436th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron The 436th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit . Its last was assigned to the 479th Fighter Group , stationed at Holloman AFB , New Mexico . It was inactivated on 2 August 1991 . History . World War II . Activated on 15 October 1943 at Grand Central Air Terminal , near Long Beach , California . Equipped with the Lockheed P - 38F Lightning , trained for combat and served as an air defense organization for the west coast as part of IV Fighter Command . Even though the defense of the US west coast initially took priority , it was decided to deploy Lightning squadrons to Britain for heavy bomber escort duty . The squadron was reassigned to RAF Wattisham , England , April – May 1944 , and assigned to VIII Fighter Command , Eighth Air Force . From England , the squadron scorted heavy bombers during operations against targets on the Continent , strafed targets of opportunity , and flew fighter - bomber , counter - air , and area - patrol missions . Engaged primarily in B - 17 / B - 24 escort activities and fighter sweeps until the Normandy invasion in June 1944 . Patrolled the beachhead during the invasion . Strafed and dive - bombed troops , bridges , locomotives , railway cars , barges , vehicles , airfields , gun emplacements , flak towers , ammunition dumps , power stations , and radar sites while on escort or fighter - bomber missions as the Allies drove across France during the summer and fall of 1944 . The unit flew area patrols to support the breakthrough at Saint - Lô in July and the airborne attack on Holland in September . The unit continued escort and fighter - bomber activities from October to mid - December 1944 . It converted to P - 51 s between 10 September and 1 October , using both types on missions until conversion was completed . Participated in the Battle of the Bulge ( December 1944 – January 1945 ) by escorting bombers to and from targets in the battle area and by strafing transportation targets while on escort duty . From February to April 1945 it continued to fly escort missions , but also provided area patrols to support the airborne attack across the Rhine in March . Returned to Camp Kilmer New Jersey in November 1945 , and was inactivated on December 1945 . Cold War . On December 1 , 1952 the unit was reactivated at George AFB , California . Inherited the F - 51D Mustangs of the from federalized Air National Guard units . In February 1953 upgrading to the North American F - 86H Sabre jet aircraft . Was one of the first USAF wing to be equipped with the North American F - 100A Super Sabre , receiving its first aircraft in November 1953 . Became operationally ready with the F - 100A on September 29 , 1954 . Since the F - 100A was not considered as a truly effective air superiority fighter , the service life of the type with the USAF was rather brief , most aircraft being phased out of the active USAF inventory beginning in 1958 . Beginning in October 1958 , was reequipped with the Lockheed F - 104 Starfighter . The Starfighter was primarily intended for a nuclear strike , but Tactical Air Command wanted to use it to carry out ground attack missions with conventional weapons . However the F - 104 was not really well - suited to USAF needs , being deficient in range , endurance , and offensive capability . In addition , it lacked true all - weather capability . The excellent flying weather in Southern California gave the squadron a new mission to train F - 104 pilots from West Germany , Canada , the Netherlands and Italy during January 1962 – August 1963 as a result of the large foreign sales . Deployed to Kung Kuan Air Base , Taiwan . From its base in Taiwan , the squadron began a regular rotation to Da Nang Air Base , South Vietnam where its mission was to fly MiG combat air patrol ( MiGCAP ) missions to protect USAF F - 100 fighter bombers against attack by North Vietnam ese fighters . The effect of F - 104 deployment upon NVN and PRC MiG operations was immediate and dramatic . NVN MiGs soon learned to avoid contact with USAF strikes being covered by the F - 104s . During the entire deployment of the 436th only two fleeting encounters between F - 104Cs and enemy fighters occurred . As the MiG threat abated , the 436th TFS was tasked with some weather reconnaissance and ground attack missions . A few of these were against targets in North Vietnam , but most of them were close air - support missions against targets in the South under forward air controller direction . The F - 104s were fairly successful in this role , gaining a reputation for accuracy in their cannon fire and their bombing and capable of quite rapid reaction times in response to requests for air support . During this period , the 436th F - 104s maintained an in - commission rate of 94 . 7 % , a testimony both to the quality of 436th maintenance personnel and to the simplicity and maintainability of F - 104 systems . However , an F - 104 went down during a sortie 100 nm SSW of DaNang on June 29 . The pilot was rescued with minor injuries . The 436th TFS had a bad day on September 20 , 1965 . F - 104C pilot Major Philip E . Smith managed to get lost while flying an EC - 121 escort mission over the Gulf of Tonkin . After several equipment failures and incorrect steering commands , he managed to wander over Hainan Island and was shot down by a pair of Chinese MiG - 19 s ( J - 6s ) . He ejected and was taken prisoner . While the rest of the squadron was out looking for Major Smith , two other F - 104s had a midair collision while returning to their base . Both pilots ejected and were recovered unharmed . A week later , another F - 104C was shot down by enemy AAA , and its pilot was killed . After these four losses , the remnants of the 436th were rotated back to George in November 1965 . In December 1965 , the wing began transitioning to the F - 4 Phantom II with a mission of F - 4 replacement pilot training . Was reassigned to the provisional 4531st Tactical Fighter WinG at Homestead AFB , Florida in 1968 . Squadron flew air defense missions over south Florida until October 1970 with assets of 560th TFW assigned to squadron until 31 October 1970 and inactivated . Was reactivated at Holloman AFB , 1 January 1977 to provide Lead - In Fighter Training ( LIFT ) training for pilots assigned to fly the McDonnell Douglas F - 15 Eagle . The 436th Flew AT - 38B Talons . inactivated on 15 November 1991 , with the training mission and aircraft being consolidated under the 586th Flight Training Squadron .