#1700 60th FS F-35A Lighting II print
Description
Squadron Prints Lithograph No. 1700 - 14-5101 '60 FS', F-35A Lightning II, 60th Fighter Squadron, 33d Fighter Wing, Eglin AFB, Florida.
Constituted in November 1940 at Mitchel Field, NY, the 60th Pursuit Squadron was activated in January 1941 and began flying the P-39 Airacobra. Redesignated the 60th Fighter Squadron, the “Fighting Crows” joined the war effort in late 1942 operating the P-40 Warhawk and earning the Distinguished Unit Citation for combat operations in Tunisia in 1943. They entered the China-Burma-India theater employing the P-47 Thunderbolt in 1944 and the P-38 Lightning in 1945. Following World War II, the 60th was attached to the 33rd Fighter Group at Neubiberg, Germany, and flew the P-51 Mustang. Reassigned to Roswell, NM, in 1947, the squadron converted to the F-84 Thunderjet in 1948. Later the same year, the Crows moved to Otis AFB, MA, and began flying the F-86 Sabre. In 1951, the Crows relocated to Westover AFB, MA, as part of the Air Defense Command. The squadron achieved operational status in the F-94 Starfire in 1955 and returned to Otis AFB. ln 1959, the Crows were the first Air Defense squadron to receive the new F-101 Voodoo. Shortly thereafter, they operated from alert status in the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Deactivated in 1971, the Crows reactivated later that year as the 60th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Eglin AFB, FL. in 1983, the Crows deployed ten F-15Cs as part of Operation URGENT FURY supporting the rescue of Americans in Grenada. The squadron was called upon again in 1989 during Operation JUST CAUSE supporting the ouster of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Operating from Tabuk, Saudi Arabia in 1990/91, members of the 60th also helped establish unchallenged air superiority during Operation DESERT STORM. Renamed the 60th Fighter Squadron under Air Combat Command, the Crows once again deployed to the Caribbean in 1994 to support Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY, which returned democratic rule to Haiti. They continued to enforce UN resolutions over the skies of Iraq, deploying a total of five times in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH and twice for Operation NORTHERN WATCH from 1993 through 2001. Under these operations, the 60th participated in RUGGED NAUTILUS and DESERT FOX during periods of heightened tensions with Iraq and Iran. After a 12-year stand down, the 60th Fighter Squadron was reactivated on 20 August, 2021 at Eglin Air Force Base flying the F-35A Lightning II. The F-35A is a high-performance, supersonic, multi-role 5th generation stealth strike fighter. With this new aircraft, the Fighting Crows train and teach F-35 pilots for the combat U.S. Air Force.