440th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
The 440th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, stationed at Erding Air Station, Germany. It was inactivated on 1 January 1960.History
World War II
The squadron was first activated as the 440th Fighter Squadron at Sarasota Army Air Field, Florida in 1943 when the 337th Fighter Group expanded from three to four squadrons. It served as a III Fighter Command North American P-51 Mustang Operational, later Replacement Training Unit. The squadron was disbanded in May 1944 and its personnel and equipment transferred to the 341st AAF Base Unit.Reactivated in 1953 as a North American F-86D Sabre interceptor squadron. Moved to West Germany, attached to the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing at Landstuhl Air Base. The squadron moved to Erding Air Base in Bavaria, operating as a forward-deployed squadron near the Czech border until inactivated in January 1960 with the withdrawal of the F-86D from West Germany.Lineage
- Constituted as the 440th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine 12 February 1943
- Reconstituted, and redesignated 440th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 3 February 1953
Assignments
- 337th Fighter Group, 24 February 1943 – 1 May 1944
- 530th Air Defense Group, 18 February 1953
- Twelfth Air Force, 1 July 1954
- 7486th Air Defense Group, 2 December 1954
- 86th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 3 January 1956
- 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 8 March 1958 – 1 January 1960
Stations
- Sarasota Army Air Field, Florida, 24 February 1943
- Pinellas Army Air Field, Florida, 15 April 1943 – 1 May 1944
- Geiger Field, Washington, 18 February 1953
- Landstuhl Air Base, Germany, 4 July 1954
- Erding Air Base, Germany, 17 February 1956 – 31 December 1959
Aircraft
- Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1943–1944
- North American P-51 Mustang, 1944
- North American F-86D Sabre, 1953–1960
