333rd Fighter Squadron LANCERS

Established:  8 December 1957

Assigned to: 4th Fighter Wing

Home Base: Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina

Primary Mission: F-15E aircrew training squadron

Unit History:

Activated as the 333rd Fighter-Day Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, the 333rd  was assigned to 4th Fighter-Day Wing. The squadron was equipped with famed North American F-100 Super Sabre, first of the mighty "century series" of the United States Air Force fighters.

On 1 July 1958, was redesignated the 333rd Tactical Fighter Squadron. Seven years, later the Lancers went into combat following a reassignment to the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing stationed at Takhli Royal Air Base, Thailand on 8 Dec 1965. By this time the 333rd had transitioned to the mighty Republic F-105 Thunderchief. While deployed to the Southeast Asia combat area, the squadron flew strike, air-to-air, reconnaissance, and close air support missions. The 333rd lead the other squadrons within the 355th Wing with 6.5 aerial victories over North Vietnamese Mig-17's.

By Oct 1970, the 333rd had returned to the United States and was assigned to the 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing at McConnell AFB, Kansas. Shortly thereafter, on 22 Mar 1971, the unit was redesignated the 333rd Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, moved to Luke AFB, Arizona and assigned to the 58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing. This moved was short lived however, because 1 July 1971 the squadron moved to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. By the end of that July, the unit was once again reassigned to 355th TFW. During this period, the squadron trained student pilots transitioning to the Vought A-7D Corsair II.

The squadron transtioned to the Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II in June of 1976. As the first Air Force unit to fly the A-10A, the Lancers established an instructor cadre and developed the syllabus, training manuals and taught all A-10 academies. In addition to training, the unit showcased the aircraft at the 1976 Farnborough Air Show in England. The squadron was also first to validate close air support tactics in Europe.

On 15 Feb 1991, the squadron was deactivated. Eight months later, 1 Nov 1991, the unit was reactivated as the 333rd Fighter Squadron and assigned to the 602nd Air Combat Wing. They became the first formal OA-10A training squadron on 1 May 1992 and joined the 355th Operations Group.

The final move came on 1 Oct 1994, when the 333rd was assigned to the 4 Fighter Wing's 4th Operations Group at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina. The squadron's new mission is to conduct formal training on the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle aircrew members.

The unit accomplish this with 18 F-15Es and 280 personnel. There are four courses taught: Instructor, Transition, Basic, and Senior Officer checkout. The Instructor course trains experienced F-15E aircrews to become effective instructors and lasts two and a half months. Transition training is for  experienced fighter crews who are changing to the F-15E after flying other Air Force aircrafts. The Transition lasts four months.

The longest of the four courses, Basic trains new pilots and weapon system officers to fly the F-15E during seven months. Finally the Senior Officers checkout course is aimed at those officers that have been assigned to a base with F-15Es. This is the shortest of the four courses and lasts one month.

PRIMARY ASSIGNED F-15E AIRCRAFT: