301st Fighter Squadron The 301st Fighter Squadron ( 301 FS ) is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron , assigned to the 44th Fighter Group , stationed at Holloman Air Force Base , New Mexico . It is a corollary unit of the active duty 49th Fighter Wing ( 49 FW ) . History . World War II . The 301st was one of four African - American fighter squadrons to enter combat during World War II . One of the famous all - black squadrons of the 332d Fighter Group , activated on 19 February 1942 at Tuskegee Army Air Field , Alabama , but which remained largely unmanned until it arrived at Selfridge Field , Michigan , late in March 1943 . There it received sufficient personnel and the squadron began operational training with the P - 39 and P - 40 aircraft . The 100th completed training in December 1943 and prepared to move overseas . The squadron sailed in early January 1944 aboard the USS William Few and arrived in Italy in early February 1944 , becoming part of the Twelfth Air Force , Mediterranean Theater of Operations ( MTO ) . The 301st flew its first combat mission on 19 February 1944 . The squadron became engaged in various missions — harbor protection , point - to - point patrol , convoy escort , and armed reconnaissance . It also performed air rescue and strafing missions . In May 1944 , the 301st was reassigned to the Fifteenth Air Force and thereafter the squadron ’ s primary duty was providing escort for bombers striking enemy oil and industrial targets in central Europe and the Balkans . While initially equipped with P - 39 and P - 47 aircraft , in June 1944 the squadron received P - 51 aircraft which they retained throughout the remainder of the war . In August 1944 , the unit attacked enemy positions on the French coast in preparation for the invasion of southern France . They escorted bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force in attacks on the assault beaches on 15 August 1944 . After this they returned to escorting heavy bombers to targets in Germany , Austria , Czechoslovakia , and Romania . They also attacked targets of opportunity — enemy airdromes , troop concentrations , communications lines , and enemy aircraft — when the opportunity arose . The unit received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its performance during an escort to Berlin on 23 March 1945 . The squadron , along with other squadrons of the 332d Group , fought off a large enemy force , including jets , allowing the bomber formation to complete their mission . The 301st flew its last mission in Europe on 30 April 1945 . On 30 September 1945 , the 301st sailed for the United States aboard the Levi Woodbury and arrived at Camp Kilmer , NJ , on 17 October 1945 . The squadron was inactivated on 19 October 1945 . Cold War . It trained in P - 47 Thunderbolt aircraft between 1947 and 1949 at Lockbourne AFB , Ohio . until the squadron was inactivated on 1 July 1949 . On 19 September 19 September 1985 , the Air Force consolidated the 301st Fighter Squadron with the 901st Air Refueling Squadron , Heavy . The 901st ARS was activated at Columbus AFB , Mississippi on 1 August 1958 , and was equipped with the KC - 135 Stratotanker . Assigned initially to the Strategic Air Command provisional 4228th Strategic Wing , it provided air refueling to B - 52 Stratofortress es on a worldwide basis , and to Tactical Air Command aircraft as required . Reassigned to the 454th Bombardment Wing at Columbus on 1 February 1963 , the squadron continued its worldwide mission supporting SAC B - 52s combat aircraft with refueling over the Gulf of Tonkin and South China Sea . It was inactivated on 2 July 1969 . Reactivated in provisional status 1972 , at U - Tapao RTAFB , Thailand during 1972 - 1974 . Aircraft were used in combat operations at the end of the Vietnam War and during expeditionary combat operations over Cambodia and Laos , 1972 - August 1973 . Supported United States tactical forces in Thailand 1973 - 1975 including Operation EAGLE PULL , the evacuation of United States citizens from Phnom Penh , Cambodia , March 1975 . Modern era . Reactivated by Air Force Reserve Command as an AETC F - 16 Fighting Falcon Flight Training squadron at Luke AFB , Arizona , as part of the 944th Fighter Wing . Sixty - four 64 Air Force Reserve Command pilots integrated with the 56th Operations Group fighter squadrons providing instruction to teach and graduate the Combat Air Forces newest F - 16 pilots . The 56th Fighter Wing was one of the first units to integrate Reservists into its flying operation in 2000 . As a tenant unit at Luke the 301st F - 16s carried the ' LR ' ( Luke Reserve ) tailcode as opposed to the ' LF ' of the resident 56th Fighter Wing . The squadron operated Block 32 F - 16C / D models and were operated in the air to ground role . On 9 March 2010 , the pilots of the 301st Fighter Squadron changed their patch to the 69th Fighter Squadron during an inactivation ceremony on 5 March . The event marked the end of almost a decade of Tuskegee heritage at Luke AFB . The Air Force preserved the Tuskegee Airmen heritage with the 301st Fighter Squadron standing up Holloman AFB , New Mexico with the AFRC 44th Fighter Group on 9 April 2010 . Lineage .