493d Fighter Squadron The 493d Fighter Squadron ( 493 FS ) , nicknamed " The Grim Reapers " , is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath , England . Mission . The 493d FS is a combat - ready F - 15 Eagle squadron capable of executing air superiority and air defense missions in support of United States Air Forces in Europe , United States European Command , and NATO operations . It employs air - to - air weapons and electronic identification systems . The squadron has the ability to rapidly generate , deploy , and sustain operations to execute wartime and peacetime taskings in any theater of operations in the world . Furthermore , the 493d is routinely tasked to deploy in support of Air Force One referred to as " POTUS taskings . " Recent instances include the most recent G - 8 summits and the 2008 NATO Summit . History . World War II . Activated as a Southeastern Air District Army Air Corps training squadron , equipped with a variety of second - line aircraft , both single and twin engine , preparing its pilots and maintenance crews for eventual combat . After the Pearl Harbor Attack , the squadron flew antisubmarine patrols from , March – April 1942 . Resumed aircrew training , many of the group ' s members went on to serve in squadrons stationed in Europe and the Pacific theaters . Eventually coming under the AAF III Fighter Command in 1944 , trained replacement pilots with P - 47 Thunderbolt s , Converted in January 1944 to an operational fighter squadron with the end of RTU training . Deployed to the European Theater of Operations ( ETO ) , being assigned to the IX Fighter Command in England , March 1944 . Almost immediately after their arrival , the squadron began a rigorous training program , flying dive - bombing , glide bombing , night flying , low - level navigation , smoke laying , reconnaissance , and patrol convoy sorties . Over the next two months , the number of sorties steadily increased and the squadron flew its first combat mission on 20 April 1944 — an uneventful fighter sweep of the occupied French coast . Assisted the Normandy invasion by dropping bombs on bridges and gun positions , attacking rail lines and trains , and providing visual reconnaissance reports . Moved to France in mid - June 1944 , supporting ground operations of Allied forces moving east across northern France throughout the war : primarily providing support for the United States First Army . Eventually was stationed in Occupied Germany on V - E Day . On 5 July 1945 , the squadron arrived in Laon , France . After a few weeks back in France the squadron received orders to return to the US . With many of the members separating at port , those remaining set up the headquarters at Seymour Johnson Field , North Carolina and was programmed for deployment to Okinawa to take part in planned Invasion of Japan . Training discontinued after Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the sudden end of the Pacific War . Two months later on 7 November 1945 , the squadron inactivated as part of the massive postwar draw down . Cold War . Reactivated in 1952 as a NATO Fighter - Bomber squadron assigned to France . Equipped initially with F - 84G Thunderjet s , upgraded in 1954 to F - 86F Sabre aircraft . conducted operational readiness exercises and tactical evaluations . Honing bombing and gunnery skills . The squadron frequently deployed to Wheelus AB , Libya for training . Then in late 1956 the squadron upgraded to the F - 100D Super Sabre . However , the nuclear - weapon - capable F - 100 caused disagreements with France concerning atomic storage and custody issues within NATO , resulting in a decision to remove Air Force atomic - capable units from French soil . On 15 January 1960 , the squadron and its host 48th TFW moved to RAF Lakenheath , UK . Between 1960 and 1972 , the squadron ' s F - 100 fleet maintained its readiness by participating in a number of USAFE and NATO exercises training to react to possible aggression from the Soviet Union . They underwent a series of NATO tactical evaluations . The squadron conducted several deployments to Turkey , Italy , Spain , and across the United Kingdom . Beginning in late 1971 , the squadron started its conversion to the McDonnell Douglas F - 4D Phantom II , with the aircraft being transferred from the 81st TFW at RAF Bentwaters . The conversion to the F - 4D took several years , with the last F - 100 departing in August 1974 . With the arrival of the Phantoms , the F - 4s adopted a common tail code of " LK " . This tail code lasted only a few months as in July and August 1972 the 48th TFW further recoded to " LN " . The F - 4 ' s service with squadron was short as operation " Ready Switch " transferred the F - 4D assets to the 474th TFW at Nellis AFB Nevada . The 474th sent their General Dynamics F - 111As to the 347th TFW at Mountain Home AFB Idaho , and the 347th sent their F - 111Fs to Lakenheath in early 1977 . Unlike the previous F - 4 transition , the F - 111 change took place quickly and without any significant problems . Almost immediately after changing aircraft , the squadron began a series of monthly exercises and deployments that took the Liberty Wing to Italy , Iran , Greece , and Pakistan . The 48th TFW also participated in Operation El Dorado Canyon , the air raid on Tripoli , Libya on 14 and 15 April 1986 . It flew combat missions in Southwest Asia from , January – February 1991 as part of Operation Desert Storm . Modern era . In the midst of the organizational changes , the squadron switched aircraft again , exchanging the F - 111s for the F - 15C / D Eagle in early February 1994 . This marked the first time that the squadron had flown a specifically air - to - air weapon system , after flying for more than 50 years with an air - to - ground mission . The squadron received the last production block of new F - 15 Eagles . The squadron participated in Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya in March 2011 , along with numerous deployments to Southwest Asia supporting Air Expeditionary units as part of the ongoing Global War on Terrorism as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom ( OIF ) and Operation Enduring Freedom ( OEF ) .