84th F.I.S.

The 84th FIS operated the F-106 at two different locations during it's career: Hamilton AFB CA and Castle AFB CA.  F-106s were assigned to the 84th FIS at Hamilton AFB CA from 30 Sept 1968 to 29 Aug 1973 when the 84th FIS then moved to Castle AFB CA and remained there until deactivation 30 June 1981.

The 84th FIS was transferred from USAFE to ADC in June 1947 at Mitchell Field without personnel or equipment. In November 1948 it was transferred to Hamilton AFB and equipped with F-51Ds but began a transition into F-84Bs the following month. In the fall of 1950 it received F-84Ds and in early 1951, F-89As. Transitions into F-89Bs and F-86Fs were accomplished in the summer of 1951 and fall of 1952, respectively. In 1953 the squadron received F-94Bs and Cs but in 1955 these were replaced by F-89Ds. The F-89Ds were replaced by F-89Hs in 1956 and these, in turn, by F-89Js in 1957. In March of 1959 the squadron transitioned into F-101Bs. On 30 Sep 1968 the 498th FIS moved from Paine Field, WA with it's F-106's to Hamilton AFB CA, and was redesignated 84th FIS. In September 1973 the 84th moved to Castle AFB, and in June 1981 was redesignated 84th Fighter Interceptor Training Squadron operating T-33A Shooting Stars. All the F-106's were transferred to other units.

84th Tail Flash Notes
(with input by Rob Swigert, 84th FIS Member)

The tail flash graphic illustrations on this page are a somewhat simplistic representation of the 84th, because the 84th was somewhat a mixed bag of aircraft and configurations. Some of the leadership at the time i.e. MG Piotrowski, even call them "the red-headed stepchild of ADCOM" because they were usually last in line for budget allocations. Thus, paint schemes became a low priority and how the aircraft were painted depended on whether or not they had enough money left over at the end of the year. When you look through the 84th’ Photo Gallery (button above) you will rarely see two aircraft painted exactly the same – couldn’t even afford to put the red/white/blue on the vari-ramps and external tanks on all the jets. In the photo gallery you will see some aircraft with completely different tail flash markings, which is what was used when they were at Hamilton AFB. The thunderbolts weren't put on until they started the relocation to Castle AFB and it took a while to get them all painted, but they started while they were at Hamilton AFB.

84th Background History About the Move
(from an old Hamilton AFB 84th FIS team member nicknamed Great Scout via Rob Swigert)

When the 456 FIS relocated from Castle AFB to Oxnard, the 456th squadron area at Castle sat abandoned for a few years. During that time the 93 BMW (SAC) moved in and "commandeered" most of the facilities. When the Hollywood movie moguls and millionaires in Marin County finally managed to pressure CA to get Hamilton AFB shutdown (they didn't like the noise disturbing their lifestyle) ADCOM decided to move the 84th from Hamilton AFB to Castle AFB in the old 456th area. SAC didn't want to give the area back and it turned into a real catfight. SAC gradually moved out of most of the facilities. The 84th never did get the original CRB building returned, although SAC did "generously" allow the 84th to use part of it.  The 84th's MSL office was put in there. ADCOM didn't have the time or money to build replacement buildings, so they put in the Butler building. Weapons Services (rail/gun mx) was in the end with the double doors and QA was in the other end. The CRB office was wedged in between the two.

Because of all this, the move didn't happen overnight and the 84th had to operate out of both Hamilton and Castle for a while. This is why in the photo gallery you see some photos taken at Hamilton, but show the aircraft with the 84th thunderbolts on the tails, which were put on in preparation for Castle. When word came down that the 84th would deactivate and convert to the only a T-33 Squadron, AFLC decided to jump on board and also make it the depot for J-33 engines. That meant trying to convert one of the condemned AGE buildings into a vapor-honing shop. Since I [Rob Swigert] had been the "lucky" guy given the additional duty of Project New Look Officer, the squadron commander figured I was the perfect choice to be the facility conversion officer also. The vapor-honing shop gave Rob nightmares, but lucky for him he got orders to the 87th Red Bulls before it went too far.