456th
Fighter Interceptor Squadron
"Once you have flown, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, there you long to return" -- Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
The 456th Fighter Interceptor Squadron can be described in very few words "RAPID CHANGE". Originally constituted as "the 456th Fighter Squadron" on October 15, 1944 at Seymour Johnson Air Field, NC; then moved to Selfridge Air Field, MI on November 21, 1944; and then to Bluethenthal Air Field, NC on March 19 until June 5, 1945 before being reassigned to North Field, Iwo Jima as part of the 414th Fighter Group, 7th Fighter Command, 301st Fighter Wing, of the 20th Air Force, on July 7, 1945; and then again on December 23, 1945 to Clark Field and Florida Blance Field, Luzon in the Philippines; where it was finally deactivated on August 25, 1946.
A supersonic, all-weather delta wing interceptor aircraft of the United States Air Force from the 1960s through 1988 The F-106 Delta Dart manufactured by the Convair Division of General Dynamics.
The world's first supersonic all-weather jet interceptor and the US Air Force's first operational delta-wing aircraft. The F-102 Delta Dagger made its initial flight on Oct. 24, 1953
The USAF's first swept-wing jet fighter made its initial flight Oct 1, 1947. Originally designed as a high-altitude day-fighter, subsequently redesigned into all-weather interceptor and a fighter-bomber models.
F-106 Delta Dart Comes Home to Castle
On Display Painted as 57-2456 in 1967 version markings of the 456th Fighter Interceptor Squadron Commander's plane, F-106A 58-0973 was acquired from AMARC and trucked to the Castle Air Museum (CAM) in Nov 2002. More >
Castle Air Museum
Located in Atwater, the heart of California’s San Joaquin Valley, is the largest aviation museum between Southern CA and Washington State with over 70 restored vintage military aircraft on static exhibit! More >
"I now know why men who have been to war yearn to reunite. Not to tell stories or look at old pictures. Not to laugh or weep. Comrades gather because they long to be with the men who once acted at their best; men who suffered and sacrificed, who suffered and stripped of their humanity. I did not pick these men. They were delivered by fate and the military. But I know them in a way I know no other men. I have never given anyone such trust. They were willing to guard something more precious than my life. They would have carried my reputation, the memory of me. It was part of the bargain we all made, the reason we were so willing to die for one another. As long as I have memory, I will think of them all, every day. I am sure that when I leave this world, my last thought will be of my family and my comrades. Such good men." -- Author unknown
