1/72 F-16C Fighting Falcon 87-0332 100th FS 187th FW Alabama ANG 2021

The F-16 Fighting Falcon was produced by General Dynamics who became Lockheed who then merged with Martin Marietta to become Lockheed Martin. The F-16 entered service in January 1979 as a multi-role jet fighter that evolved into an all-weather multi-role aircraft capable of sustaining 9-g turns. The F-16 is relatively inexpensive to purchase and maintain so the U.S. and 25 other countries added it to their inventory. The Fighting Falcon is referred to by its pilots as the “Viper” and will remain in USAF service until 2025.

Originally activated as the Alabama ANG 160th Fighter Squadron but in 2007 it was renamed the 100th FS / 187th FW. The change was made so the State of Alabama could honor the WWII 100th FS / 332nd FG known as the “Tuskegee Airmen”. The unit was an All-African-American squadron formed to show that Blacks could actually fly fighter aircraft. They not only showed them but they excelled at it. The Tuskegee Airmen planes were hand-me-downs so the tails were painted red to cover the previous markings. So some of the 100th FS F-16s have red tails.