The White Falcon - 29.05.1981, Side 5

May 29, 1981 White Falcon 5
The F-4E escorts a Bear aircraft
having to return to the base. Once
P Hammer gives the command to
amble, the F-4Es are airborne in
a matter of minutes.
With help from the ground and
utilizing their on-board radars (if
necessary), the pilots plot their
course to meet the unknown aircraft.
The "intercepting of the aircraft,"
involves visual contact; the pilots
and the Weapon System Officers look
for the aircraft's identification
number, which is radioed back to
the Hammer.
While the F-AEs escort the now
identified aircraft, the Weapons
System Officer takes intelligence
photos for identification purposes.
According to Capt. Cox, the Phantoms
will escort the aircraft until it
leaves the area, until the Phantom
reaches its safe-return level of
fuel, or until ordered back by the
Hammer. For every mission, two
more F-4Es are on alert ready to
relieve at a moments notice.
This cat and mouse scenario is
played out week after week, keeping
the F-AE crews and all the members
of the 57th FIS working long hours.
As in any command, the FIS has
its share of people working behind
the scenes and out of the main
stream of public attention. But,
without these people, the mission
wouldn't be possible. From airman
to chief master sergeant, the 57th
FIS Maintenance and support personnel
provide a most important function to
the command—they keep the F-AEs
ready to fly anytime. For every
mission flown, hours of preparation
on the ground, are spent ensuring
the aircraft are in the best possible
shape for a safe mission.
'Black Knights’--A history of
the award-winning squadron
The 57th FIS Black Knights were
activiated as a fighter training unit
on January 15, 19A1 at Hamilton
Field, California.
The unit was first equipped with
P-AOs, followed by P-39s and P-51s.
The squadron was tasked with the
training of new pilots until de-
activation in April 19AA.
The "Black Knights" were reacti-
vated at Presque Isle, Maine, in
March 1953; by November they moved
and were providing Air Defense to
Iceland in their P-89 "Scorpions."
In 1962 the squadron converted
to the F-102 "Delta Daggers" and was
integrated into the Air Defense
Command. During the eleven years
the F-102s were in Iceland, the 57th
FIS compiled an impressive record of
over 1,000 intercepts of Soviet
military aircraft.
In 1973 the 57th became the first
squadron in the Aerospace Defense
Command to be equipped with the F-A
Phantom II. In 1976 the command
was awarded the Hughes Aircraft
Corporation Trophy for excellence in
intercept operations, and the General
Royal N. Baker award for logistics
excellence in aircraft maintenance.
In June 1978 the squadron was pre-
sented the Air Force Flying Safety
Award for over five years of
accident-free flying. These achieve-
ments were recorded while completely
reorganizing into the production
oriented maintenance organization and
converting to the F-AE aircraft.
In 1979 the squadron was honored
by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation
with their prestigious 20,000 hour
accident-free flying award.