509th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 509th Tactical Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit . It was last assigned to the 10th Tactical Fighter Wing , stationed at RAF Alconbury , England . It was inactivated on 30 December 1992 . History . World War II . Established as a dive - bomber squadron in early 1943 , trained under Third Air Force with A - 24 Banshee s ( the USAAF version of the Navy Douglas SBD Dauntless ) . Converted to a P - 39 Aircobra squadron in August and finally into a P - 47 Thunderbolt fighter squadron in late 1943 . Deployed to the European Theater of Operations ( ETO ) , being assigned to IX Fighter Command in England in early 1944 . Engaged in ground attacks of enemy fortifications ; controlled bridges , railway lines , roads , armor and troop concentrations in Occupied France and the Low Countries ; carrying out fighter sweeps of Luftwaffe - controlled airfields . Flew patrols over the Normandy Landing Beaches , 6 June 1944 , later taking up station in newly constructed airfields in liberated areas of France . Engaged and completely destroyed a German armored division near Avranches , France , 29 July 1944 . After immobilizing leading and trailing elements of the 3 mile ( 4 . 8 km ) long column , the rest of the tanks and trucks were systematically destroyed with multiple sorties . After the breakout at St Lo ; squadron ' s mission was to provide air support in advance of the United States Third Army as it moved eastward across France , and as part of the Western Allied invasion of Germany in March 1945 . Continued attacking ground targets until German Capitulation in May 1945 . Gradually demobilized as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe occupation forces during the summer of 1945 , inactivated in the United States as an administrative unit in October . Pacific Air Forces . Reactivated in 1952 as a Tactical Air Command squadron under Ninth Air Force . Equipped with F - 84 Thunderstreak s , later upgrading to F - 100 Super Sabre s in 1956 . When its home station ( Godman AFB , Kentucky ) was closed due to budget reductions in 1959 , was reassigned to Pacific Air Forces in the Philippines . Re - equipped with F - 86D Sabre interceptors , and provided air defense for that island nation in the early 1960s . Re - equipped with modern F - 102 Delta Dagger ( " Duces " ) interceptors in late 1960 . As the Vietnam War intensified , deployed flights to both Thailand and South Vietnam throughout the 1960s , providing air defense of Bangkok and Saigon as well as other areas from enemy aircraft . The 509th ' s Duces arrived at Da Nang Air Base , 4 August 1964 from Clark Air Base , Philippines . Inactivated in 1970 with the phaseout of the F - 102 as well as the general drawdown of United States forces in Indochina . United States Air Forces in Europe . Reactivated in 1980 as an A - 10 Thunderbolt II Tactical Fighter Squadron at RAF Bentwaters , England under USAFE Third Air Force . Flew tactical fighter training missions throughout the 1980s from the United Kingdom as well as a forward locations at Ahlhorn Air Base and Norvenich Air Base West Germany . Reassigned to RAF Alconbury in 1988 in a USAFE dispersal of the 6 - squadron host 81st Tactical Fighter Wing at the twin bases of RAF Bentwaters / RAF Woodbridge . Inactivated in 1992 as a result of the end of the Cold War and a general reduction of USAFE forces afterward .