312th Fighter Squadron

History

World War II

The squadron was activated as part of the 338th Fighter Group at Dale Mabry Field, Florida in July 1942. The 312th initially flew the Bell P-39 Airacobra.

The squadron's mission was to act as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). RTUs were oversized units that trained individual pilots or aircrews following their graduation from flight school. In June 1943, the 338th Group began a split organization and the 312th and 441st Fighter Squadrons moved to Perry Army Air Field, Florida, while group headquarters and the other two squadrons remained at Dale Mabry Field. After September 1943, the group focused on Republic P-47 Thunderbolt training, although the squadron had some P-40s in 1944.

However, the Army Air Forces was finding that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were not proving well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system for its training bases in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. The squadron was disbanded in May 1944, and its personnel, equipment and mission transferred to the 342d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter).

Tactical Air Command

The 312th was reconstituted, designated the 312th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron and reactivated by Tactical Air Command at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona in October 1984 as the first General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon training squadron in the USAF. The squadron once again acted as a replacement training unit. It was initially equipped with new Block 25 Fighting Falcons, but it converted to new Block 42 planes in 1990. Its aircraft carried "LF" tail code with a black tail stripe outlined in red. It was inactivated in 1991 and most of its aircraft reassigned to 308th, 309th and 310th Fighter Squadrons.

Air Combat Command

On 1 June 2023, the squadron was activated and redesignated as the 312th Fighter Squadron as an F-35A Lightning II training unit, primarily training F-35 crew for the Belgian Air Component at Luke Air Force Base.

Lineage

• Constituted as the 312th Fighter Squadron on 16 July 1942 : Activated on 22 July 1942 : Disbanded on 1 May 1944
• Reconstituted and redesignated 312th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 1 May 1984 : Activated 1 October 1984 : Inactivated on 18 January 1991
• Redesignated 312th Fighter Squadron on 2 May 2023 : Activated on 1 June 2023

Assignments

• 338th Fighter Group, 22 July 1942 – 1 May 1944
• 58th Tactical Training Wing, 1 October 1984 – 18 January 1991
• 56th Operations Group, 1 June 2023 – present

Stations

• Dale Mabry Field, Florida, 22 Ju1y 1942
• Perry Army Air Field, Florida, 13 Jun 1943 – 1 May 1944
• Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, 1 October 1984 – 18 January 1991
• Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, 1 June 2023 – present

Aircraft

• Bell P-39 Airacobra, 1942–1943
• Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1943–1944
• Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1944
• General Dynamics F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, 1984–1991
• Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, 2023 -

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes

; Citations

Bibliography

• :

References

1. Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 379
2. Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 217–218
3. Craven & Cate, Introduction, p. xxxvi
4. Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p 546
5. Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 369
6. Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 370
7. Goss, p. 75
8. (11 June 2023). "Factsheet 312 Fighter Squadron (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency.
9. Aircraft through 1944 in Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 217–218