11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

November 2025 September 2017 October 2019 11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron 11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron-2-F-106s-about 1967.jpg 300 Two squadron Convair F-106s preparing to land about 1967 1941–1946; 1952–1968 USA Fighter-Interceptor The Aleutian Tigers (WW II)Watkins, p. 34 la Infirme Ibimus We'll Go Through HellWe'll Be There (WW II) 150px Patch with 11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron emblemApproved 30 November 1954. Description: On a sky blue disc, edged black, a charging red bull, highlights white, outline, horns and details black, with lightning flashes of the fourth [sic] issuing from his nostrils, over a stylized white cloud, issuing from base, outlined black.Maurer, Combat Squadrons pp. 61–62 150px 11th Fighter Squadron emblem (WW II) The 11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 343d Fighter Group at Duluth Airport, Minnesota, where it was inactivated on 30 June 1968. History World War II thumb|left|An 11th FS P-40 in Alaska, 1943 The squadron was activated as the 11th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field, Michigan in January 1941 as one of the original squadrons of the 50th Pursuit Group. It trained with Vultee BT-13 Valiant and second-line Seversky P-35 Guardsman pursuit fighters at Selfridge. https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/433467/50-operations-group-afspc/ Robertson Patsy Factsheet 50 Operations Group (AFSPC) 20 November 2008 Air Force Historical Research Agency 11 January 2015Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 56–57 In September, the squadron moved to Key Field, Mississippi, where it equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks. http://airforcehistoryindex.org/data/000/080/119.xml Abstract, History 50 Fighter Group 15 Jan 1941 – 8 Mar 1944 Air Force History Index 2 May 2012 Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the 11th was dispatched to Elmendorf Field to reinforce the defenses of Alaska against Japanese attack, departing on 19 December. The urgency of the need for reinforcements in Alaska was so great that the squadron was picked even though its pilots were untrained on the flight conditions they could expect to experience in Alaska. Two weeks elapsed before the planes reached the Sacramento Air Depot for winterization, and at the end of the month when the 11th was officially located at Elmendorf, none of its planes had left McClellan Field. Bad weather delayed necessary test flights and caused the loss of some of the squadron's Warhawks. The first plane finally left California on 1 January 1942. The lack of adequate landing fields en route, poor communications, and pilot inexperience further delayed the squadron's movement. By 25 January only 13 of the 11th's twenty-five P-40s were at Elmendorf in flyable condition and six others had been lost during the movement.Goss, pp. 303–304 After the Japanese invasion of the Aleutians in June 1942, the squadron was engaged in combat operations 1942–1943, equipped with Warhawks and long-range Lockheed P-38 Lightnings for offensive operations against Japanese fortifications on Attu and Kiska; took part in the liberation of Attu, 1943. It remained in the Aleutian for the balance of the war, inactivating on Shemya in August 1946, when its personnel and equipment were transferred to the 64th Fighter Squadron.Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 244 Air Defense Command thumb|F-102 Delta Dagger 56-1500, 1958 thumb|Newly received F-106, 1960 It was reactivated in December 1952 as part of Air Defense Command, replacing the federalized 179th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the Minnesota Air National Guard 179th FIS flying F-51D Mustangs. In the fall of 1953 the unit transitioned into jet F-89D Scorpions and later the F-102 Delta Dagger. In June 1960 the 11th FIS transitioned into F-106 Delta Darts which it flew until September 1968 when it was inactivated. On 22 October 1962, before President John F. Kennedy told Americans that missiles were in place in Cuba, the squadron dispersed one third of its force, equipped with nuclear tipped missiles to Volk Field at the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis.McMullen, pp. 10–12NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis, p. 16 These planes returned to Duluth after the crisis. Upon inactivation, the squadron's mission personnel, and F-106s were transferred to the 87th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Duluth IAP. Lineage Constituted as the 11th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 20 November 1940 Activated on 15 January 1941 Redesignated 11th Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942 Inactivated on 15 August 1946 Redesignated 11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 10 October 1952 Activated on 1 December 1952Lineage, including assignments, stations and aircraft prior to 1957 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 61–62 Inactivated on 30 June 1968 Redesignated 11th Tactical Air Support Squadron Activated c. 16 July 1991 Inactivated c. 20 August 1993 Assignments 50th Pursuit Group, 15 January 1941 Western Theater of Operations, 30 December 1941 Attached to Provisional Interceptor Command, Alaska, 2 January 1942 28th Composite Group, 2 February 1942 XI Fighter Command, 7 June 1942 343d Fighter Group, 11 September 1942 – 15 August 1946 31st Air Division, 1 December 1952 515th Air Defense Group, 16 February 1953 343d Fighter Group, 18 August 1955 – 30 June 1968 11th Air Control Wing, c. 16 July 1991 – c. 20 August 1993 Stations Selfridge Field, Michigan, 15 January 1941 Key Field, Mississippi, 3 October – 19 December 1941 Elmendorf Field, Alaska, 29 December 1941 Detachment at Fort Randall Army Air Field, Alaska, 25 May-c. 1 September 1942 Detachment at Fort Glenn Army Air Base, Alaska, 26 May–June 1942 Fort Glenn Army Air Base, Alaska, June 1942 Adak Army Air Base, Alaska, c. 20 February 1943 Detachment at: Amchitka Army Air Field, Alaska, 27 March-c. 17 May 1943, and C. 23 March 1944 – 20 July 1945 Shemya Army Air Field, Alaska, 11 August 1945 – 15 August 1946 Duluth International Airport, 1 December 1952 – 30 June 1968 Eielson Air Force Base Alaska, c. 16 July 1991 – c. 20 August 1993 Aircraft 30em Seversky P-35 Guardsman, 1941 Curtiss P-36 Hawk, 1941–1942 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1941–1945 Lockheed P-38 Lightning, 1943–1946 North American F-51D Mustang, 1952–1953 North American F-86D Sabre, 1953–1955 Northrop F-89 Scorpion, 1955–1956 Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, 1956–1960 Convair F-106 Delta Dart, 1960–1968 Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, (1991-1993) References Notes Explanatory notes Citations 30em Bibliography Cornett Lloyd H. Johnson Mildred W. A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 http://www.usafpatches.com/pubs/handbookofadcorg.pdf 1980 Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center Peterson AFB, CO 8 March 2014 13 February 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160213173347/http://www.usafpatches.com/pubs/handbookofadcorg.pdf dead Goss William A Craven, Wesley F Cate, James L The Army Air Forces in World War II I, Plans and Early Operations 1948 University of Chicago Press Chicago, Illinois 704158 48003657 Tactical Demands, Chapter 8 Air Defense of the Western Hemisphere Maurer, Maurer Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II 1969 http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180455/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf dead 20 December 2016 reprint 1982 Office of Air Force History Washington, DC 0-405-12194-6 72556 70605402 McMullen, Richard F. (1964) "The Fighter Interceptor Force 1962-1964" ADC Historical Study No. 27, Air Defense Command, Ent Air Force Base, CO (Confidential, declassified 22 March 2000) Watkins Robert A. Insignia and Aircraft Markings of the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II V, Pacific Theater of Operations 2013 Shiffer Publishing, Ltd. Atglen, PA 978-0-7643-4346-9 NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Historical Reference Paper No. 8, Directorate of Command History Continental Air Defense Command, Ent AFB, CO, 1 Feb 63 (Top Secret NOFORN declassified 9 March 1996) External links http://archive.desertsun.com/article/20091111/NEWS01/911100355/Even-crash-landing-couldn-t-deter-his-spirit Even a crash landing couldn't deter his spirit 10 November 2009 The Desert Sun https://web.archive.org/web/20160120120106/http://archive.desertsun.com/article/20091111/NEWS01/911100355/Even-crash-landing-couldn-t-deter-his-spirit 20 January 2016 Goolsby Denise dead 14 August 2015 (Profile of 11th Fighter Squadron P-38 pilot) http://www.aero-web.org/history/aviators/usaf.htm United States Air Force Aero Web: Aviation History https://web.archive.org/web/20160623030254/http://www.aero-web.org/history/aviators/usaf.htm 23 June 2016 dead 12 August 2015 (Chronology includes 1957 Bendix Trophy information) https://jetpilotoverseas.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/capt-kenneth-chandler-bendix-trophy-winner-ohare-field-to-andrews-afb-1957/ https://web.archive.org/web/20140912015034/http://jetpilotoverseas.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/capt-kenneth-chandler-bendix-trophy-winner-ohare-field-to-andrews-afb-1957/ dead 12 September 2014 Capt. Kenneth Chandler, Bendix Trophy Winner, O'Hare Field to Andrews AFB, 1957 Jet Pilot Overseas 15 August 2015 (1957 Bendix Race information) http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/BASES_USAF/DULUTH/usaf_base_duluth.htm Ejections and Losses, Minnesota Air National Guard 8 June 2011 14 August 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150923234951/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/BASES_USAF/DULUTH/usaf_base_duluth.htm 23 September 2015 dead (Includes losses by the 343d while at Duluth IAP) http://www.dakotaterritoryairmuseum.com/p-40k-warhawk/ P-40K Warhawk Aleutian Tiger 8 June 2011 Dakota Territory Air Museum 14 August 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20160120120109/http://www.dakotaterritoryairmuseum.com/p-40k-warhawk/ 20 January 2016 dead (Information on museum P-40 in markings of the 11th Fighter Squadron) https://www.richthistle.com/about-rich/aviation-articles/victory-over-kiska-the-aleutian-campaign-ww2 Thistle Rich Victory Over Kiska The Aleutian Campaign WW2 Rich Thistle Art Studio 14 August 2015 (Artwork "Victory Over Kiska" P-40 victory with accompanying article) http://pinturas-sgm-aviacion.tumblr.com/post/123286259181/1942-tigers-in-the-valley-jack-fellows-in-the Kim Artur 1942 Tigers in the Valley 19 July 2015 Pinturas Aviación II Guerra Mundial 14 August 2015 (Artwork "Tigers in the Valley" by Jack Fellows, 11th Fighter Squadron P-40s with accompanying description) http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/f/375/3/4 Wings Pallette Curtiss P-40 Avia Camouflage Profiles 14 August 2015 20 January 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160120120106/http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/f/375/3/4 dead (Several profiles of 11th Fighter Squadron P-40s and information on group commander, John S. Chennault, son of Claire Chennault) http://www.classicwings.com/issue/2013/93 Tiger and Ice! 2013 20 93 Classic Wings 14 August 2015 (Information on P-40 restored in markings of 11th Fighter Squadron commander) 011