The 21st Fighter Squadron, 'The Gamblers', operate both the Block 20 F-16A/B and the F-16V for the Republic of China Air Force, under a three-year pilot training program called 'Peace Fenghuang' (Chinese for Phoenix). This was the only squadron at Luke Air Force Base to operate the original F-16 variant, which are unusual in being 93 fiscal year serial new build Block 20 aircraft.
The squadron began operations from Ie Shima Airfield in June. It engaged in dive-bombing and strafing attacks on factories, radar stations, airfields, small ships and other targets in Japan. It made several attacks on shipping and airfields in China during July. The unit flew its only escort mission on 8 August 1945 when it escorted B-29s during a raid against Yawata, Kyoto, Japan.[6]
After the end of combat in the Pacific, it remained on Okinawa as a part of the air defense and occupation force for the Ryukyu Islands after the war. The unit was inactivated on Okinawa on 15 October 1946.[6]
21st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron F-4E at George AFB[note 2]
The unit was reactivated in 1972 as a wild weasel tactical fighter training radar detection and suppression outfit at George, replacing the 4535th Combat Crew Training Squadron. It trained in Wild Weasel operations with McDonnell F-4C Phantom IIs carrying the tail code "GA", upgrading to the F-4E in 1975 for aircrews who were newly assigned to the aircraft or who were returning to the aircraft from staff positions. The squadron was tasked with training pilots for Pacific Air Forces and continued to do so until 1991. It was inactivated in June 1991 as part of the close of George.[6]
The squadron was reactivated in August 1996 to train ROCAF F-16A/B crews. Its outfit was correspond with the 21st Squadron, 455th Wing in Chiayi Air Base, Taiwan, which was the first ROCAF unit equipped with F-16.[7] ROCAF personnel assigned to the 21st was trained at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. Empty hangars were refurbished and aircrews were pulled-in from other units on base. By January 1997 several F-16A/B block 20s had been delivered and the first training flights began for the Republic of China Air Force crews. The program became known as Peace Fenghuang which is Chinese for 'Phoenix.' Twenty of these aircraft were initially made available, but the numbers have fluctuated over the years, mostly less aircraft for training.[6]
Although flying what could be considered an older version of the F-16, it is more advanced than most other Falcons being flown from Luke. As the first block 20 was only rolled off the production line at Fort Worth, Texas in July 1996, these aircraft had not been tested like other blocks before going to an active training unit. Two aircraft were sent to Edwards Air Force Base, California, for testing while training continued at Luke. Because of this, in the early years the unit liaised with Lockheed frequently.[citation needed]
Training in the 21st Fighter Squadron is a combination of classroom time and flying. For students, the flying involves amassing fifty flights, starting with basic maneuvers to more advanced combat in both aerial engagements and bombing tactics. A program to train instructor pilots is also in place. The first class of pilots graduated in July 1997 and the first instructor pilots graduated in June 1998.[2]
On 18 March 2008, emblem of the squadron was approved.[2] Its concept of design can be traced back to the emblem of ROCAF 21st Squadron in the mid-1950s when the unit was equipped with F-84G. Major Chen Hsing-ling, then commander of the squadron and later Chief of the ROC General Staff, came up with the idea to resemble the unit with the card suit of Twenty-One.[7]
^Aircraft is Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II serial 79-206 at Shaw AFB, SC, 29 September 1993. The aircraft was later modified to OA-10C configuration and transferred to the 75th Fighter Squadron.
^ abcdefghRobertson, Patsy (3 April 2014). "21 Fighter Squadron (AETC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
^ abCheng, Jia-wen (程嘉文) (15 April 2017). "F-16接機牽情 我空軍21中隊 多個美國雙胞胎兄弟" [An American twin brother of our 21st Air Force Squadron was born upon the handover of F-16]. Taipei: United Daily News. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
Davies, Peter E. North American F-100 Super Sabre. Ramsbury, Wiltshire, UK: Crowood Press, 2003. ISBN1-86126-577-8.
Martin, Patrick (1994). Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military Aviation History. ISBN0-88740-513-4.
Rogers, Brian. (2005). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, UK: Midland Publications. ISBN1-85780-197-0.
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