60 337th Fighter Interceptor Squadron

Author : Stan Lukasiewicz
Publisher : Trafford Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1466981008
Total Pages : 349 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (669 download)

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Download or read book 60/337th Fighter Interceptor Squadron written by Stan Lukasiewicz and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2006-11-19 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During a portion of the 20th century known as the Cold War Era, when the United States feared an attack on its land, our armed forces kept a 24-hour vigil to meet any armed aggression against us. A part of this vigil involved the United States Air Force keeping fighter interceptor squadrons on alert at all times, with a certain amount of aircraft poised in alert hangars, fully armed and ready to launch within five-minutes from the sound of the alarm. This history is about one such squadron, the 60th/337th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron assigned to Westover Air Force Base, Chicopee, Massachusetts. Its task was to guard a specific area of airspace in the northeast from an airborne attack. Their object was to destroy any enemy bombers penetrating U.S. airspace that was assigned to the squadron. The Air Force assigned the newest ‘all-weather’ interceptor, the F-86D Sabrejet, to the 60th in May 1953. Sometime in mid-1956 the squadron began receiving a more advanced version of the Sabrejet known as the F-86L. In 1958, the squadron converted to the fastest interceptor in the U.S. arsenal, the F-104 Starfighter, which they flew until the unit was deactivated in July 1960. You will follow the events of this fighter squadron from May 1953 until its last F-104 departed in June 1960. It tells the stories of the unit’s accomplishments, tragedies that befell the squadron, the personal reflections and feelings of some of the members, some eventful sporting news, a few social events that occurred, and the public relations work involved in helping the civilian population in the surrounding communities to better understand the importance of the mission of the fighter squadron, and the significance it had on the civilian population.