53rd Fighter Squadron [53d 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. 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.
About 1,500 people were on the ramp of Hangar One 10 March 1999 for the inactivation ceremony of the last U.S. Air Force NATO Tiger unit. The 53rd Fighter Squadron's inactivation, effective March 31, came as a result of a force structure realignment of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe to comply with a 1996 Combat Air Forces decision to return fighter squadrons to a standard size of 24 primary assigned aircraft. This was an increase from the current level of 18 PAA.
The 53rd FS NATO Tigers maintained a phenomenal pace despite the black cloud of the impending inactivation. In less than two years, the squadron deployed to, and operated from, nine countries on three continents, and accumulated more than 11,000 flying hours supporting both contingency and training operations.
Constituted as the 53rd Pursuit Squadron (Fighter) Nov. 22, 1940, and activated Jan. 1, 1941, the unit initially provided air defense for the Panama Canal until June 1943. It was redesignated the 53rd Fighter Squadron (twin engine) May 15, 1942. Later the squadron and its P-47s were called to combat in the skies over Europe during World War II. Before leaving for the European theater of operations, the 53rd received approval to mark its aircraft with a unique insignia. By command of Gen. Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, commanding general of the Army Air Forces, the 53rd pursuit aircraft proudly displayed a "caricatured, pugnacious tiger." It was redesignated 53d Fighter Squadron on 28 Sep 1942; 53d Fighter Squadron, Single Engine, on 20 Aug 1943, and inactivated on 31 Mar 1946.
Following a brief inactivation after WWII, the 53rd was reactivated and assigned to the 36th Fighter Group at Furstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany. Activated on 15 Oct 1946, it was redesignated: 53d Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled, on 27 Oct 1947; 53d Fighter Squadron, Jet, on 17 Jun 1948; 53d Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 20 Jan 1950; 53d Fighter-Day Squadron on 9 Aug 1954; 53d Tactical Fighter Squadron on 8 Jul 1958; 53d Fighter Squadron on 1 Oct 1991.
From Aug. 13, 1948 to February 1994, the 53rd FS remained with the 36th FG at various locations throughout Germany. In 1952 the 53rd moved to Bitburg where they received the F-86 and later the F-100. After a five year stay at Landsthul Air Base from 1956 to 1961 they redeployed to Bitburg where they received Fighters like the F-105 Thunderchief, the F-4 Phantom II and the F-15 Eagle. During major world crises they distinguished them self by successfully controlling the skies over Iraq during operation Dessert Shield / Dessert Storm, where they where credited with 11 confirmed kills. In 1994 The Tigers Flying The Most Advanced F-15C Eagle Moved due Budget cuts from Bitburg to the nearby Spangdalem AB, where they joined the 52nd Fighter Wing.
In February 1994, it arrived at Spangdahlem. On 03 January 1995, two members of the 53rd Fighter Squadron became the first two U.S. Air Force pilots to fly an unrestricted, military sortie over the former East Germany in more than 45 years. Lt. Col. Michael P. Fennessy, squadron commander, and Capt. Craig R. Jones, squadron flight leader, were conducting a NATO Quick Reaction Alert training mission in F-15C Eagles. They entered the former East Germany by flying past Fulda, then proceeded to their training area over Leipzig. "They exercised with German ground controllers to improve the NATO command and control structure in the region. In the summer of 1994, Allied Air Forces Central Europe, one of the three NATO military subordinate commands, tasked the 53rd FS to provide aircraft and flight crews capable of responding to unidentified aircraft in NATO airspace. As a result of German reunification on Oct. 3, 1990, the new AIRCENT "Zulu" alert area of responsibility extended eastward to the Oder and Neisse Rivers, the German-Polish border.
The 53rd Fighter Squadron stood down in 1999.
