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#1198 F-35A Lightning II

F-35A Lightning II
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£10.00 €11.68 $12.44
43.8 cm x 29.2 cm
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F-35A Lightning II
08-0746 '58 FS'
58 FS, 33 FW
Eglin AFB, Florida
US - Air Force
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Description

Squadron Prints Lithograph No. 1198 - F-35A Lighting II, 08-0746, 58th Fighter Squadron, 33d Fighter Wing, Eglin AFB, Florida. The 58th Fighter Squadron was constituted as the 58th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 20 November 1940, flying the P-39 \"Airacobra\" and subsequently the P-40 \"Tomahawk\", providing air defense of the US coastlines. The unit was redesignated the 58th Fighter Squadron in May 1942. They first entered combat, catapulting their P-40s off the deck of the aircraft carrier Chenango during the invasion of French Morocco in November 1942. The 58th conducted continuous air combat operations in the Mediterranean Theater, earning the Distinguished Unit Citation for outstanding combat operations in Central Tunisia during January 1943. Crossing the globe, the 58th deployed to the China-Burma-India Theater in February 1944, flying the P-47 \"Thunderbolt\" and later the P-38 \"Lightning\" until the end of the war. The squadron inactivated on 8 December 1945 at Camp Shanks, New York. The 58th Fighter Squadron activated for the second time at Neubiberg Air Base, Germany on 20 August 1946, serving as part of the US occupational force until 25 August 1947, when the unit was reassigned to Strategic Air Command at Andrews Army Air Field, Maryland. On 16 September 1947 the 58th was manned at Roswell Field, New Mexico flying the P-51 \"Mustang\". In June 1948, the 58th entered the jet fighter age with the new F-84 \"Thunderjet\" and in November they moved to Otis Field, Massachusetts, responsible for the Air Defense of the northeast continental US. Part of the USAF plan to build the air defenses of the US, the Mighty Gorillas transitioned through numerous aircraft including the F-86 \"Sabre\", F-89 \"Scorpion\", and F-94 \"Starfire\". The squadron inactivated at Walker Air Force Base, New Mexico on 25 December 1960. The 58th was activated for the last time at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida on 1 September 1970, soon springing into action in the Vietnam War. Flying the F-4E \"Phantom\", the 58th saw combat in Southeast Asia while deployed to Udorn, Thailand in 1972. Downing a MiG-19 and a MiG-21, the 58th was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor for the deployment. In 1979, the 58th was re-equipped with the McDonnell-Douglas F-15 \"Eagle\", which to this day is still undefeated in aerial combat. In August 1990, the squadron deployed to Tabuk Air Base, Saudi Arabia. During Operation DESERT STORM, the 58th contributed decisively to the air war by achieving the first three kills and shooting down a total of sixteen enemy aircraft, the most of any unit engaged in the conflict. On 7 March 2003, the Gorillas deployed in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, instantly securing air dominance for coalition forces. On 1 October 2009, the 58th Fighter Squadron transferred from Air Combat Command to Air Education and Training Command and became the first F-35A Lightning II Fighter Squadron in the world, with the mission of training F-35 pilots. The F-35A is a high-performance, supersonic, all-weather stealth strike fighter armed with a host of next-generation technologies and unprecedented capabilities, making the F-35 the world\'s most advanced multirole fighter.
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