The 457th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve Command

Air Force Reserve Command

The Air Force Reserve Command is a major command of the U.S. Air Force with its headquarters at Robins AFB, Georgia.It stood up as a major command of the Air Force on 17 February 1997....

 (AFRC) unit, assigned to the 301st Operations Group

301st Operations Group

The 301st Operations Group is a flying component of the 301st Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Reserve Tenth Air Force...

. Stationed at Carswell Field, Texas, the squadron flies the F-16 Fighting Falcon

F-16 Fighting Falcon

The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...

.

Overview

The 457th FS is part of the only Air Force Reserve unit in the state of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. Since September 11, 2001, 301st Fighter Wing units and individual personnel in various career fields have supported a number of missions related to Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Noble Eagle's homeland defense, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 457th FS ended a two month deployment to Balad AB

Logistics Support Area Anaconda

Joint Base Balad, formerly Balad Air Base and Logistics Support Area Anaconda, or simply LSA Anaconda - formerly known as Al-Bakr Air Base and known in popular media as Camp Anaconda - is one of the largest United States military bases in Iraq...

 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in December 2005.

The aircraft of the 457th FS carry the base tail code TX on their F-16s. The tail code carried by 457th TFS aircraft when the NAS JRB Fort Worth was known as Carswell AFB was TH.

History

Trained in the continental United States, Oct 1944-Feb 1945. Moved to western Pacific Ocean in spring of 1945. Escorted B-29 bombers in raids against Japan, and attacked targets such as enemy airfields, May-Aug 1945. Between 1953 and 1959, and again since July 1972, trained for a variety of tactical air missions. Frequently deployed for training exercises, some of them overseas.

Took part in Operation Deny Flight, enforcing a no-fly zone over Bosnia, in mid-1990s. Participated in training exercises and deployments. Provided resources for Operations Northern Watch (1999-2000), Southern Watch (2001), Noble Eagle (2001-), and Iraqi Freedom (2003-).

Lineage

• Constituted as 457 Fighter Squadron, Single Engine, on 5 Oct 1944

Activated on 21 Oct 1944

Inactivated on 16 Dec 1945

• Re-designated as 457 Strategic Fighter Squadron on 20 Nov 1952

Activated on 20 Jan 1953

Predesignated as: 457 Fighter-Day Squadron on 1 Jul 1957

Predesignated as: 457 Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 1 Jan 1958

Predesignated as: 457 Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 Jul 1958

Inactivated on 1 Apr 1959

• Activated in the Reserve on 8 Jul 1972

Re-designated as: 457 Fighter Squadron on 1 Feb 1992

Assignments

• 506th Fighter Group, 21 Oct 1944-16 Dec 1945
• 506th Strategic Fighter (later, 506 Fighter-Day; 506 Fighter-Bomber; 506 Tactical Fighter) Wing, 20 Jan 1953-1 Apr 1959
• 506th Tactical Fighter Group, 8 Jul 1972
• 301st Tactical Fighter (later, 301 Fighter) Wing
  301st Fighter Wing
  The 301st Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force Reserve fighter wing, based at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth Carswell Field, Texas. It is equipped with the F-16C+ Fighting Falcon...
  
  , 25 Mar 1973
• 301st Operations Group
  301st Operations Group
  The 301st Operations Group is a flying component of the 301st Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Reserve Tenth Air Force...
  
  , 1 Aug 1992-Present

Stations

• Lakeland Army Airfield, Florida, 21 Oct 1944-16 Feb 1945
• North Field
  North Field (Iwo Jima)
  North Field or Iwo Jima Air Base is a World War II airfield on Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands, located in the Central Pacific. The Bonin Islands are part of Japan...
  
  , Iwo Jima, 25 Apr-3 Dec 1945

Air echelon operated from West Field

Tinian International Airport

Tinian International Airport , also known as West Tinian Airport, is a public airport located on Tinian Island in the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This airport is owned by Commonwealth Ports Authority.Although most U.S...

, Tinian, 23 Mar-11 May 1945

• Camp Anza
  Camp Anza
  Camp Anza was a United States Army installation near Riverside, California during World War II. Construction began on July 3, 1942, and was completed on February 15, 1943....
  
  , California, 15-16 Dec 1945
• Dow AFB, Maine, 20 Jan 1953
• Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, 20 Mar 1955-1 Apr 1959
• Carswell AFB (later, ARS, later Field), Texas, 8 Jul 1972-Present

Aircraft

• 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...
  
  , 1944-1945
• F-84 Thunderjet
  F-84 Thunderjet
  The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 flew in 1946...
  
  , 1953-1957
• F-100 Super Sabre
  F-100 Super Sabre
  The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of...
  
  , 1957-1958
• F-105 Thunderchief
  F-105 Thunderchief
  The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, was a supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. The Mach 2 capable F-105 conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War; it has the dubious distinction of being the only US aircraft to have been...
  
  , 1972-1982
• F-4 Phantom II
  F-4 Phantom II
  The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
  
  , 1981-1991
• F-16 Fighting Falcon
  F-16 Fighting Falcon
  The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
  
  , 1990-Present