Today on 20th of February 2009 in 111 Combat Wing placed in Nea Aghialos a special ceremony was organized for the 20 years and 55.000 fligh hours of F-16 Fighting Falcon in service of the Hellenic Air Force.

During the ceremony for the 20 years in service a special anniversary painted F-16 was exhibited in  the shelter of Hellenic Air Force 330 Squadron “Thunder”. Please take a look at the following picture that was taken from Kostas Alkousis and generously given to www.airforce.gr :

A few words about Hellenic Air Force 330 Squadron “Thunder” history:

On 9th January 1989, the 330 Squadron was established at 111 Combat Wing. It operated from the facilities of the 341 Sqn, while the first pilots, who manned it, were among the six who were trained in USA, at Luke AB, Arizona. The technicians were trained in Fort Worth, TX, at GENERAL DYNAMICS, the manufacturer of the F-16 aircraft.

In the first year of the Squadron’s operation more than 2500 flight hours were accomplished. The training of the pilots was conducted by the six pilots who were trained in the United States of America, with the help of two American pilots. All ground personnel was trained in the Squadron.