Active associate unit activates as WWII fighter squadron

  • Published
  • By Capt Candice Allen
  • 301st Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office
NAVAL AIR STATION FORT WORTH JOINT RESERVE BASE, Texas --  World War II's 355th Fighter Squadron activates Oct. 5 during a re-designation ceremony here.

The 355 FS is an active associate unit to the Air Force Reserve's 301st Fighter Wing.
"This is an historic event," said Col. James McCune, 495th Fighter Group commander who presided over the ceremony. "It is the first active associate fighter squadron within the Air Force Reserve."

A crowd watched as Lt. Col. Jeffrey Cunningham, former Detachment 457 commander, assumed the leadership reins of the new fighter squadron when he took the guidon from McCune in front of an F-16 Fighting Falcon that now displays "355 FS" on its tail flash. 

The 355 FS traces its lineage to WWII when it activated Nov. 15, 1942. The fighter squadron's history includes air campaign contributions in Normandy and Linebacker II, as well as Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Known as the fighting falcons, the fighter squadron flew seven different aircraft since WWII: P-39 Aircobra; P-51 Mustang; P-47 Thunderbolt; F-100 Super Sabre; A-7 Corsair and A-10 Thunderbolt II. And, now they will fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Aircraft is not the only thing the squadron changed. Its' patch has seen various iterations as well.

"Whether we are pugs or falcons, we are all SPADs and 301st Fighter Wing Airmen who are dedicated to providing combat-ready airpower in order to pursue the United States' national security interests at home and abroad," Cunningham said.