310th Fighter Squadron The 310th Fighter Squadron ( 310 FS ) is part of the 56th Operations Group at Luke Air Force Base , Arizona . It operates the F - 16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting advanced fighter training . The unit , which adopted its original " Tophat " name in September 1987 , has earned two Distinguished Unit Citation s , Philippine Presidential Unit Citation , Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation , and nine Air Force Outstanding Unit Award s . Mission . The 310th Fighter Squadron ( " Top Hats " , Tailband : Green & Yellow ) , fly Block 42 F - 16C and D models conducting training in night operations , forward Air Control - Airborne in the F - 16 , and " Medium Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night " ( MANTIRN ) training . History . World War II . The 310th Fighter Squadron was constituted on 21 January 1942 , as the 310th Pursuit Squadron ( Interceptor ) and was activated on 9 February at Harding Field , Louisiana , where it flew the P - 39 and P - 40 aircraft . During 1942 and early 1943 the squadron was both an Operational and a Replacement Training Unit initially under III Fighter Command , being reassigned to I Fighter Command in October 1942 . Also was part of the air defense of the Northeast United States , being a component of several Air Defense fighter wings ( Philadelphia , New York , Boston ) , under First Air Force . Was converted into an operational squadron in March 1943 at Bradley Field , Connecticut , being re - equipped with P - 47 Thunderbolt s . Was deployed to the Southwest Pacific Theater , being assigned to Fifth Air Force in Australia in November 1943 . Began combat operations in February 1944 , providing protection for U . S . bases and escorting transports initially , then escorting bombers over New Guinea and sea convoys to Admiralty Islands . From Noemfoor , bombed and strafed Japanese airfields and installations on Ceram , Halmahera , and the Kai Islands . Moved to the Philippines in Nov , flew fighter sweeps against enemy airfields , supported U . S . ground forces , and protected sea convoys and transport routes . Beginning in June 1945 , the Mexican squad , Escuadron 201 initially flew missions with the 310th Fighter Squadron , often twice a day , using borrowed U . S . aircraft . It received 25 new P - 47D - 30 - RA aircraft in July , marked with the insignia of both the USAAF and Mexican Air Force . The squadron flew more than 90 combat missions , totaling more than 1 , 900 hours of flight time . They participated in the Allied effort to bomb Luzon and Formosa to push the Japanese out of those islands . Beginning in July 1945 , attacked railways , airfields , and enemy installations in Korea and Kyushu , Japan from Okinawa . After V - J Day , flew reconnaissance missions over Japan . Moved without personnel or equipment to the Philippines in Dec to be inactivated in January 1946 at Fort William McKinley , Luzon . Cold War . Reactivated during the Korean War at Taegu Air Base , South Korea , being re - designated the 310th Fighter - Bomber Squadron . First equipped with the Republic F - 84G Thunderjet , the squadron adopted the North American F - 86 Sabre jet in 1954 and kept it through 1958 . During the Korean War , the squadron flew primarily air - to - ground missions supporting ground operations . The 310th FBS participated in the Korea Summer - Fall 1952 , Third Korean Winter , and Korean Summer - Fall 1953 campaigns , the squadron again distinguished itself , earning the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation . After the armistice in 1953 , the squadron was moved to Osan Air Base on 19 March 1955 . In 1958 the 310th gave up its F - 86s when it became the 310th Missile Squadron on 15 June 1958 , assigned to the 58th Tactical Missile Group . It remained the home of the surface - to - air MGM - 1 Matador missile in South Korea until 1962 , when the missile left service , and inactivated on 25 March 1962 . On 1 December 1969 , the squadron resurfaced as the 310th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron 1 December 1969 : two weeks later , on 15 December 1969 Luke Air Force Base , assuming the personnel and equipment of the provisional 4514th Combat Crew Training Squadron . Initially flying the new A - 7 Corsair II ground attack aircraft , aircraft carrying tail code " LA " with blue tail stripes . Began transition to the McDonnell - Douglas F - 4C Phantom II in July 1971 , assuming training mission from Davis - Monthan AFB units . Operated the F - 4C until April 1982 . aircraft carrying green fin caps . The squadron started phasing out the F - 4 for the Block 1 F - 16A Fighting Falcon in 1982 , with the distinction of operating the first production F - 16 # 78 - 0001 . Deactivation with the F - 4C was on 4 November 1982 . F - 16s initially tail coded " LA " , recoded to " LF " on 1 January 1983 . In the early years of operation with the F - 16 , the squadron patch was very different and the squadron name was Falcons . Eventually the 310th would return to the patch style used in World War II with a tophat wearing skull with a pair of dice ( see patch top of page ) . The squadron name changed as well to " Top Hats " which it has carried through to today . In 1988 the 310th TFTS began receiving brand new block 42 F - 16C / Ds to replace the F - 16A / B . The 310th TFTS became the first unit to receive the block 42 and also became the first F - 16 squadron to receive the LANTIRN night vision system . Instructor pilots assigned to the 310th developed and wrote the Replacement Training Unit syllabus for both the Block 40 / 42 and LANTIRN . They also developed the first LANTIRN tactics . Until the mid - 1990s , the 310th was dedicated almost exclusively to the LANTIRN training mission . Modern era . On 1 November 1991 the 310th was re - designated simply as a Fighter Squadron . Although the word ' Training ' was dropped , nothing in that role was changed and was the case for all USAF Tactical Fighter Training Squadrons at that time . During the late 1990s with the growing use of night vision goggles the 310th FS has become the principle trainer in this role . It was several years later that the squadron began training night - vision goggle qualified pilots . Although now well known for night vision training , the 310th FS is also tasked with other pilot training normally in the realms of advanced pilot training . One such program is Forward Air Controller , of which the 310th FS is currently the only squadron in the USAF that trains F - 16 pilots in this role . Each class lasts five weeks and includes twelve sorties intended to test technical knowledge of the program . The 310th Fighter Squadron on average graduates thirteen classes of FAC qualified pilots a year . Beginning in April 2004 the 310th FS was tasked with all night vision goggle training . Pilots going through this training program have to be experienced as the night vision goggles prove to be very challenging . New pilots to the training program have known to follow stars in the sky thinking they are following their flight leader . In bad weather the goggles can be useless as they depend on some source of light . A common training element is to have students fly in a four ship formations on a strike mission having to fight their way in and out against enemy aggressors . In all , a trainee will face three to four weeks of training using the goggles including simulator time and eight sorties in the real jet . Although it fluctuates , the school often turns out 150 night vision goggle trained pilots a year .