53d Fighter Squadron The 53d Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit . It was last assigned to the 52d Operations Group and stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base , Germany . It was inactivated on 31 March 1999 . History . World War II . Caribbean Defense . Activated on 1 January 1941 as one of the three squadrons assigned to the 32d Pursuit Group as part of the United States buildup of forces after the eruption of World War II . This unit was organized for the most part , from Puerto Rico based units , as were many of the aircraft . It was equipped with a mixture of Curtiss P - 40 Warhawk s , along with Curtiss P - 36A Hawk , Northrop A - 17 s and at least one Vultee YA - 19 . After being formed at Albrook Field , Panama Canal Zone , the squadron was moved to Rio Hato Army Air Base , Panama . The unit moved to La Chorrera Field on 7 January 1942 after briefly being assigned to France Field on 30 December 1941 . Along with other Pursuit Squadrons , the 53d was re - designated as the 53d Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942 . During late 1942 , three Douglas P - 70 night fighters were briefly assigned to the 53d as , during this period , it was still considered a strong possibility that a night attack on the Panama Canal might he attempted , and the night fighter defenses of the area were nil . The P - 70 ' s departed in mid - January 1943 . Like a number of other Sixth Air Force fighter units , the 53d effectively assumed the duties and designation of the 30th Fighter Squadron on 3 January 1943 . The 30th was at La Chorrcra and the 53d at France Field at the time this " switch " took place . By April – May 1943 , the unit was operating with an assortment of aircraft as a result of its " switch " with the 30th FS , which by then included Bell P - 39D Aircobra s and P - 40s . The unit was reassigned to the United States effective 1 June 1943 , ending its duty with Sixth Air Force . European Theater of Operations . Transferred to III Fighter Command in June 1943 , began training for deployment to the European Theater of Operations ( ETO ) as a P - 47 Thunderbolt fighter - bomber squadron . Deployed to England in April 1944 as part of IX Fighter Command . Initial missions included strafing and dive - bombing armored vehicles , trains , bridges , buildings , factories , troop concentrations , gun emplacements , airfields , and other targets in preparation for the invasion of Normandy . The squadron also flew some escort missions with Eighth Air Force Boeing B - 17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B - 24 Liberator strategic bombers . On D - Day the squadron patrolled the air over the landing zones and by flying close - support and interdiction missions . Moved to its Advanced Landing Ground at Brucheville , France ( A - 16 ) in July , then eastward as ground forces advanced on the continent . Operations supported the breakthrough at Saint - Lô in July and the thrust of U . S . Third Army toward Germany in August and September as part of the 303d Fighter Wing , XIX Tactical Air Command . In October , the squadron moved into Belgium to support U . S . Ninth Army . Participated in the Battle of the Bulge during December 1944 and January 1945 by flying armed reconnaissance and close - support missions . Aided U . S . First Army ' s push across the Roer River in February 1945 . Supported operations at the Remagen bridgehead and during the airborne assault across the Rhine in March . By V - E Day , the squadron was based at Kassel / Rothwesten airfield , Germany ( ALG R - 12 ) , where it remained until February 1946 as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe Army of Occupation . In February , the unit was transferred , without personnel or equipment to Bolling Field , Washington , D . C where it was inactivated as a paper unit . United States Air Force . Re - activated in October 1946 under Caribbean Air Command in the Canal Zone , returning to its prewar mission of the defense of the Panama Canal . The squadron conducted air defense training missions for the next two years initially with P - 47 ' s . The squadron upgraded to jet aircraft in December 1947 with the arrival of the Lockheed F - 80 Shooting Star . As a result of the Berlin Blockade and other Cold War tensions in Europe , the squadron was deployed to Germany and was reassigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe during August 1948 , becoming part of the third F - 80 jet group assigned to USAFE . At Fürstenfeldbruck AB tactical operations included air defense , tactical exercises , maneuvers , and photographic reconnaissance . Upgraded to new F - 84E Thunderjet s in 1950 . Remained at Fürstenfeldbruck until 1952 when it was reassigned to the new Bitburg Air Base , west of the Rhine River near the French border in the Eifel mountains . In August 1953 , the North American F - 86F Sabre was introduced to the squadron , replacing the F - 84s . In 1956 , the squadron received the North American F - 100 Super Sabre , marking the first time a wing in USAFE flew supersonic jets . On 15 May 1958 , the squadron was redesignated as a Tactical Fighter Squadron because its missions had now grown to include delivery of tactical nuclear weapons . In May 1961 , received the Republic F - 105 Thunderchief and continued to carry on its Cold War mission of tactical nuclear weapons delivery . Twice in the early 1960s when Cold War tensions were elevated due to the 1961 Berlin Wall crisis and 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis the squadron rose to a high level of alert . Was upgraded to the F - 4 Phantom II in 1966 . The squadron was upgraded to the McDonnell Douglas F - 15A Eagle in April 1976 In 1980 more advanced F - 15Cs and F - 15Ds would replace the original F - 15As . Throughout the 1970s and 1980s , the squadron conducted routine training missions however the outbreak of the 1990 – 91 Gulf War put the F - 15s of Bitburg into the heart of the conflict . The squadron ' s pilots and aircraft engaged in combat operations during Operation Desert Storm . Not a single F - 15 aircraft was lost in combat during the war . On 13 March 1991 , the deployed squadron returned to Bitburg AB . Bitburg Air Base was part of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure ( or BRAC ) process that saw the drawdown of many military facilities in a series of post - Cold War force reductions . In July 1993 , HQ USAFE announced the closure of Bitburg Air Base and the pending inactivation of the 36th Fighter Wing . The 53d Fighter Squadron was relieved from assignment to the 36th Operations Group on 1 February 1994 . It was in non - operations status until it was assigned to the 52d Operations Group ( 52d FW ) at Spangdahlem Air Base on 25 Feb 1994 . At Spangdahlem the squadron supported no - fly zone operations over Bosnia and northern Iraq and other combat operations . Inactivated in March 1999 as a result of an Air Force - wide reorganization to enlarge F - 15 squadrons from 18 to 24 aircraft , and Eagles were reassigned to other squadrons .