BEAST Posted March 28, 2007 Share #1 Posted March 28, 2007 I bought a hand-painted plaque yesterday that has the squdron insignia of the 82nd Fighter Squadron However above the insignia is written "82nd Jet Fighter" It appears to have been made in the 1950's or early 1960's. Does anyone have a reference or a link that covers the 82nd Squadron AFTER WWII? I need to clean the plaque and then I will post a photo of it. Thnaks in advance for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBFloyd Posted March 28, 2007 Share #2 Posted March 28, 2007 The 82nd Fighter Squadron transitioned from F-51s to F-89s in 1951 (becoming the 82nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron) . Then they went to F-94s (1953-1955) and back to F-89s (1956-1958). In 1958 they transitioned to F-102s. They drop out of my sources to reappear as Wild Weasels with F-4Gs at Spangdahlem in the 1980s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted March 28, 2007 Author Share #3 Posted March 28, 2007 Jeff, Thanks for the info! Do you know if they were ever stationed at Bunker Hill Air Force Base (also known as Grissom AFB)? This base is located in Indiana. The 82nd Fighter Squadron transitioned from F-51s to F-89s in 1951 (becoming the 82nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron) . Then they went to F-94s (1953-1955) and back to F-89s (1956-1958). In 1958 they transitioned to F-102s. They drop out of my sources to reappear as Wild Weasels with F-4Gs at Spangdahlem in the 1980s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBFloyd Posted March 28, 2007 Share #4 Posted March 28, 2007 Mitchell Field, NY, Jun 47 Hamilton AFB, CA, Nov 48 Larson AFB, WA, Feb 52 Keflavik Apt, Iceland, Apr 53 Presque Isle AFB, ME, Oct 54 Travis AFB, CA, Aug 55 Then a big gap until Spangdahlem, Germany in the 1980s. Unfortunately, I have nothing to fill in the gap with. The 82nd seemed to be air defenders throughout the period and I think of Bunker Hill/Grissom more of a SAC operation (actually they were a TAC base in 55-57, but with 323rd Fighter-Bomber Wing and ADC's 319th FIS), but I can't find anything that puts the 82nd there in the gap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted March 28, 2007 Author Share #5 Posted March 28, 2007 Jeff, Thank you for the info. Man, I love this forum! The plaque was framed in a shop located in Kokomo, IN. This is a small city locate near the Air Base. Thanks again Jeff! Mitchell Field, NY, Jun 47Hamilton AFB, CA, Nov 48 Larson AFB, WA, Feb 52 Keflavik Apt, Iceland, Apr 53 Presque Isle AFB, ME, Oct 54 Travis AFB, CA, Aug 55 Then a big gap until Spangdahlem, Germany in the 1980s. Unfortunately, I have nothing to fill in the gap with. The 82nd seemed to be air defenders throughout the period and I think of Bunker Hill/Grissom more of a SAC operation (actually they were a TAC base in 55-57, but with 323rd Fighter-Bomber Wing and ADC's 319th FIS), but I can't find anything that puts the 82nd there in the gap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted March 29, 2007 Author Share #6 Posted March 29, 2007 This is the plaque that I purchased. It is hand-painted and measures approximately 10"x14". This is the label from the frame shop. Note that there is not a zip code with the address. Most likely it was framed in the 1950s or early 1960s. I bought a hand-painted plaque yesterday that has the squdron insignia of the 82nd Fighter Squadron However above the insignia is written "82nd Jet Fighter" It appears to have been made in the 1950's or early 1960's. Does anyone have a reference or a link that covers the 82nd Squadron AFTER WWII? I need to clean the plaque and then I will post a photo of it. Thnaks in advance for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCaauwe Posted December 9, 2009 Share #7 Posted December 9, 2009 I was a pilot with the 82nd FIS in Iceland in 1953-54. The plaque has some elements of our squadron insignia, but I never saw it in quite that form. I will attach a photo of me and my R.O. over Iceland in a F-94B. You can see the squadron insignia on the aircraft. These F-94B's had been in Iceland for a while, and since they sat outside in the weather all the time, they were starting to show some problems. Our squadron was replaced in 1954 by the 57th FIS. Our squadron ferried these to Presque Isle Maine and eventually to Oakland California where they were refurbished and given to ANG squadrons. We then got new F-89D's, and our squadron was re-designated as the 76th FIS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steindaddie Posted December 10, 2009 Share #8 Posted December 10, 2009 FANTASTIC PHOTOS..!!! Have more? The 82nd got it's first jet aircraft in 1949, and the insignia was approved in 1951. (I've never seen the 82nd in a shield shape insignia - only round.) With the dawn of the jet age, some USAF fighter squadrons were named as "jet propelled". I just saw a website where the 82nd was referred to as "82nd Fighter Squadron, Jet." (Hamilton AFB June 1951) The term seems to have not been widely adopted or used. Having jets was still somewhat novel at that time and there are other units who used the word "jet" to distinguish themselves from their reciprocating and vibrating brothers. Hey, it sounded cool - Jet Fighter Squadron. All that being said, I'd date that cool plaque to the early-mid 50's. Here's their "Jet" bases: Hamilton AFB, California, 24 Nov 1948 Larson AFB, Washington, 6 Feb 1952-7 Mar 1953 Keflavik Airport, Iceland, 1 Apr 1953-Oct 1954 Presque Isle AFB, Maine, 22 Oct 1954 Travis AFB, California, 18 Aug 1955-25 Jun 1966 Deployed at Naha AB, Okinawa, 17 Feb-24 Jun 1966 Naha AB, Okinawa, 25 Jun 1966-31 May 1971 Deployed at Suwon AB, South Korea, 30 Jan-20 Feb 1968 Webb AFB, Texas, 1 Dec 1972-15 Jun 1976 Tyndall AFB, Florida, 1 Jan 1978-Present Again, great photos! ~Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCaauwe Posted May 3, 2011 Share #9 Posted May 3, 2011 I have a few more photos I took while serving as a pilot in the 82nd Fighter Sq. in Iceland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share #10 Posted May 9, 2011 Wow! Great looking photos AND information! Thanks for all of the assistance in determining the time frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJ3Navy Posted October 23, 2012 Share #11 Posted October 23, 2012 I'm a little late to this party, but have some input to help with the time frame. Attached is a photo of a Navy pilot (I'm friends with his family) wearing the same 82nd patch as the one on your plaque. He was in the exchange officer program between the Navy and Air Force from Ocotober 1949 to October 1950 at Hamilton AF Base. The picture was taken in December of 1952. I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bebel Posted April 1, 2013 Share #12 Posted April 1, 2013 "Jet fighter" was a label that we most seen on the early jet age period in th USAF at the and of the 40s or beginning of the 50s. Great plaque! Franck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCaauwe Posted March 8, 2015 Share #13 Posted March 8, 2015 F-94B Dawn Alert, Keflavik 1953 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCaauwe Posted March 8, 2015 Share #14 Posted March 8, 2015 F-94B Dawn Alert, Keflavik 1953 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share #15 Posted March 9, 2015 Great photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viking73 Posted March 9, 2015 Share #16 Posted March 9, 2015 Wow those sure are great photos sir! Thanks for posting them RCaauwe. What was flying the F-94 and F-89 Scorpion like? Where they both "lead sleds" even with the AB on? Here is a fairly new 82nd Squadron patch that I have in my collection. They of course fly target drones now, hence the name... -Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomfixer Posted March 10, 2015 Share #17 Posted March 10, 2015 Love the pictures of your time in Iceland! hate to be greedy but keep em coming...if you have anymore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamski Posted March 16, 2015 Share #18 Posted March 16, 2015 Boy I completely missed this thread. Outstanding color photos of an unsung fighter; and by one of its pilots nonetheless! Wow! -Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCaauwe Posted March 3, 2016 Share #19 Posted March 3, 2016 Love the pictures of your time in Iceland! hate to be greedy but keep em coming...if you have anymore... I have been trying to post more photos from the 82nd FIS in Iceland..can't get it to take them. I see a button that lets you preview a post, but can't find the one to actually Post it!! Also when I try to drag one onto the post area (instead of attaching it, it says "that format is not permitted on this forum". These are .JPG images. Nowhere I can find that it tells you what format is acceptable. ????? I give up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted March 3, 2016 Share #20 Posted March 3, 2016 Jpg's are fine but they are too big most likely Use the USMF's custom resize tool here: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/229816-custom-resize-tool-exclusively-for-the-usmf/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCaauwe Posted March 3, 2016 Share #21 Posted March 3, 2016 Jpg's are fine but they are too big most likely Use the USMF's custom resize tool here: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/229816-custom-resize-tool-exclusively-for-the-usmf/ I used the tool, and it did resize the photo, but it produced a Texedit file (no extension), so the post failed with a message that this type file is not permitted. By the way, my JPG files were all under the 512K size. Gosh, why should this be so hard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted March 3, 2016 Share #22 Posted March 3, 2016 I used the tool, and it did resize the photo, but it produced a Texedit file (no extension), so the post failed with a message that this type file is not permitted. By the way, my JPG files were all under the 512K size. Gosh, why should this be so hard? Sent you a personal message (PM) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted March 3, 2016 Share #23 Posted March 3, 2016 Here are the photo's from RussellThe first (black and white) photo is of F-94B’s on the ramp at Keflavik. 1953-54The second is of our helmets on the piano at a party at the “O” club. The R.O. is Donald Couchigan.The last photo is of our 82n FIS patch as it existed in 1953-54 in Iceland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCaauwe Posted March 4, 2016 Share #24 Posted March 4, 2016 F-94B over Iceland 1953-54. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCaauwe Posted March 4, 2016 Share #25 Posted March 4, 2016 Not sure why we got all "dressed up" in civvies for this photo, but anyway: Left to right, Ed Norem, Gerorge "Alex" Alexander, Russ Caauwe, "Mac" McCarthy. Each flight was housed in separate Quonset huts with distinctive paint job on the end. Norem, Alex, and Caauwe are all 82nd FIS pilots. McCarthy was an 82nd FIS R.O. (Radar Observer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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