319th Fighter Interceptor Training Squadron The 319th Fighter Interceptor Training Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit . Its last assignment was with Aerospace Defense Command ' s Interceptor Weapons School at Tyndall AFB , Florida . It was inactivated on 30 November 1977 . History . World War II . Established in mid - 1942 as a fighter squadron , trained under I Fighter Command primarily in the northeast with P - 47 Thunderbolts . Deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations ( MTO ) in Algeria , taking part in the North African Campaign supporting the United States Fifth Army ' s advance with tactical air support . Attacked enemy armored columns , troop concentrations , road transport , bridges and other targets of opportunity . Also flew combat missions over Sicily from airfields in Tunisia , supporting the Allied ground forces in the liberation of the island . Moved to Italy in late 1943 and continued tactical operations as part of Twelfth Air Force . Supported Fifth Army as it advanced into central and northern Italy during the Italian Campaign , being re - equipped with P - 51D Mustang s in 1944 . Continued combat operations until the German Capitulation ; demobilizing in northern Italy during the summer of 1945 . Inactivated in October . Air Defense Command . Reactivated in 1947 at Rio Hato Air Base , Panama as part of the air defense forces of the Panama Canal . Initially equipped with P - 61 Black Widow s at Shaw AFB , South Carolina , then deployed to Panama in September as part of Tactical Air Command later moving to France Field in the Canal Zone and becoming part of Caribbean Air Command . Its war - weary Black Widows were retired in 1948 and replaced with very long range F - 82 Twin Mustang s , and the squadron was reassigned to Air Defense Command . However this type of air defense was deemed unnecessary in the Canal Zone and the squadron was returned to the United States and assigned to McChord AFB , Washington in 1949 , for air defense of the Pacific Northwest . Moved to Moses Lake AFB in September to provide air defense over the Handford Reservation in Eastern Washington . Was re - equipped with the new F - 94C Starfire and also was associated with the SAC 90th Bombardment Wing for fighter - escort duties . As a result of the Korean War , in December 1951 , Fifth Air Force determined a need for additional nighttime all - weather air interceptors in the Seoul area . In response , Air Defense Command provided the 319th FIS , which was reassigned from Moses Lake AFB , Washington , to Suwon Air Base , South Korea in February and early March 1952 . Until November 1952 , Fifth Air Force restricted the use of the Starfires to local air defense in order to prevent the possible compromise of its airborne intercept radar equipment in a loss over enemy - held territory . From November until the of 1953 , the 319th used F - 94s to maintain fighter screens between the Yalu and Chongchon Rivers in North Korea , helping to protect B - 29 Superfortress bombers from enemy interceptors . The squadron returned to the United States in 1954 to Bunker Hill AFB , Indiana and in March 1956 received F - 94Cs . The squadron transitioned into F - 89J Scorpions in the fall of 1957 and in February 1960 into F - 102A Delta Daggers . In March 1963 was moved to Homestead AFB , Florida , where it flew F - 104A Starfighters . In addition , the squadron received the two - seat , dual - control , combat trainer F - 104B . The performance of the F - 104B was almost identical to that of the F - 104A , but the lower internal fuel capacity reduced its effective range considerably . During the Cuban Missile Crisis , ADC deployed its F - 106s to Homestead . It was decided after the crisis to establish permanently assigned interceptors to Homestead to counter any air intrusion by Soviet / Cuban fighters . These ADC F - 104As remained in service for several years . From late 1967 , 26 aircraft of the 319th FIS were retrofitted with the more powerful J79 - GE - 19 , rated at 17 , 900 lb . s . t . with afterburner , which was the same type of engine fitted to the F - 104S version developed for Italy . The last USAF squadron to operate the F - 104A , the 319th FIS , was disbanded in December 1969 , marking the final end of service of the F - 104A with active duty squadrons . In July 1971 the squadron was reactivated at Malmstrom AFB , Montana , replacing the 71st FIS with F - 106s . Shortly thereafter on 30 April 1972 , the squadron was inactivated . The unit designation was reactivated as 319th Fighter Interceptor Training Squadron at Tyndall AFB , Florida in June 1975 . More than two years later the unit was again inactivated on 1 November 1977 .