31st Fighter Wing
31st Fighter Wing | |
---|---|
United States Air Forces Europe | |
Garrison/HQ | Aviano Air Base |
Motto(s) | Return With Honor |
Engagements |
|
Decorations |
The 31st Fighter Wing (31 FW) is a
The 31st Fighter Wing is the only United States fighter wing south of the Alps. This strategic location makes the wing important for operations in NATO's southern region.[1] The 31st FW maintains two F-16 fighter squadrons, the 555th Fighter Squadron[2] and the 510th Fighter Squadron,[3] allowing the wing to conduct offense and defensive combat air operations.
The 31st Fighter Wing first activated in 1947, but it traces its heritage to its
The wing traces its lineage to its activation on 20 November 1947, first designated as the 31st Fighter Wing, and stationed at Turner Airfield, Georgia. Since then, the wing has been stationed at George Air Force Base, California and Homestead Air Force Base, Florida, until finally coming to Aviano Air Base, Italy in April 1994.[4] The 31st Fighter Wing has acted as a key player in several significant engagements and operations during its long history, including several operations in Vietnam, the Balkans and Operation Odyssey Dawn.
In peacetime, the 31st FW prepares for its combat role by maintaining aircraft and personnel in a high state of readiness.[1]
The commander of the 31st Fighter Wing is
Mission
The 31st Fighter Wing is made up of four groups, each consisting of several squadrons.
The 31st Operations Group ensures the combat readiness of two F-16CG squadrons, one HH-60G rescue squadron, one air control squadron, and one operational support squadron conducting and supporting worldwide air operations. The group prepares fighter pilots, controllers, and support personnel to execute US and
The 31st Maintenance Group provides peacetime and combat maintenance and munitions control, and executive support for the 31st Fighter Wing, geographically separated units under the command and control of the wing, and units gained during advanced stages of readiness. The group also responds to humanitarian and contingency logistics support requirements as directed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff through Headquarters
The 31st Mission Support Group's goal is to provide infrastructure and service to support a premiere combat capability and quality of life to the 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano community and multiple geographically separated units.[9]
The 31st Medical Group supports the readiness of 31st Fighter Wing and associated units throughout the
Component units
Unless otherwise indicated, units are based at Aviano Air Base, Italy.[11][12][13][14]
31st Operations Group
31st Maintenance Group
|
31st Mission Support Group
31st Medical Group
|
Aircraft
The 31st Fighter Wing currently has two operational squadrons, the 555th and 510th Fighter Squadrons flying the F-16CG/DG. Both use the tail code "AV" for AViano. Each F-16 has a tail markings in the squadron colors Green with the words "Triple Nickel" in white for the 555th FS and Purple with the words "Buzzards" in white for the 510th FS. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact, multi-role fighter aircraft.[17] It is highly maneuverable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. It provides a relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system for the United States and allied nations.[18]
Throughout the wing's history, the 31st Fighter Wing and its predecessor group have flown several aircraft, including P-35, P-39, P-40 and P-51 aircraft in World War II, F-80 aircraft for a short period from 1946 to 1947, and then P-80s, F-51s and F-84s after World War II. The wing began flying F-100s before the Cuban Missile Crisis and flew that aircraft into the Vietnam War. After the U.S. force reduction in Vietnam, the wing switched to F-4s. In 1970 and 1980, the wing upgraded all F-4Es to F-4Ds and began training all F-4 aircrews. In 1985, the wing received its next aircraft, the F-16 and resumed an air defense mission.[19]
History
World War II
The 31st Pursuit Group, the predecessor unit of the wing's 31st Operations Group, was activated at
In June 1942, the 31st Pursuit Group was transferred to England without planes and began training in British
On 14 October 1942, the group was declared non-operational on prior to boarding ships bound for its next assignment.
That next assignment included participating in the invasion force that landed in North Africa on 8 November 1942, becoming the first American Air Force unit to see combat in theater.
One of the highlights of the group's time in North Africa was the selection of the 308th Fighter Squadron to provide combat air patrols for the arrival of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the Casablanca conference in Morocco.[21]
As the
In March 1944 the group exchanged their Spitfires for the new North American P-51 Mustangs. This brought about an immediate mission change as the Mustangs enjoyed a much longer range and were tasked to escort heavy bombers on long range missions into Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, France and Northern Italy. During one of their first missions over Ploesti, Romania on 21 April 1944, the group earned their first Distinguished Unit Citation for covering the raids despite severe weather and as many as 50 enemy fighters defending the area. They received their second Distinguished Unit Citation in July 1944 following a mission to escort P-38s on a raid from Ukraine into Romania and Poland. By the time they had returned to Italy, they had destroyed 37 enemy aircraft, including 21 enemy fighter bombers on their way to attack Russian ground forces with no losses of their own.
The 31st remained active through the end of the war, not only flying bomber escort, but also photo reconnaissance and troop carrier escort and took part in
Post World War II
Following the war, the 31st Fighter Group, as it was now called, activated at
Two months later in November, the 31st Fighter Wing was organized as part of the test by the Air Force of the
In August 1951 the 31st Wing became the first unit to receive the upgraded F-84G model of the Thunderjet. In addition to engine, armament and avionics updates, the F-84G was the first fighter designed for
Operation Fox Peter One
The wing pioneered the development of in flight refueling tactics. On 6 July 1952 the wing executed Operation Fox Peter One, the mass movement of the entire wing from Turner Field to
The sheer magnitude of this accomplishment was sufficient to name the 31st Fighter Escort Wing as the recipient of the first-ever
During 1953, the wing, then known as the 31st Strategic Fighter Wing, deployed to Japan and Alaska to provide air defense in the northern Pacific.
On 15 March 1959, the wing moved without people or equipment to
Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam War
During the
On 8 February 1964, the 308th Fighter Squadron flew a non-stop mission from Homestead to
In June 1965, the wing deployed the 307th Tactical Fighter Squadron to
The 31st wing arrived at Tuy Hoa, and was assigned to the 7th Air Force, on Christmas Day 1966. The wing provided
1971–1990
The wing assumed a dual-role function with the primary mission of air defense of southern Florida and the secondary as a replacement training unit. Two of the wing's fighter squadrons, the 307th and 309th, were designated to perform pilot replacement training. From April to August 1972, the 308th deployed to
On 15 October 1972, Captains James L. Hendrickson and Gary M. Rubus
In 1979 and 1980, the wing transferred its F-4Es to Air National Guard units and the Egyptian Air Force, and began operating F-4Ds.[19]
On 30 March 1981, the wing assumed a larger responsibility for training all F-4 aircrews. Training became the wing's primary mission until 1985 when the wing received its next aircraft, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and resumed an air defense and air interdiction mission. The 31st Tactical Fighter Training Wing won the 1982 Daedalian Maintenance Trophy Award for the best maintenance complex in the United States Air Force.
Hurricane Andrew and Balkan Operations
As part of the most extensive restructuring since the Air Force became a separate service, Tactical Air Command was inactivated and Air Combat Command was activated and the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing was redesignated to its current name, the 31st Fighter Wing.[4]
On 24 August 1992 Hurricane Andrew swept across southern Florida, leaving extensive damage in its wake. Every building at Homestead AFB received some damage, many buildings were destroyed.[31] The fighter squadrons evacuated most of the planes before the storm but were unable to return. In the aftermath, the Secretary of Defense recommended complete closure of the base, but in June 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended realigning the base under the Air Force Reserve Command and inactivating the 31st Fighter Wing. The squadrons were assigned to other wings and the 31st began inactivation proceedings.
To avoid losing the wing's heritage and history as the highest scoring Army Air Force unit in the Mediterranean Theater in WWII, the impressive combat record in Vietnam and number of significant firsts they produced in the early years of the Air Force, the 31st was chosen to move rather than fade into obscurity. On 1 April 1994, the 31st Fighter Wing inactivated at Homestead and subsequently activated at Aviano Air Base, Italy in place of the 401st Fighter Wing.[19]
The 31st received two new squadrons at that time, the 555th and 510th Fighter Squadrons, along with their Block-40 F-16s. The wing immediately become involved with events in
In August and September, Operation Deliberate Force began and the 31st conducted air strikes against Bosnian Serbs conducting ethnic purges among the Muslim population of the country. Peacekeeping operations continued in the Balkans through the end of 2004, when the European Union assumed responsibility for the region.[33]
In 1999, USAFE activated the 31st Air Expeditionary Wing-NOBLE ANVIL (31st AEW) at Aviano for
Operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya
In 2000, the wing began deployments in support of the Expeditionary Air Force. From March to September 2000, the 510th and 555th Fighter Squadrons conducted back-to-back deployments to Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, in support of Operation Southern Watch. While at Al Jaber, the squadrons flew more than 400 combat sorties. From June through December 2001, the fighter squadrons deployed combat search and rescue capabilities three times and helped enforce the no fly zone over Iraq.
From August to December 2002, the 510th Fighter Squadron and 603rd Air Control Squadron returned to Southwest Asia. The two squadrons supported Operation Enduring Freedom. Simultaneously, the 555th deployed personnel and aircraft to Decimomannu Air Base, Sardinia while the runway at Aviano closed for repairs.
The wing's support of
Since the beginning of combat operations in Iraq, forces from the wing have been on regular combat rotations into the region. In late 2003, the wing's 603rd Air Control Squadron became the first unit from the wing to deploy to Iraq. They also relocated their entire operation from Baghdad International Airport to Balad Air Base. Under combat conditions, the squadron transferred $73 million in equipment and more than 100 personnel with 20 convoys. On 10 April 2004, insurgents launched a mortar attack on Balad, killing Airman First Class Antoine Holt[35] and injuring two other 603rd members. Airman Holt's death constituted the 31st wing's first combat fatality since the Vietnam War.
The 31st Fighter Wing continued deploying forces in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Force, with more than one-third of the wing deploying to support operations each year from 2003 to 2007.
In 2007, the 555th FS deployed to Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea. Since arriving at Aviano, the wing has also participated in numerous training exercises with international partners, including training deployments to Latvia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, Slovenia and Poland.
In March 2011, the 31st played a major role in the United Nations' response to the crisis in Libya, known as Operation Odyssey Dawn, in enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya.[36] The wing hosted four flying units and more than 1,350 personnel during the 15-day operation, 17–31 March. It worked around the clock to launch 2,250 flying operations out of Aviano. As the operation came to an end on 31 March, so began Operation Unified Protector, with NATO taking the lead until the operation's conclusion 31 Oct of that year.[19]
In July 2015, the United States and Turkey reached agreement on Turkish support for actions against the
Lineage
- Designated as the 31st Fighter Wing on 6 November 1947
- Organized on 20 November 1947
- Discontinued on 25 August 1948
- Activated on 23 August 1948[note 1]
- Redesignated 31st Fighter-Bomber Wing on 20 January 1950
- Redesignated 31st Fighter-Escort Wing on 16 July 1950
- Redesignated 31st Strategic Fighter Wing on 20 January 1953
- Redesignated 31st Fighter-Bomber Wing on 1 April 1957
- Redesignated 31st Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 July 1958
- Redesignated 31st Tactical Training Wing on 30 March 1981
- Redesignated 31st Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 October 1985
- Redesignated 31st Fighter Wing on 1 October 1991.[4]
Assignments
|
|
Stations
- Turner Field (later Turner Air Force Base), Georgia, 20 November 1947
- George Air Force Base, California, 15 March 1959
- Homestead Air Force Base, Florida, 31 May 1962 – 6 December 1966
- Tuy Hoa Air Base, Republic of Vietnam, 16 December 1966 – 15 October 1970
- Homestead Air Force Base, Florida, 15 October 1970 – 1 April 1994
- Aviano Air Base, Italy, 1 April 1994–present[4]
Unit emblems
Gallery |
---|
|
See also
References
Notes
- ^ The 1948 discontinuance and activation reflect a replacement of a Table of Distribution headquarters by a Table of Organization headquarters for the wing and do not change the wing lineage
Citations
- ^ a b "31st Fighter Wing Fact Sheet". 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office. 23 September 2013. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "555th Fighter Squadron "Triple Nickel" Factsheet". 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office. 15 April 2009. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "510th Fighter Squadron "Buzzards" Factsheet". 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Robertson, Patsy (22 September 2008). "Factsheet 31 Fighter Wing (USAFE)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "Tad D. Clark".
- ^ "Chief Master Sergeant Jeremy L. Unterseher".
- ^ "31st Operations Group Fact Sheet". 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office. 24 April 2009. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "31st Maintenance Group Factsheet". 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "31st Mission Support Group Factsheet". 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "31st Medical Group Factsheet". 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office. 24 April 2009. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "31st Operations Group". Aviano Air Base. US Air Force. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "31st Maintenance Group". Aviano Air Base. US Air Force. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "31st Mission Support Group". Aviano Air Base. US Air Force. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "31st Medical Group". Aviano Air Base. US Air Force. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "31st Operations Group Change of Command". Aviano AB Aviation Friends Group. 9 July 2021.
- ^ Keisler IV, A1C Thomas S. "Newly activated 731st EATKS welcomes new commander". aviano.af.mil.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "F-16 Fighting Falcon Factsheet". Air Combat Command Public Affairs Office. 21 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "F-16 Fighting Falcon". Lockheed Martin. Archived from the original on 10 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Bourgeois, Lane M. (12 June 2012). "A History of the 31st Fighter Wing" (PDF). 31st Fighter Wing History Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "Air Force History Milestones". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "This Week in 31st Fighter Wing History: 308th Fighter Squadron deploys to Morocco". aviano.af.mil. 18 January 2011. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ Ravenstein, p. xxi
- ^ Knaack, p. 36
- ^ Bourgeois, Lane. "31st FW celebrates historic operation". Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ Mackay Trophy
- ^ "This Week in 31st Fighter Wing History: F-100s serve in Vietnam". aviano.af.mil. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "Military Times Hall of Valor John P. Cerak". Military Times. 22 September 2008. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "Veteran Tributes: David B. Dingee". Veteran Tributes.org. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "Biography, Colonel Gary M. Rubus". October 1998. Archived from the original on 31 March 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ the 307th replaced the 308th at Udorn
- ^ Allen, Greg (23 August 2012). "Hurricane Andrew's Legacy: 'Like A Bomb' In Florida". npr.org. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ a b Fedarko, Kevin (19 June 1995). "RESCUING SCOTT O'GRADY: ALL FOR ONE". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "Operation Deliberate Force: Ten years on". NATO. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "Factsheet Operation Allied Force". Air Force Historical Studies Office. 23 August 2012. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "Honor the Fallen" Airman 1st Class Antoine Holt". Military Times. 22 September 2008. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ UNSR 1973 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011) Archived 1 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Pellerin, Cheryl (17 August 2015). "US, Turkey finalizing details of anti-ISIL airstrikes". DoD News. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Knaack, Marcelle Size (1978). Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems. Vol. 1, Post-World War II Fighters 1945–1973. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 978-0-912799-19-3.
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
- Further reading
- Endicott, Judy G. Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995; USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1999. CD-ROM.
- Fletcher, Harry R (1993). Air Force Bases, Vol. II, Air Bases Outside the United States of America (PDF). Washington, DC: Center for Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
- Martin, Patrick (1994). Tail Code The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-0-88740-513-6.
- Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
- Rogers, Brian (2005). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-197-2.