303d Fighter Squadron The 303d Fighter Squadron ( 303 FS ) is part of the 442d Operations Group at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri . Mission . The 303rd Fighter Squadron is assigned 17 A - 10 Thunderbolt II aircraft with approximately 4 , 000 annual flying hours conducting close air support missions . History . The 303d Fighter Squadron was constituted on 28 May 1943 and activated on 1 September , as the 303d Troop Carrier Squadron , one of four squadrons assigned to the 442nd Troop Carrier Group at Sedalia Army Air Field , now Whiteman Air Force Base , Missouri . The 303d , with its parent unit , was created to provide airlift support of Allied forces in Europe during World War II using cargo aircraft and gliders . Following their state - side training , the squadron arrived at RAF Fulbeck , England on , 23 March 1944 , where they made final preparations for the pending invasion of Europe . On D - Day , 6 June 1944 , the 303d participated in the airborne assault of the 82nd Airborne Division four hours in advance of the first seaborne landings at the Normandy beaches . The squadron went on to participate in other major operations in Italy , France , the Netherlands , and Germany throughout the remainder of the war in Europe . Following VE - Day on 8 May 1945 , the squadron remained in Europe as part of the Occupation Forces until it was inactivated in 1946 . In 1949 the 303d was reactivated at Fairfax Field , Kansas City , Kansas , with its parent unit , the 442nd Troop Carrier Wing , and assigned to the Air Force Reserve . Following another active duty tour during the Korean War , the 442nd , with the 303d , eventually relocated to Grandview Airport , Kansas City , Missouri . The airport was renamed Richards - Gebaur Air Force Base in 1957 for Lieutenant John F . Richards and Lieutenant Colonel Arthur W . Gebaur , Jr . , two Kansas City fliers who died in military combat . The squadron was recalled to active duty for the Berlin Crisis in 1961 and , from 1966 through 1971 , provided support for ongoing activities in Southeast Asia . The mission of the 303d changed to fighter aircraft in 1982 when the unit received the A - 10 Thunderbolt II and the unit was redesignated the 303d Fighter Squadron . In 1991 the Base Realignment and Closure ( BRAC ) Commission recommended the closure and inactivation of Richards - Gebaur AFB . It was later announced that the 442nd , with the 303d , would relocate to Whiteman Air Force Base , Missouri and , on schedule , in June 1994 the unit completed its move to Whiteman AFB . After its return to its original home at Whiteman , the squadron deployed to Italy to support the No - fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina four times for Operations Deny Flight and Decisive Edge . In 1998 , the squadron deployed to the Persian Gulf area for 45 days to support Operation Southern Watch , the United Nations ' effort to deny Iraqi military access to southern Iraq . In 2000 , the squadron ' s responsibility shifted from Operation Southern Watch to flying Combat Search and Rescue missions for Operation Northern Watch from Incirlik Air Base , Turkey . 303d operations and maintenance members , along with two A - 10 Thunderbolt II aircraft deployed to Afghanistan from April to July 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom . In March 2003 , squadron members and aircraft were deployed in of Operation Iraqi Freedom . The squadron made Air Force history when it became the first Air Force fighter squadron to forward deploy into Iraq , soon after arriving in the area of responsibility , and based at Tallil Air Base . The squadron made Air Force history again when it became the first Air Force fighter squadron to forward deploy a second time into Iraq , this time to base at Kirkuk Air Base . The 303d returned home from Iraq in November 2003 following an eight - month deployment with no aircraft damage and no combat injuries . In 2006 the 303d won the A - 10 gunnery competition Hawgsmoke .