23rd Fighter Squadron [23d FS]
The Air Force reassigned several aircraft belonging to US Air Forces in Europe in fiscal 1999. The moves complied with a 1996 Combat Air Forces decision to return fighter squadrons to a standard size of 24 primary assigned aircraft, and allowed USAFE fighter units to better-support normal operations during partial squadron deployments. Command fighter units were previously made up of 18 assigned aircraft. The reorganization affected Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, and Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. Spangdahlem's 23rd Fighter Squadron gained six F-16 aircraft from the Combat Air Force's attrition reserve fleet. Spangdahlem 23rd FS received six new F-16CJ's later in 1999. The air base's 53rd Fighter Squadron, comprised of 18 F-15C aircraft, was deactivated. Six of the aircraft moved to Lakenheath's 493rd Fighter Squadron, and the remaining aircraft were transferred to Air Combat Command.
The 23rd Fighter Squadron is the "grandchild" of the old Flying Tigers, organized by General Claire Chenault. China's General Chiang Kai-shek could not have picked a more able leader when they asked Claire Lee Chennault (1890-1958) to organize an air defense against Imperial Japan in 1937. Recently retired from the United States Army Air Corps, Chennault was an astute teacher and author of The Role of Defensive Pursuit, a classic training textbook. Once in China, Chennault immediately recognized the need for experienced pilots to fly against the growing forces of Japan. He returned to the United States in 1940 where he recruited pilots and mechanics to fight for China. So evolved the famous "Flying Tigers," the American Volunteer Group lured to China by high pay and the romance of fighting an enemy in an exotic locale. With their P-40s dramatically painted with eyes and teeth, the pilots were truly "tigers" of the air, bringing down 299 Japanese planes and losing only 32 of their own in seven months of combat. In April 1942, Chennault was recalled by the U.S. Army Air Corps and promoted to colonel, then to brigadier general. His tough little volunteer group, never more than fifty men, was absorbed by the 23rd Fighter Squadron and later evolved into the Fourteenth Air Force in China, which Chennault commanded as a major general.
Constituted 23d Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 22 1939, the unit was activated on 1 Feb 1940 and redesignated: 23d Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942; 23d Fighter Squadron, Single Engine, on 20 Aug 1943. Inactivated on 31 Mar 1946, the unit was activated on 15 Oct 1946 and redesignated: 23d Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled, on 27 Oct 1947; 23d Fighter Squadron, Jet, on 17 Jun 1948; 23d Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 20 Jan 1950; 23d Fighter-Day Squadron on 9 Aug 1954; 23d Tactical Fighter Squadron on 8 Jul 1958; 23d Fighter Squadron on 1 Oct 1991.
In the summer of 1995 the F-16 squadrons from Aviano were joined in Deliberate Force by eight Block 50 F-16C aircraft from the 23rd Fighter Squadron from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. These aircraft flew with AGM-88 high-speed antiradiation missiles and the new HARM targeting system pod, or HTS pod. They completed daily missions over Bosnia hunting for Bosnian surface-to-air missile sites, which were lying in wait to shoot down allied aircraft. Pilots from the 23rd fired nine HARMs during the operation. The 23rd's F-16s teamed with USAF EF-lllA Raven jammers and US Navy EA-6B Prowler SEAD aircraft during the missions.
In the summer of 1996 some 500 people, 36 jets and tons of equipment moved to Incirlik as the 366th Wing from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, mounted the largest single unit swap out in the five-year history of Operation Provide Comfort. The 366th Wing deployment brought a force equal to nearly half of all Air Force people assigned to OPC. They replaced the 23rd Fighter Squadron from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, along with the 492nd and 493rd Fighter Squadrons from RAF Lakenheath, England.
The 23rd Fighter Squadron deployed to Aviano, assigned to the 31st Air Expeditionary Wing, to support Operation Allied Force. Capt. Sonny Blinkinsop, an F-16 pilot from Spangdahlem's 23rd Fighter Squadron, received a Silver Star for destroying a surface-to-air missile site after it had launched missiles at his wingman, but before the site could guide the airborne missiles against the aircraft.
The North Sea hosted a strange sight as dozens of Eagles and Falcons grappled for air supremacy. The 23rd Fighter Wing from Spangdahlem Air Base visited the 48th Fighter Wing 14-25 February 2000 to practice dissimilar air combat tactics. In Germany, the squadron rarely get to fight dissimilar aircraft — instead flying a lot against other Vipers (F-16s). The 23rd brought six F-16CJ aircraft, along with 14 pilots and 64 maintenance and other support members to RAF Lakenheath, to support training during day and night using night-vision goggles.
Approximately 200 US airmen and 10 Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 23rd Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, arrived at Malacky AB, Slovakia 01 April 2000 for a two-week deployment. A bi-lateral agreement between Slovakia and the United States for support from the Slovak air force at Malacky and use of the nearby Kuchyna bombing range allows U.S. pilots in Europe to expand their training while strengthening ties of friendship between the two nations. For the Slovak air force, the agreement means partial funding for airfield and range operations, interoperability and familiarization between pilots from the two nations, and closer military ties to the United States and possibly other NATO-member nations. The U.S. Air Force tentatively plans to deploy to the base three times during 2000 year in two-week increments. With the exception of aircraft noise during those two-week periods, use of the range by the United States will not be heard by neighboring communities. Slovak aircraft normally drop live munitions on these ranges, and a Memorandum of Understanding between both countries allows U.S. fighters to do the same. US aircraft did not drop live munitions on this first deployment. Instead, the F-16s dropped non-explosive munitions on the range. The F-16s carried live rounds on aircraft guns and train by firing on ground targets on the range.
