449th Fighter Squadron

449th Fighter Interceptor Squadron
449th Fighter Interceptor Squadron Northrop F-89J Scorpions
Active	1943–1945; 1947-1960
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Fighter interceptor
Engagements	World War II Asia-Pacific Theater
Insignia
449th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron emblem (Approved 4 December 1951)
449th Fighter Squadron emblem (World War II)

The 449th Fighter Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 11th Air Division stationed at Ladd Air Force Base, Alaska, where it was inactivated on 25 August 1960.

The squadron was first activated in 1943 as the 449th Fighter Squadron and engaged in combat in China during World War II. Following VJ Day, it returned to the United States and was inactivated. It was reactivated in Alaska in 1947.

The squadron was first organized in China as the 449th Fighter Squadron and equipped with Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. It fought in the China Burma India Theater from 1943 to 1945. Former Heisman Trophy-winner Tom Harmon was a member of the unit during their stint in the CBI.

The 449th was reactivated at Adak Army Air Field as part of Alaskan Air Command in September 1947 and equipped with Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighters. Its aircraft and personnel were drawn from the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, which was simultaneously inactivated. The Black Widows used as interceptors against Soviet aircraft intruding into North American airspace.

The squadron began to re-equipped with North American F-82 Twin Mustangs in 1948, but only became a Twin Mustang unit upon moving to Ladd Air Force Base in 1949. it received additional aircraft from Far East Air Forces after the model was withdrawn from the Korean War. These aircraft were modified to the F-82H model with the addition of cold weather equipment and additional de-icers. Many of these fighters operated with Strategic Air Command where they served as escorts for the massive Convair B-36 Peacemaker bomber during long flights over the Arctic. The 449th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was the last USAF unit equipped with the F-82, retiring the model in 1953 when a lack of parts made it impossible to keep the aging airframes flying. The retirement of the F-82 marked the end of front-line use of USAF propeller driven fighter aircraft. Many were ultimately scrapped in Alaska.