The unit was inactive from November 1918 until April 1933, when it became the 79th Pursuit Squadron, flying the Boeing P-12 at Barksdale Field, Louisiana.

[4] In 1943, the 79th converted to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, flying out of Northamptonshire, England, performing duties as bomber escorts and conducting fighter sweeps over Germany.

In June 1952, the squadron began to train to support NATO's Allied Forces Central Europe ground forces in conventional and nuclear roles arriving at RAF Woodbridge, England, 1 October 1952, flying first the F-84G Thunderjet and then in 1955 the swept wing F-84F Thunderstreak.

The next change came in 1970, when the squadron transitioned to the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark and moved to RAF Upper Heyford, England.

[4] Air Combat Command officials announced a stand down and reallocation of flying hours for the rest of the fiscal year 2013 due to mandatory budget cuts.

The across-the board spending cuts, called sequestration, took effect 1 March when Congress failed to agree on a deficit-reduction plan.