The 95th Fighter Squadron (95th FS), nicknamed the Boneheads, is an active squadron of the United States Air Force. Last activated on 15 June 2023 as a Lockheed Martin F-35 squadron stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Previously the 95 FS was an F-22 equipped squadron, but in 2019 the squadron's aircraft and personnel were distributed across other bases in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in 2018 and its destruction of large parts of Tyndall Air Force Base. It was subsequently disbanded in 2019. In August 2023, the unit received its first Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II aircraft.
The 95th flew combat in the European Theater of Operations and the Mediterranean Theater of Operations between 25 December 1942 and 3 May 1945. It flew fighter escort and air defense from 1947 to 1949 and air defense from 1952–1973. Between 1988 and 2010 it conducted advanced fighter training for the McDonnell Douglas F-15C/D Eagle.
History
World War II
The squadron was activated in early 1942 at Harding Field, Louisiana as the 95th Pursuit Squadron, one of the original three squadrons of the 82d Pursuit Group. It soon moved to California where it equipped with Lockheed P-38 Lightnings and began training with Fourth Air Force as the 95th Fighter Squadron. It left California in the fall and sailed for Northern Ireland, where it received additional combat training under Eighth Air Force. A month after the initial Operation Torch landings in North Africa the squadron deployed to Algeria, where it entered combat as an element of Twelfth Air Force.
In North Africa, the squadron flew antisubmarine patrols, bomber escort missions and attacked enemy shipping and airfields, moving its base east through Algeria and Tunisia. As the North African campaign drew to a close, the unit began attacking targets in Italy, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions on 25 April 1943 during an attack on enemy airfields in Foggia. On this mission, the squadron's aircraft flew hundreds of miles at an altitude of 100 feet to destroy dozens of enemy aircraft at Foggia while suffering minimal losses,
In May 1943, the 95th was tasked with bombing Pantellaria, supporting the Allied invasion of Sicily. In part due to the squadron's efforts the garrison surrender just prior to the Allies landing on the island. In September, the squadron participated in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, during which it was awarded a second Distinguished Unit Citation for a bomber escort mission against marshalling yards near Naples. In this mission the squadron protected 72 North American B-25 Mitchells without loss while destroying numerous attacking enemy fighters.
The squadron moved to Italy, where it became part of Fifteenth Air Force as part of the buildup to provide fighter cover for Fifteenth's heavy bombers. On 10 June 1944 the squadron earned a third Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions during an attack on oil refineries in Ploiești, Romania. During this attack each aircraft carried a 1,000-pound bomb and a 300-gallon gas tank. The squadron also took part in some of the first shuttle missions to the Soviet Union.
At the end of World War II, the 95th destroyed more than 400 aircraft including 199 air-to-air kills and had seven aces. Following the surrender of Germany, the squadron remained in Italy until September 1945, when it was inactivated
Strategic Air Command
In 1947 the squadron was again activated at Grenier Field, New Hampshire, where it was equipped with North American P-51 Mustangs as a Strategic Air Command fighter escort unit. Between April and June 1948 the squadron deployed to Ladd Air Force Base, Alaska, where it practiced rendezvousing with and escorting bombers, intercepting simulated enemy bombers and aerial gunnery. In August 1949 it was transferred to Continental Air Command and its primary role became air defense, but this mission change was brief, for the squadron was inactivated in October.
Air Defense
In late 1952, the squadron, now designated the 95th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, was activated under Air Defense Command (ADC) and assigned to the 4710th Defense Wing. It was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, where it replaced the federalized 121st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was returned to the control of the District of Columbia Air National Guard. The 95th took over the personnel, mission, and Lockheed F-94 Starfire aircraft of the inactivating 121st. The squadron was tasked with defending Washington, D.C., and the surrounding area against the threat of manned bomber attacks.