1. 90 th Fighter Squadron
Home of the Diceman
By John Williams

2. History of the 90th FS
What is now the 90th Fighter Squadron was
initially activated Aug. 20, 1917, as the 90th Aero
Squadron. Its first location was at Kelly Field, San
Antonio, Texas. The first few months of its
existence were consumed by the necessary training
to prepare the men for operations in France during
World War I. On Nov. 12, 1917, the men of the 90th
arrived at Le Havre, France. The initial cadre of
officers and enlisted men began preparing the
infrastructure necessary to support their flying
mission. The air contingent arrived soon after this
first group

3. History of the Dice
The 90th earned a positive reputation for its
ground attack missions during its continuous
participation in the air offensive over St. Mihiel. Its
first commander, 1st Lt. William G.
Schauffler, designed the 90th's Pair o' Dice emblem
displaying natural sevens during this campaign.
After the war, 90th alumni commissioned Tiffany's
of New York to design a silver pin with the
squadron logo. (The Air Force subsequently
disallowed portrayals of games of chance as unit
emblems. However, since the 90th's was designed
long before this rule, the pair-o-dice emblem has
remained.)

4. Official Patch of the 90th FS

5. Sopwith TF-1
The squadron's first aircraft
were the Sopwith TF-1 ground
attack aircraft

6. 90th FS and WWII
During World War II, the 90th Squadron, now a Bombardment
Squadron, operated in the South Pacific, flying A-20 Havoc and B-25 Mitchell
aircraft. Their main mission involved highly dangerous skip bombings. In an
effort to improve the effectiveness and protection of the 3rd Bombardment
Group's pilots, Maj. Paul 'Pappy' Gunn, 3rd Bombardment Group engineering
officer, devised a modification of the B-25C. The modification replaced the
forward bombardier with four forwards firing .50 caliber machine
guns, supplemented with two twin .50 caliber gun packages side mounted on
the fuselage. The lower turret was discarded. The A-20s received similar
modifications. The modified aircraft were first employed by the 90th and
proved lethal ship killing machines, receiving the nickname 'commerce
destroyers.' During the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, every aircraft in the 90th
scored a hit on the Japanese convoy of 18 ships. It was the first sea-level attack
by B-25 strafers in World War II and demonstrated that this tactic was
extremely effective. The squadron also participated in the raids on
Wewak, New Guinea, which were preemptive strikes that virtually ended the
threat of enemy offensive air capabilities.

7. 90th FS Planes of WWII

8. 90th FS Planes of WWII

9. Post WWII to Viet Nam
After the war, the 90th moved with the 3rd Bombardment
Group to Johnson Air Base, Japan, on Oct. 1, 1954. In
January 1956, the unit transitioned to the B-57C Night
Intruder. In October 1957, the 3rd Bombardment Group
inactivated and its heritage transferred to the 3rd
Bombardment Wing, as did the 90th Bombardment
Squadron. In 1960, the wing and squadron transferred to
Yokota Air Base, where it trained in
bombardment, reconnaissance and aerial refueling. It also
served nuclear alert during this period as well. In the mid-
60s, however, the squadron underwent significant
changes.

10. Viet Nam
At the beginning of the Vietnam War, the 3rd Bombardment Wing
began deploying units to Vietnam on a rotational basis, while the
remainder continued training in their ground support role. In
November 1965, the wing moved to Bien Hoa Air Base, Vietnam,
during the buildup of forces. The 90th flew close air support
missions from Bien Hoa through tens of thousands of sorties. At the
base, a tattered pair-o-dice flag flew outside the squadron operations
area. In 1969, the 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron reverted to its pre-
World War II designation of 90th Attack Squadron. On Oct. 31, 1970,
the 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing ended its duties in Vietnam and
remained active in 'paper' status until it moved to Kunsan Air Base,
Korea, in March 1971. The 90th Attack Squadron was reassigned to
the 14th Special Operations Wing on Oct. 31, 1970 and was
redesignated the 90th Special Operations Squadron and remained in
Vietnam at Nha Trang Air Base

11. 90th FS Planes of Viet Nam
F-100 Super Saber

12. 90th FS Post Viet Nam
From late 1970 until 1974, the 90th underwent several
command reassignments. It remained with the 14th
Special Operations Wing until Sept. 1, 1971, when it
moved to the 483rd Tactical Fighter Wing and remained
at Nha Trang Air Base. On April 15, 1972, the 90th moved
again, this time to the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing at
Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. This assignment
lasted only a few months, as the unit was assigned to the
405th Fighter Wing in December 1972 and moved to
Clark Air Base, Philippines. The squadron was
redesignated the 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron on July
8, 1973, and began to fly F-4s. In September of the
following year, the 90th returned once again to the 3rd
Tactical Fighter Wing, when it relocated to Clark Air Base
after the 405th Fighter Wing was inactivated. In 1975, the
90th converted to the F-4E and participated in combat
training and providing air defense for the Philippines.

13. 90th FS Plane of the Cold War
F-4E

14. 90th FS Finding Home
In June 1991, Mount Pinatubo erupted in the
Philippines and the Air Force quickly decided to
evacuate its personnel and equipment from Clark AB.
The
3rd Tactical Fighter Wing remained in the Philippines
during Desert Shield and Desert Storm due to
instability in the Philippines. However, it was not going
to remain in the islands for very long. It became a
'paper' unit briefly while the Chief of Staff, Gen. Merrill
McPeak, decided where to send the wing. He decided
on Elmendorf AFB. The 21st Tactical Fighter Wing was
inactivated and the 3rd Wing replaced it as the lead
wing at Elmendorf AFB on Dec. 19, 1991. With the
establishment of the 3rd Wing on Elmendorf, the 90th
Fighter Squadron was once again reunited with its old
wing

15. Missions of the 90th FS
In addition to exercises, the 90th Fighter
Squadron also undertook real-world
deployments during the 1990s and early
2000s. From October 1995 until January
1996, the squadron deployed 8 F-15Es and
193 personnel to Aviano AB, Italy in
support of Operation DENY FLIGHT
JOINT ENDEAVOR. In February 1998, the
squadron deployed 18 F-15Es and over 200
personnel to Kwangju Air Base and Taegu
Air Base, both in Korea. While there, the
unit flew 1200 joint combat training sorties.
Personnel and aircraft redeployed in June
1998.

16. Missions of the 90th FS
In 2001 the 90th began a series of deployments which took
members of the squadron to the Middle East and
Southwest Asia. In March of that year, the 90th participated
in a 90-day AEF deployment in support of Operation
NORTHERN WATCH, patrolling the northern No-fly zone
in Iraq. The squadron sent 154 personnel and 10 F-15Es to
Icirlik AB, Turkey and returned to Elmendorf AFB on 9
June 2001. Later that year, in October, 18 F-15Es were
deployed to Kwangju AB, Korea, in support of Afghanistan
operations. While deployed pilots flew practice strike
missions and provided long-range interdiction strike
capability in the region during the absence of the USS Kitty
Hawk, they also flew missions over South Korea and
repaired base infrastructure while there. The squadron
redeployed from the 20-23 of December

17. 90th FS F-15E Strike Eagles

18. New Day = New 90th FS
As 2006 progressed, the 90th Fighter
Squadron began to prepare for significant
changes in its mission and weapons
system. The F-15Es were scheduled to
relocate to Mountain Home AFB, Idaho,
through the BRAC decisions in 2005.
Replacing those F-15Es, the 90th began
receiving the advanced F-22A Raptor in
August 2007, which would greatly enhance
the 90th Fighter Squadron's ability to
perform its duties.

19. 90th FS New Weapon of Choice