480th Fighter Squadron The 480th Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit . It is assigned to the 52d Operations Group , stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base , Germany . It was reactivated on 13 August 2010 . History . Established by III Bomber Command as a B - 26 Marauder training squadron . The 480 TFS was established in 1957 at England Air Force Base , Louisiana , as the 480th Fighter Bomber Squadron , flying North American F - 100 Super Sabre s . In 1959 it was inactivated again due to budgetary reductions . Three years later it was reactivated again under United States Air Forces in Europe , flying the Republic F - 84F Thunderstreak . In 1963 it way re - equipped with F - 100s , but withdrawn from France upon request of French government . Reassigned to Hollomon AFB , New Mexico ( USA ) , it was re - equipped with F - 4C Phantom II fighters . The squadron was deployed to Da Nang Air Base , South Vietnam , in 1966 as part of USAF buildup in Southeast Asia and was engaged in combat operations , primarily over North Vietnam , from 1966 to 1971 . In November 1967 , a member of the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron , Capt . Lance Sijan , ejected his disabled aircraft and was badly injured in North Vietnam . Despite his injuries , he evaded enemy forces for more than 40 days and then , when captured , managed to escape briefly . Captain Sijan later died in a prison camp and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor . In 1969 the squadron moved to Phu Cat Air Base ( tail code : HK ) , South Vietnam , scoring nine MiG kills , including the first MiG - 21 kill of the war . The continued drawdown of United States forces from Vietnam resulted in the inactivation of 37th TFW at Phu Cat AB on 31 March 1970 . The wing assets remained and were re - designated as the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing when the 12 TFW was moved without personnel or equipment from Cam Ranh Bay Air Base on 1 April 1970 , to replace the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing and its units . On 20 October 1971 , the 480th TFS flew its last combat mission , which was also the last combat sortie for 12 TFW . 480 TFS F - 4Ds were originally scheduled for redeployment to Holloman AFB , however , instead were distributed to bases throughout Southeast Asia : Clark AB , Philippines ; Ubon AB and Udon AB , Thailand ; Da Nang AB ; and Inspection and Repair as Necessary facilities ( IRAN ) at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base Taiwan . The 480 TFS was therefore inactivated , again . The 480th began its service with the 52d Tactical Fighter Wing , Spangdahlem Air Base , when it moved to the base in 1976 , flying F - 4D Phantom IIs , then F - 4G Advanced Wild Weasels as part of the Wild Weasel mission . In 1987 , the 480th started flying F - 16C Fighting Falcon and became the USAF ' s first squadron to be equipped with the Block 50 F - 16s in 1993 . In 1994 the squadron was inactivated again as part of the post Cold War force reductions . In April 2010 the 52nd Fighter Wing ' s strength was reduced by one third when 20 F - 16Cs were transferred to other units . As a result of the drawdown of F - 16s , the 22d and 23d Fighter Squadron s were inactivated on 13 August 2010 and formed a single " new " squadron , the 480th Fighter Squadron . In March 2012 , the 480th was sent to train the Turkish Air Force in Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses , which is the 480th ' s specialty . and