13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
Encyclopedia
- See 13th Fighter Squadron13th Fighter SquadronThe 13th Fighter Squadron is part of the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan.-History:The 13th flew antisubmarine patrols in the Gulf of Mexico from, June–August 1942 and served as an operational and replacement training unit from, April 1942–October 1943...
for the present-day Pacific Air Forces squadron
The 13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. Its last assignment was with the Minot Air Defense Sector
Minot Air Defense Sector
The Minot Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, being stationed at Minot Air Force Base , North Dakota...
, stationed at Glasgow Air Force Base
Glasgow Air Force Base
Glasgow Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located approximately north of the city of Glasgow, Valley County, Montana, not far from the Canadian border...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. It was inactivated on 30 June 1968
History
Activated in early 1941 as part of the Southeast Air District, was equipped with a series of pursuit aircraft with a mission of air defense of FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. After the Pearl Harbor Attack, was assigned to the Caribbean Air Force in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
where it operated in defense of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. Returned to the United States in early 1943 where it became a P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
, later P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
replacement training unit (RTU) for III Fighter Command
III Fighter Command
The III Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946.-Lineage:...
. Inactivated on 1 May 1944 as part of a reorganization of training units.
Reactivated in 1953 as part of Air Defense Command as an air defense squadron, equipped with F-86D Sabre Interceptors and initially being assigned to Selfridge AFB, Michigan with a mission for the air defense of Detroit and Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
region. Moved to Iowa in 1955 for air defense of the Great Plains, and in 1957 began re-equipping with the North American F-86L Sabre, an improved version of the F-86D which incorporated the Semi Automatic Ground Environment
Semi Automatic Ground Environment
The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment was an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by NORAD from the late 1950s into the 1980s...
, or SAGE computer-controlled direction system for intercepts. The service of the F-86L destined to be quite brief, since by the time the last F-86L conversion was delivered, the type was already being phased out in favor of supersonic interceptors.
Was reassigned to Glasgow AFB, Montana in July 1959 and was upgraded to the new McDonnell F-101B Voodoo and assigned alongside the F-101B interceptor was the F-101F operational and conversion trainer. The two-seat trainer version was equipped with dual controls, but carried the same armament as the F-101B and were fully combat-capable interceptors. Inactivated in June 1968 as part of the drawdown of ADC interceptor bases, the aircraft being passed along to the Air National Guard.
Lineage
- Constituted 13th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 20 November 1940
- Activated on 15 January 1941
- Redesignated 13th Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942
- Disbanded on 1 May 1944
- Reconstituted, and redesignated 13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, on 11 February 1953
- Activated on 27 April 1953
- Inactivated on 30 June 1968
Assignments
- 53d Pursuit (later Fighter) Group, 15 January 1941-1 May 1944
- 575th Air Defense Group575th Air Defense GroupThe 575th Air Defense Group is a disbanded United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 4708th Air Defense Wing, being stationed at Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan. It was inactivated on 18 August 1955.-History:...
, 27 April 1953 - 53d Fighter Group, 18 August 1955
- 476th Fighter Group476th Fighter GroupThe 476 Fighter Group is a United States Air Force Reserve unit, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.-Overview:Assigned to the 442d Fighter Wing, at Whiteman AFB, Missouri, the 476th Fighter Group is an Air Force Reseve associate unit linked to the 23d Fighter Group at Moody...
, 1 July 1957 - 29th Air Division, 1 April 1960
- Great Falls Air Defense SectorGreat Falls Air Defense SectorThe Great Falls Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, being stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base , Montana...
, 1 January 1961-30 June 1968
Stations
- MacDill Field, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 15 January 1941 - Dale Mabry FieldDale Mabry FieldDale Mabry Field was an early airfield located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States established in 1928 and replaced by Tallahassee Regional Airport. It was located at what is now Appleyard Drive and W...
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 8 May-18 December 1941 - Howard Field, Canal ZonePanama Canal ZoneThe Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, 2 January—l0 November 1942 - Dale Mabry FieldDale Mabry FieldDale Mabry Field was an early airfield located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States established in 1928 and replaced by Tallahassee Regional Airport. It was located at what is now Appleyard Drive and W...
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 26 November 1942 - Drew Field, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 6 January 1943 - Page FieldPage FieldPage Field General Aviation Airport is a public airport located three miles south of the central business district of Fort Myers, a city in Lee County, Florida, United States...
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 6 February 1943 - Venice Army AirfieldVenice Army AirfieldVenice Army Airfield is an inactive United States Air Force base, approximately 2 miles south-southeast of Venice, Florida. It was active during World War II as a Third Air Force training airfield...
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 1 June 1943-1 May 1944 - Selfridge AFB, MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, 27 April 1953-18 August 1955 - Sioux City Municipal Airport, IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, 18 August 1955 - Glasgow AFB, MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, 2 July 1959-30 June 1968
Aircraft
- Seversky P-35Seversky P-35The Seversky P-35 was a fighter aircraft built in the United States by the Seversky Aircraft Company in the late 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, the P-35 was the first single-seat fighter in U.S...
, 1941 - P-40 Warhawk, 1941
- P-39 Airacobra, 1941–1943
- P-51 MustangP-51 MustangThe North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
, 1943 - P-47 ThunderboltP-47 ThunderboltRepublic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
, 1943–1944 - F-86D Sabre Interceptor, 1953–1957
- F-86L Sabre Interceptor (SAGE), 1957-1959
- F-101B Voodoo, 1959–1968