The 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron (421TFS) “Black Widows” was activated on 1 May 1943, as the 421st Night Fighter Squadron, in Orlando Army Air Base, FL. After several months of training with Douglas P-70 Havoc night fighters, the squadron was deployed to the Southwest Pacific, arriving at Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, and assumed duty with the 5th Fighter Command, 5th Air Force, in the Southwest Pacific and was inactivated in 1947. The squadron was reactivated by Tactical Air Command (TAC) in 1962 as the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron. Equipped with Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs, it deployed to Southeast Asia and engaged in combat operations over North Vietnam. It returned to the United States and was re-equipped with the McDonnell F-4D Phantom II and returned to Southeast Asia for a second and later third tour of duty in the Vietnam War. This is a reproduction patch and does not come with velcro attached.
