#1664 494th FS F-15E Strike Eagle print
Description
Squadron Prints Lithograph No. 1664 - 91-0314 '494 FS', 494th Fighter Squadron, 48th Fighter Wing, RAF Lakenheath, UK.
The 494th Mighty Black Panthers roared to life on the 20th of November, 1940, born out of America’s preparations for the Second World War. While fighting in the European Theatre, the 494th supported the allied advance by flying bombing missions with the P-47D Thunderbolt to destroy critical targets such as marshalling yards, airfields, bridges, coastal batteries, and radar stations throughout France, Belgium, and Germany. Notable campaigns included the St. Lo Breakout, Falaise Gap, and the Battle of the Bulge during which the squadron repeatedly attacked German armor through fog and snow storms using coordinates radioed by besieged American ground forces near Bastogne. Victory in Europe brought a brief respite, but the Panthers reawakened in 1952 and raised their flag once again on French soil, this time at Chaumont Air Base. As the Cold War commitments increased the 494 FS move to their current home at RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom. During this time, the Panthers flew and fought in such jets as the F-84G Thunderjet, F-86F Sabre, F-100D Super Sabre, F-4D Phantom II, and the venerable F-111F Aardvark. President Reagan shocked the world in 1986 by announcing the Panther’s long-range, precision-guided munitions strike on Tripoli in support of Eldorado Canyon. The transition to the mighty twin-tailed, twin-seat, twin-engine F-15E Strike Eagle occurred in 1992. With the inception of the Air Force’s premier multi-role fighter aircraft came a long string of “firsts” in Panther and aviation history: the first combat missions flown from England to the European continent since World War II; NATO’s first airstrikes against Bosnian-Serb command and control facilities; the first USAF dirigible kill; the first F-15E combat employment of the GBU-28, GBU-15, AGM-130, GBU-38, GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB), FMU-152, and Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP); and the first American fighters to fly in combat over Afghanistan. Depicted here in its current combat configuration, the mighty Strike Eagle is equipped with the Sniper ATP and loaded with the GBU-12, GBU-31, GBU-38, AIM-9, AIM-120, and a 20mm Vulcan Gatling gun. As a member of USAFE’s lead Wing and an active participant in Operations IRAQI FREEDOM, ENDURING FREEDOM and Operation ODYSSEY DAWN, the 494th continues to push the fight and champion freedom as the world’s Finest, Baddest, and Meanest Fighter Squadron. The humble, credible, and professional members of the 494 FS stand ever-ready to make their enemies Bleed Red.