561st Fighter Squadron

561st Fighter Squadron
Emblem of the 561st Fighter Squadron
Active	1942-1996
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Engagements	World War II

The 561st Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force squadron, being last assigned to the 57th Operations Group at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. It was inactivated on 1 October 1996.

The 561st FS was the last United States Air Force unit to fly the F-4 Phantom II on operational missions. The last F-105 shot down in the Vietnam War was from the 561st.

Activated in 1942 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber squadron. Trained under II Bomber Command in Idaho, Utah and in Iowa.

Deployed to Eighth Air Force in England, June 1943 at RAF Knettishall (AAF-136), England. Entered combat in June 1943 by attacking an aircraft factory in Amsterdam. The squadron functioned primarily as a strategic bombardment Organization in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) until the war ended. Targets included industries, naval installations, oil storage plants, refineries, and communications centers in Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, Norway, Romania, and the Netherlands.

The squadron attacked many significant enemy targets, including aircraft factories in Kassel, Reims, and Brunswick; airfields in Bordeaux, Paris, and Berlin; naval works at La Pallice, Emden, and Kiel; chemical industries in Ludwigshafen; ball-bearing plants in Schweinfurt; and marshalling yards in Brussels, Osnabrück, and Bielefeld. Operations also included support and interdictory missions. Helped prepare for the invasion of Normandy by attacking military installations in France, and on D-Day struck coastal guns, field batteries, and transportation. Continued to support ground forces during the campaign that followed, hitting such objectives as supply depots and troop concentrations. Bombed in support of ground forces at Saint-Lô in July 1944 and at Caen in August. Covered the airborne assault on the Netherlands in September 1944 by attacking military installations and airfields at Arnhem. Aided the final drive through Germany during the early months of 1945 by striking targets such as marshalling yards, rail bridges, and road junctions.