page_title: 538th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
section_title: Air Defense
hierarchical_section_title: 538th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron / History / Air Defense
caption_attribution_description: English: 538th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Lockheed F-104A Starfighters, Larson AFB, Washington, 1958. Visible are 56-847, 56-854 and 56-786. 847 crashed Feb 28, 1960 at Nellis AFB, NV due to engine failure. Pilot killed; 854 was sold to Taiwan; 786 to Taiwan as 4215, later to Jordan as 130401. Now registered in USA as N66328.
context_page_description: The 538th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is a discontinued unit of the United States Air Force. It was last assigned to the Spokane Air Defense Sector at Larson Air Force Base, Washington, in mid-1960.
  The squadron was first activated during World War II as the 538th Fighter Squadron. It briefly served as a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt replacement unit before being disbanded in a major reorganization of Army Air Forces training units in the spring of 1944. The squadron was again activated in 1955 as an interceptor unit of Air Defense Command, defending the northwestern United States. It was inactivated in 1960, when the Air Force transferred its Lockheed F-104 Starfighters to the Air National Guard.
context_section_description: In the summer of 1955 Air Defense Command (ADC) implemented Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list the fighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars. Project Arrow also reunited fighter squadrons with their traditional headquarters.   As a result, the 323d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Larson Air Force Base, Washington moved to Truax Field, Wisconsin to joint the 327th Fighter Group there.  The 538th was reconstituted as the 538th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and activated at Larson to take over the mission, personnel and equipment of the departing 323d Squadron.
  The squadron also took over the 323d's radar equipped and Mighty Mouse rocket armed North American F-86D Sabres.  By the fall of 1957, the 538th had re-equipped with the F-86L Sabre, which was equipped with data link for interception control through the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system. Squadron experience with the F-86L was short-lived however, as the squadron began transition into the Lockheed F-104A Starfighter about June 1958.
  The 538th was the fourth ADC squadron to equip with the Starfighter.  The squadron also received the two-seat, dual-control, combat trainer F-104B. The performance of the F-104B was almost identical to that of the F-104A, but its smaller internal fuel capacity reduced its effective range considerably.
  However, ADC did not believe the F-104A was well suited for service as an interceptor aircraft. Its short range and lack of all-weather capability made it incapable of integrating into the SAGE system.  All ADC F-104As, including those of the 538th, were transferred to the Air National Guard and the squadron was inactivated in July 1960.
caption: 538th FIS F-104A Starfighters[note 2]
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