Hobby Master Archive

When the 512th FIS was transferred from Soesterberg the Netherlands to England in September 1955 it left behind its personnel and equipment. This meant the creation of a new squadron, the 32nd Fighter Day Squadron that was considered a detachment of the 36th FW at Bitburg, West Germany. In 1956 the 32nd replaced their F-86 Sabres with North American F-100 Super Sabres. On July 18, 1958 the unit was re-designated 32nd TFS. In 1959 the 32nd received the signature “Royal” and the Dutch Royal Family (the House of Orange) crown and wreath were added to their emblem as long as the squadron remained in the Netherlands. This addition to the 32nd emblem meant they were the only USAF unit whose emblem included the royal crest of another nation. In January 1959 with the arrival of 18 new F-102A Delta Dagger the 32nd was once again re-designated, this time as an FIS. On July 1, 1960 the 32nd FIS was assigned to the USAFE 86th Air Division at Ramstein Air Base in West Germany. The 32nd divided its aircraft in 3 flights, red, white and blue. The aircraft markings varied over the years from red-white-blue vertical tail, red-white-blue flaps also they wore a green/brown camouflage scheme on the tail. The 32nd flew the Delta Dagger from 1959 to 1969 when they transitioned to the F4E Phantom II.