas Tower 2 Texas Tower 3 Texas Tower 4

Miscellaneous

Air Defense Command Emblem Gallery (on Wikimedia Commons)
General Surveillance Radar Stations

USAAF First Air Force in World War II

Airfields

First Air Force Group Training Stations
First Air Force Replacement Training Stations
First Air Force Tactical Airfields
Freeman Army Airfield
Godman Army Airfield
Selfridge Field

Units

Commands

I Bomber Command (1941-42)
I Bomber Command (1943-1946)
I Fighter Command
I Ground Air Support Command

Wings

Groups

Bombardment	2d Bombardment 13th Bombardment 22d Bombardment 34th Bombardment 43d Bombardment 45th Bombardment 301st Bombardment 302d Bombardment 400th Bombardment 402d Bombardment 455th Bombardment 459th Bombardment 460th Bombardment 471st Bombardment

Combat Cargo	1st Combat Cargo 2d Combat Cargo 4th Combat Cargo

Fighter	8th Fighter 31st Fighter 33d Fighter 52d Fighter 56th Fighter 57th Fighter 58th Fighter 59th Fighter 79th Fighter 80th Fighter 83d Fighter 87th Fighter 324th Fighter 325th Fighter 326th Fighter 327th Fighter 332d Fighter 348th Fighter 352d Fighter 353d Fighter 355th Fighter 356th Fighter 358th Fighter 359th Fighter 361st Fighter 362d Fighter 365th Fighter 366th Fighter 368th Fighter 370th Fighter 371st Fighter 373d Fighter 402d Fighter 413th Fighter 476th Fighter

Reconnaissance	26th Reconnaissance 73d Reconnaissance

Troop Carrier	10th Troop Carrier 60th Troop Carrier 61st Troop Carrier 62d Troop Carrier 63d Troop Carrier 89th Troop Carrier 313th Troop Carrier 314th Troop Carrier 315th Troop Carrier 316th Troop Carrier 317th Troop Carrier 349th Troop Carrier 375th Troop Carrier 403d Troop Carrier 433d Troop Carrier 434th Troop Carrier 435th Troop Carrier 436th Troop Carrier 437th Troop Carrier 438th Troop Carrier 439th Troop Carrier 440th Troop Carrier 441st Troop Carrier 442d Troop Carrier

Other	1st Search Attack 477th Composite

Incidents	Freeman Field Mutiny

United States Army Air Forces

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, February 07, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.

539th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

History

World War II

Air Defense Command

Lineage

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links