405th Air Expeditionary Wing

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "405th Air Expeditionary Wing" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

405th Air Expeditionary Wing
Emblem of the 405th Air Expeditionary Wing
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Garrison/HQ	Inactive
Mascot(s)	NOVERE ET AGGREDI – "Deploy and Attack"
Commanders
Notable commanders	James Ferguson James E. Hill William T. Hobbins Chuck Horner Chuck Yeager

The 405th Air Expeditionary Wing (405 AEW) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. It may be activated or inactivated at any time.

Currently, it is believed that the 405 AEW is inactive.

History

For additional history and lineage, see 405th Air Expeditionary Group

Cold War

Tactical Air Command

Established on 1 December 1952 at

405th Fighter Group, which had fought in the ETO during World War II.

When activated the group redesignated the NJ ANG 141st, 149th and 153d Strategic Fighter Squadrons as the 509th, 510th, and 511th Fighter-Bomber Squadrons in numerical order. Initially equipped with F-47Ds and

F-47N Thunderbolts

inherited from the Air National Guard, the 405th being the last active duty USAF Thunderbolt fighter Wing.

On 1 May 1953, the F-47s were withdrawn and sent to AMARC, and the 405th was reassigned to Langley AFB, Virginia due to the programmed closing of Godman AFB on 1 September. At Langley, the 405th replaced the provisional 4430th Air Base Wing and was re-equipped with Republic

KB-29 Superfortress

tankers. Operations included gunnery and bombardment training, firepower demonstrations, weapons delivery training, and numerous tactical exercises, 1952–1958, plus air refueling, 1954–1958.

Pacific Air Forces

The wing was reassigned to

, Philippines. This was part of a general buildup of USAF tactical forces in the Southwest Pacific, as Clark in the postwar era was largely a maintenance and supply depot, and the signing of a new Status of Forces agreement with the Philippine Government with regards to Clark AB.

Re-designated as the 405th Fighter Wing, the wing provided host mission duties at Clark as well as air defense and offensive fighter operations in the Philippines, Taiwan, and other Far Eastern points, April 1959 – June 1962. Initially the transferred

interceptors in 1960.

The

.

In 1964 the 510th was reassigned back to the United States at

at England in November 1965 for a 6-month TDY and returned to England in May 1966.

Vietnam War

Beginning in 1962, the 510th Tactical Fighter Squadron began deployments to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, providing air defense training for Royal Thai Air Force personnel, as well as to try to restrain the Communist Pathet Lao which were busily overrunning most of northwestern Laos.

From mid-1962 until the end of the conflict in Southeast Asia, the wing frequently deployed assigned and attached components to bases in Southeast Asia for air defense and combat operations under operational control of other organizations. When not so involved, components trained in air defense and other tactical exercises in Taiwan and the Philippines.

B-57B light bombers

In April 1964, the situation in Indochina led to orders for the PACAF

During the summer of 1964, a war of nerves was taking place between the United States, North and South Vietnam. United States ground forces were present in South Vietnam, officially in an advisory role to the

On the night of 2 August 1964 the

However, this was technically a violation of the

Rotations were moved to

In late December 1972, the 13th Bombardment Squadron returned to the 405th from the

Forbes AFB

. The 13th Bomb Squadron remained assigned to the wing as an administrative unit until it was inactivated on 30 September 1973.

South Vietnam B-57 program

In 1964, the United States secretly agreed to supply a few B-57Bs to the

Saigon

coupled with a need to boost the sagging morale of the South Vietnamese people, led to a change of heart.

The first VNAF B-57 crews began training in secret with 405th aircraft at Clark AB later in 1964. One of the students was none other than

and flew combat missions with the 405th's 8th or 13th Bombardment Squadrons, whichever happened to be on station at the time. To gain combat experience, each new crewmember flew with an American pilot or navigator, whichever the case may be. Eventually, the VNAF crew members flew in VNAF-marked B-57s, but their combat missions always remained strictly under USAF operational control.

The South Vietnamese government felt at this stage that the VNAF B-57 program should be given some more visibility, and to celebrate Vietnamese Armed Forces Day, on 29 October 1965, five B-57s from the 8th Bombardment Squadron, then based at Da Nang AB, were repainted with VNAF insignia and carried out an air strike against a suspected Viet Cong stronghold and landed Tan Son Nhut Air Base. After landing, the planes took off again and joined other VNAF aircraft in a formation flyover of Saigon. Although manned solely by American crews, this attack was heralded as the introduction of VNAF B-57s into combat.

However, Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots had severe difficulties operating the B-57. Vietnamese crews suddenly began to complain of various illnesses, which grounded many trainees and brought their training to a standstill. In addition, on 8 January 1966 a B-57 was destroyed in a training accident, further lowering morale. Some Vietnamese crews flatly stated that they could not physically perform the maneuvers required in the B-57. To make matters even worse, Major Nguyen Ngoc Bien, the leader of the VNAF B-57 program, was killed in a freak ground accident on 23 February 1966 at Da Nang. The death of Major Bien, who was well-liked and well-respected by both Vietnamese and Americans, resulted in a complete loss of any incentive for the Vietnamese crewmen to stay with the B-57, and from this point on there was very little Vietnamese activity in the B-57 program. On 20 April 1967, the VNAF B-57 operation was formally terminated.

F-102 interceptors

Flights of F-102 interceptors from the 509th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron began to deploy to

campfires. The F-102s soon switched to a day role, firing the 12 unguided FFAR rockets from the missile bays, using the optical sight. 618-day sorties were flown, the last one being flown at the end of 1965.

The

, Washington to Clark AB and assigned to the 405th on 10 June 1966 to supplement the F-102 mission in Southeast Asia as well as provide air defense for the Philippines. F-102s stood rotational alert at TDYs Bien Hoa and Da Nang Air Bases in South Vietnam and at Udorn and Don Muang Air Bases in Thailand. The F-102A was finally withdrawn from Southeast Asia in December 1969 with the phaseout of the aircraft from the USAF inventory, also the clear lack of need for a dedicated air defense interceptor over South Vietnam. The F-102A established an excellent safety record during its duty in Vietnam. In almost seven years of flying air defense and a few combat air patrols for SAC B-52s, only 15 F-102As were lost.

C-130 Tactical Airlift

In July 1968, the

combat airlift support unit at Tan Son Nhut AB, South Vietnam, and also flew combat support missions within South Vietnam landing and dropping off supplies, equipment and personnel at forward locations throughout the country. It operated three squadrons of C-130s performing rotational deployments to and from Clark, bringing back wounded personnel with aeromedical airlifts, the aircraft returning to South Vietnam filled with combat supplies and equipment. This mission continued until 31 December 1971 when the wing was inactivated as part of the Vietnam drawdown. The 774th Tactical Airlift Squadron remained assigned to the 405th, providing tactical airlift within the Southwest Pacific until 15 September 1972.

Post-Vietnam era

90th TFS, 405th FW at CCK Air Base, Taiwan

, 1974

Clark AB , Philippines

The

. It remained assigned to the 405th until the wing's re-designation in September 1974.

The

F-4E Phantom IIs

also until the 405th's re-designation in September 1974.

During July–August 1972, provided extensive flood relief to Philippine areas inundated by monsoon rains. During February–March 1973, provided medical, logistical, and administrative support for former prisoners of war, on their way to the United States from

to retain the history of the senior unit after its standdown as part of the closure of Bien Hoa AB.

The 405th Fighter Wing also deployed an

. Until July 1974, The main mission is to assist Taiwan’s air defense, as well as the use of tactical nuclear weapons.

Tactical Training Wing

58th Tactical Training Wing

. The F-15As were replaced by the much more capable F-15C in January 1981 which was being delivered to front-line USAF combat squadrons.

With the upgrading to the F-15C, the lowest-hour F-15As were transferred to the 426th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron which converted from

F-4 Phantom II. The 426th provided F-15A interceptor training specifically to support the TAC Air Defense Command (ADTAC) training mission inherited from the inactivated Aerospace Defense Command

which was merged into TAC. The F-15As in front-line units were being reassigned to Air Defense duty with ADTAC.

On 19 November 1990, the 555th TFTS changed its course from air superiority combat training with the Eagle to air defense interceptor training with the F-15C when TAC began assigning F-15Cs to Air National Guard interceptor duty and phasing out the F-15A all together, the 426th being inactivated.

The 461st TFTS received first

F-15E Strike Eagle

, July 1988, and the 550th TFTS became the second F-15E Strike Eagle training squadron in March 1989.

On 1 October 1991, due to the implementation of the Objective Wing at Luke and the "One base, one wing" policy, the 405th TTW was shut down and the F-15s were reassigned back to the 58th TTW.

Twenty-first century

Reactivated as an Air Expeditionary Wing after the

War in Iraq from 2002 based at RAFO Thumrait

. Flew B-1, AWACS, KC-135, and RC-135 aircraft, and possibly others.

Lineage

• Established as 405th Fighter-Bomber Wing on 15 October 1952

Activated on 1 December 1952

Inactivated on 1 July 1958[7]

• Redesignated 405th Fighter Wing on 11 March 1959

Activated on 9 April 1959

Inactivated on 16 September 1974^[7]

• Redesignated 405th Tactical Training Wing, and activated on 29 August 1979

Inactivated 1 October 1991

• Redesignated 405th Air Expeditionary Wing and converted to provisional status in September 2001

Assignments

• Ninth Air Force, 1 December 1952
• Tactical Air Command, 16 April 1953
• Ninth Air Force, 1 July 1956
• 836th Air Division, 8 October 1957 – 1 July 1958
• Thirteenth Air Force
  , 9 April 1959
• 6th Air Division, 1 August 1968
• Thirteenth Air Force, 15 December 1969 – 16 September 1974^[7]
• Twelfth Air Force, 29 August 1979 – 1 October 1991
• Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate any time after September 2001

Attached to:

United States Central Command Air Forces (later United States Air Forces Central)

Components

• 1st Test Squadron
  : 30 April 1970 – 16 September 1974
• 8th Bombardment (later, 8th Special Operations; 8th Fighter) Squadron: 18 November 1964 – 15 January 1968
• 13th Bombardment (later, 13th Fighter) Squadron: 18 November 1964 – 15 January 1968
• 20th Operations Squadron: 31 December 1971 – 16 September 1974
• 64th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
  : 10 June 1966 – 15 December 1969
• 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron: (Attached: 5 December 1965 – 7 May 1966); 15 December 1972 – 16 September 1974^[7]
• 425th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron
  : 29 August 1979 – 30 September 1991
• 426th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron: 1 January 1981 – 29 November 1990
• 461st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron
  : 29 August 1979 – 30 September 1991
• 508th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 8 October 1957 – 1 April 1958
• 509th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
  : 8 October 1957 – 1 July 1958, 9 April 1959 – 24 July 1970
• 510th Tactical Fighter Squadron
  : 8 October 1957 – 1 July 1958, 9 April 1959 – 16 March 1964
• 511th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
  : 8 October 1957 – 1 July 1958
• 523d Tactical Fighter Squadron
  : 8 October 1957 – 1 July 1958, 20 November 1965 – 31 August 1973
• 550th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron
  : 29 August 1979 – 30 September 1991
• 555th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron
  : 29 August 1979 – 30 September 1991
• 774th Tactical Airlift Squadron
  : 31 December 1971 – 15 September 1972

Stations

• Godman AFB, Kentucky
  , 1 December 1952
• Langley AFB, Virginia
  , 16 April 1953 – 1 July 1958
• Clark AB, Philippines, 9 April 1959 – 16 September 1974^[7]
• Tainan AFB , Taiwan
  , 9 April 1959 – 31 July 1974
• Luke AFB, Arizona
  , 29 August 1979 – 1 October 1991
• Southwest Asia, 2001-TBD

Aircraft

F-15A/B/C/D Eagle , 1979–1991 F-15E Strike Eagle , 1988–1991 C-9 Nightingale , 1972–1974 C-130 Hercules , 1968–1972 B-57 Canberra , 1964–1968; 1972–1974 F-4 Phantom II , 1967–1973

F-102 Delta Dagger , 1960–1970 F-86D Sabre Interceptor , 1959–1960 F-100 Super Sabre , 1959–1967 F-47 Thunderbolt , 1952–1954 F-84F Thunderstreak , 1954–1958

References

Citations

1. ^ "Includes unit history reports for Unit 1 of the 405 Fighter Wing. (The first detachment is stationed at Tainan Air Force Base, Taiwan.)". Air Force History Index live. 1 July 1971.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Mikesh, pp. 68, 70
3. ^ Mikesh, p. 74
4. ^ Martin B-57 Canberra—The Complete Record, Robert C. Mikesh, Schiffer Military/Aviation History, 1995.
5. ^ Mikesh, pp. 90, 105
6. ^ Endicott (unpaginated)
7. ^ ^{a b c d e} Ravenstein, p. 217

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Endicott, Judy G. (1998). Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995 and USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
  ASIN B000113MB2
  . Retrieved 2 July 2014.
• Mikesh, Robert C. (1995). Martin B-57 Canberra: The Complete Record. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
  ISBN 0-88740-661-0
  .
• 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
  .