USAF Patch Fighter USAFE c 496 TFS Tactical Fighter Squadron F 4 Phantom d

USAF Patch USAFE 496 TFS Tactical Fighter Squadron Patch Hahn AB West Germany F 4 Phantom d 1970s Uniform removed Embroidered on twill cut edge 112mm by 100mm four and three eighth inches by three and fifteen sixteenth inches.

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Squadron History

496 Fighter Squadron All Weather was activated in the reserve on 1 June 1949 at Mitchel AFB New York with F 82 Twin Mustangs assigned to 52 Fighter Wing All Weather The Squadron was relocated to McGuire AFB New Jersey on 10 October 1949 reassigned to 84 Fighter Group and was redesignated 496 Fighter All Weather Squadron on 1 March 1950. 496 TFS was ordered to active service on 1 June 1951 and immediately inactivated on 2 June 1951.

496 Fighter Interceptor Squadron was activated on 20 March 1953 at Hamilton AFB California equipped with F 86F Sabre fighter aircraft under 566 Air Defense Group for air defense of the West Coast of the US.

496 FIS was deployed attached to 86 Fighter Bomber Wing United States Air Forces in Europe and relocated to Landstuhl Air Base West Germany on 1 July 1954 with F 86D Sabre Interceptors as part of the air defense of West Germany. The Squadron was reassigned to 7486 Air Defense Group on 2 December 1954. 496 FIS relocated to Hahn Air Base in November 1956 and was reassigned to 86 Fighter Interceptor Wing FIW. The Squadron reequipped with F 102A Delta Dagger aircraft in 1959 and was reassigned to 86 Air Division Defense.

496 FIS was redesignated 496 Tactical Fighter Squadron TFS reequipped with F 4 E Phantom II and was reassigned to 50 TFW Tactical Fighter Wing at Hahn on 1 November 1968. The Squadron represented USAFE in the William Tell 76 Air To Air Weapons Meet in 1976 and changed its primary role to ground attack and tactical nuclear strike on 1 October 1977 retaining air defence as a secondary tasking.

The Squadron transitioned to F 16 AB Fighting Falcon aircraft in 1982 reverting to the primary role of air defence with ground attack and tactical nuclear strike becoming secondary and on upgrading to F 16 CD aircraft between February and May 1986 ground attack and tactical nuclear strike again became the primary role. With the end of the Cold War and subsequent overcapacity of fighter assets 496 TFS was inactivated on 15 May 1991 at the same time as 50 Tactical Fighter Wing on the closure of Hahn AB.

This patch dates from the 1970s.