World War II

Activated in 1942 at Keflavik, Iceland, equipped with Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. Mission was to intercept and destroy German planes that on occasion attempted to attack Iceland or that appeared in that area on reconnaissance missions. Returned to the United States in November 1942 as a IV Fighter Command Lightning Replacement Training Unit (RTU). Trained P-38 pilots in California and Washington State until phaseout of Lightning training in March 1944.

Air defense

Reactivated in 1953 as an Air Defense Command interceptor squadron. Performed air defense mission over Minneapolis and Upper Midwest United States, 1953–1955 with Northrop F-89D Scorpions. Reassigned to air defense of Boston and New England with North American F-86D Sabres. In 1957 began re-equipping with the North American F-86L Sabre, an improved version of the F-86D which incorporated the Semi Automatic Ground Environment, or SAGE computer-controlled direction system for intercepts. The service of the F-86L destined to be quite brief, since by the time the last F-86L conversion was delivered, the type was already being phased out in favor of supersonic interceptors.

Received new Lockheed F-104A Starfighter interceptor aircraft in early 1958, the third ADC squadron to receive the F-104. In addition, the squadron received the two-seat, dual-control, combat trainer F-104B. The performance of the F-104B was almost identical to that of the F-104A, but the lower internal fuel capacity reduced its effective range considerably. However, the F-104A was not very well suited for service as an interceptor. Its low range was a problem for North American air defense, and its lack of all-weather capability made it incapable of operating in conjunction with the SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) system. Service with the ADC was consequently quite brief, and the F-104As of the 337th were transferred to the Air National Guard.

With the transfer of the Starfighters, ADC shut down operations at Westover Air Force Base and the 337th was inactivated in July 1960.

Tactical fighter operations

Reactivated as a McDonnell F-4 Phantom II tactical fighter squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in 1982–1985.

Flight test operations

The 2874th Test Squadron was activated as a flight test squadron as part of the Sacramento Air Logistics Center at McClellan Air Force Base, California in January 1988. It conducted flight tests on aircraft returning to active service after depot maintenance, modification, or repair. In 1992, the squadron was consolidated with the 337th Tactical Fighter Squadron as the 337th Test Squadron^[2] It was inactivated with the closure of McClellan.

Assignments

• 342d Composite Group, 11 September 1942
• 329th Fighter Group, November 1942-31 March 1944
• 514th Air Defense Group, 8 July 1954
• 4707th Air Defense Wing, 18 August 1955
• 4622d Air Defense Wing (later, Boston Air Defense Sector), 18 October 1956
• 4729th Air Defense Group, 8 July 1957
• Boston Air Defense Sector, 25 June 1958 – 8 July 1960
• 4th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 April 1982 – 1 July 1985
• Sacramento Air Logistics Center, 15 January 1988
• Air Force Development Test Center, 1 July 1994
• 46th Operations Group, 1 July 1994^[2] – 13 July 2001

Stations

• Keflavik, Iceland 11 September-26 November 1942
• Glendale Airport, California, 26 November 1942
• Muroc Army Air Base, California, 1 March 1943
• Glendale Airport, California, 6 May 1943
• Paine Field, Washington, 12 August 1943
• Glendale Airport, California, c. 2 November 1943
• Ontario Army Air Field, California, 29 December 1943 – 31 March 1944
• Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, Minnesota, 8 July 1954
• Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts, 18 August 1955 – 8 July 1960

(operated from Taoyuan Air Base, Taiwan, December 1958 – March 1959)

• Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, 1 April 1982 – 1 July 1985
• McClellan Air Force Base, California, 15 January 1988^[2] – 13 July 2001

Aircraft

Commanders

Notes

Explanatory notes

Citations

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Endicott, Judy G. (1998). Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995 and USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ASIN B000113MB2. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
• Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
• "ADCOM's Fighter Interceptor Squadrons". The Interceptor. Aerospace Defense Command. 21 (1): 5–11, 26–31, 40–45, 54–59. January 1979.