The 495th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the Valkyries, is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom. Having been reactivated on 1 October 2021, it became the first overseas United States Air Force squadron to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II on 15 December 2021.
The squadron's markings on the tail of an F-35A parked at RAF Lakenheath in 2022
F-111F Aardvark 70-2391 of the 495th TFS. The ribbon on tail is for Operation El Dorado Canyon raid on Libya in April 1986.
A F-35A of the 495th FS land at RAF Lakenheath, 15 December 2021.
The 48th Fighter Wing is part of the United States Air Force's Third Air Force, assigned to Headquarters Air Command Europe and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). It is based at RAF Lakenheath, England. The 48 FW is the only F-15 wing based in Europe which hosts two F-15E Strike Eagle squadrons. The wing also hosts two F-35A Lightning II squadrons. The 48 FW was given the name "Statue of Liberty Wing" on 4 July 1954 and remains the only U.S. Air Force unit with both a name and a numerical designation.
Original emblem of the 48th FBW
Statue of Liberty emblem of the 48th FBW
43rd Air Refueling Squadron KB-29M Superfortresses refueling 48th Fighter Wing F-84G Thunderjets over the Philippines, 1953.
North American F-100D Super Sabres of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing – 1957. The aircraft in foreground, AF Ser. No. 54-2222, is the Wing Commander's aircraft. Note the blue, white and red stripes on the vertical stabilizer in the pattern of the French tricolor. 2222 was sold to Denmark in 1959 as Serial G-222. The aircraft was then sold to Turkey in 1982 as Serial WFU-1987. It was finally scrapped in 1992
