53rd Fighter Squadron

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53rd Fighter Squadron
Four F-16C Fighting Falcons of the squadron's associate, the 121st Fighter Squadron, at Joint Base Andrews in 2022
Active	1941–1946; 1946–1999; 2021–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Squadron
Role	Fighter
Part of	Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force 495th Fighter Group
Garrison/HQ	Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
Nickname(s)	Tigers[1]
Equipment	F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
Engagements	World War II – American Theater World War II – EAME Theater Gulf War (Southwest Asia)[2]
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Belgian Fourragère[2]
Commanders
Current commander	Lt. Col. James Wentzel[3]
Insignia
53d Fighter Squadron emblem (approved 28 October 1943)[2]
Squadron tail codes	6V (1943 – 1946) BT (1970 – 1993) SP (1994 – 1999) DC (2021 – present)

The 53rd Fighter Squadron (53 FS) is an active unit of the United States Air Force, stationed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Assigned to the 495th Fighter Group, the squadron was last activated on 10 December 2021, as an associate unit to the 113th Wing's 121st Fighter Squadron. It was previously assigned to the 52nd Operations Group and stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, from where it operated the McDonnell Douglas F-15C/D Eagle until its inactivation on 31 March 1999.