The 495th Fighter Squadron (FS), the first US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) Lightning II squadron, was activated on Oct. 1, 2021.
Posted on Oct. 27, 2021 on RAF Lakenheath Facebook page, the interesting photo in this post features the freshly painted tail fin of the first F-35A belonging to the 495th Fighter Squadron (FS), the first US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) Lightning II squadron.
The tail fin features the motto “Mala Ipsa Nova,” literally “Bad News Itself.”
As we have already reported, the 48th Fighter Wing (FW) activated the 495th FS nicknamed as the “Valkyries,” at exactly 8:49 and 50 seconds, on the morning of Oct. 1, 30 years to the day since its designation as a fighter squadron.
The first F-35A is scheduled to arrive at RAF Lakenheath later this year. The base was selected to host the first US F-35A squadrons in Europe based on very close ties with the Royal Air Force (RAF), existing infrastructure, and combined training opportunities. Additionally, the UK.is a critical component in training and combat readiness for USAFE due to its excellent airspace and F-35 program partnership.
The new F-35 squadron will consist of 27 aircraft and roughly 60 personnel.
On Sep. 16, 2021 instead, an F-15C Eagle assigned to the 493rd Fighter Squadron (FS), dubbed ‘The King’, performed its final flight at RAF Lakenheath. ‘The King’ was part of three jets painted in heritage colors in 2019 honoring the World War II P-47 Thunderbolt.
Noteworthy with the arrival of the F-35As, 493rd FS’ F-15Cs will leave for good. The Grim Reapers future instead is still uncertain but the unit will probably be disbanded.
The King will be assigned to the Massachusetts Air National Guard (ANG), where the 104th Fighter Wing (FW) located in Westfield already flies F-15C Eagle air superiority fighters.
Photo credit: U.S. Air Force
