Arizona Air National Guard Base on Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in 1960

197th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS) "Copperheads" Arizona ANG
161st FG 140th ANG Wing; Sky Harbour IAP Phoenix, AZ
July 1960 - August 15.1962 F-104A/B, A day interceptor unit
called to active duty as "Federalized" ANG squadron from 1.October 1961 until 15.August 1962 and airlifted to Ramstein AFB during November 1961, Germany
under command of the 86th Air Division of the 17th AF USAFE.
Returned to "State control" 15.August 1962; but aircraft were retained by Air Force. It disbanded on 15.August 1962. Converted to Boeing C-97G Stratofreighter

The unit's flying component, presently (2010) the 197th Air Refueling Squadron, came into being on December 12, 1946 as the 197th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS).
A re-designation of the wartime 412th Fighter Squadron which had seen combat in Europe during 1944 and '45 operating P-47Ds,
it became the first unit of the newly formed Arizona ANG the "Copperheads".
In early 1960 the Air Force selected the Copperheads as one of three ANG units to re-equip with the F-104A Starfighter and were expanded to group status,
thus becoming the 161st Fighter Group (FG) and were called to active duty once again when, in October 1961, they deployed 20 F-104s to Germany
and flew daily patrols along the recently drawn "iron curtain" from their base at Ramstein.
With world tensions easing so came another change of role for the Copperheads, trading in their jets for Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter,
the unit was re-designated the 161st Air Transport Group (ATG) with resultant squadron level change to the 197th Air Transport Squadron (ATS) on October 1.1962,
coming under control of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) command.

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