page_title: 182d Fighter Squadron
section_title: Air Defense Command
hierarchical_section_title: 182d Fighter Squadron / History / Texas Air National Guard / Air Defense Command
caption_attribution_description: English: 182d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron - F-86L Interceptors, 1959. Identified aircraft: North American F-86D-60-NA Sabre 53-0961 (F-86L) North American F-86D-60-NA Sabre 53-0993 (F-86L) North American F-86D-60-NA Sabre 53-0667 (F-86L) North American F-86D-60-NA Sabre 53-0890 (F-86L)
context_page_description: The 182d Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Texas Air National Guard 149th Fighter Wing located at Kelly Field Annex, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. The 149th is equipped with the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon.
context_section_description: With the 182d's return from the Korean War, the squadron was re-equipped with the Very Long Range (VLR) F-51H Mustang, which had been developed to escort B-29 Superfortress bombers in the Pacific Theater from the Mariana Islands to the Japanese Home Islands. The F-51H would allow the squadron to intercept any unidentified aircraft over any part of Texas.  The squadron became part of Air Defense Command (ADC) and resumed its postwar mission of Texas air defense. On 16 January 1955, four P-51s assigned to the 182d were sold to Costa Rica and sent immediately out of country to boost that small country's air arm in fighting a five-day old rebellion. The fighters were dispatched from Kelly AFB in a fully armed state. Fernando Fournier, the undersecretary of foreign affairs for Costa Rica, said it was his understanding that the Mustangs were sold for a dollar apiece.
  It was not until August 1956 that the 182d received first-generation F-80C Shooting Star jets, replacing some of the last F-51H Mustangs in the USAF inventory.  In 1957, the squadron was selected by the Air Defense Command to man a runway alert program on full 24-hour basis – with armed jet fighters ready to "scramble" at a moment's notice. This event brought the wing into the daily combat operational program of the USAF, placing them on "the end of the runway" alongside regular USAF-Air Defense Fighter Squadrons. The obsolescent F-80 day fighters were upgraded to the all-weather/day/night F-86D Sabre Interceptor by the end of the year.  In June 1959 the squadron traded their F-86Ds for the upgraded F-86L Sabre Interceptor with uprated afterburning engines and new electronics.
  In July 1960 the unit became one of the first to transition to the F-102A Delta Dagger Mach 1.2 all-weather interceptor and began a 24-hour alert to guard the Texas Gulf coast.  The 182d enjoyed the distinction of being the first F-102 "Deuce" squadron in the Air National Guard.
  When flight operations ended at Brooks AFB in October 1960, the squadron was moved to nearby Kelly Air Force Base, beginning operations on 1 November 1960.  In August 1961, as part of an Air Defense Command re-organization, the 182d Fighter Interceptor Squadron's assignment to 136th Air Defense Wing was terminated with 136th being transferred to Tactical Air Command.  As a result, the 182d was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 149th Fighter-Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 182d Fighter Interceptor Squadron became the group's flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 149th Headquarters, 149th Material Squadron (Maintenance), 149th Combat Support Squadron, and the 149th USAF Dispensary.  The 149th was directly assigned to the Texas Air National Guard, being operationally gained by the Air Defense Command 33d Air Division.
  As with many other ANG squadrons, the 182d temporally operated two TF-102 twin-seat trainers for ANG F-102 pilots while remaining on runway alert status.  Also, the squadron operated T-33A Shooting Star jet trainers and a Convair VT-29 transport for courier duties.
caption: 182d F-86L Sabre Interceptors, 1959
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