414th Fighter Group

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414th Fighter Group
F-15E Strike Eagle

The 414th Fighter Group is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 944th Fighter Wing of Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.

The

Thirteenth Air Force
until its planes were transferred to another group and it was inactivated in September 1946.

The 414th was activated again in the summer of 1955 at

Air Defense Command radar stations nearby. It flew various interceptor aircraft
at Oxnard through 1969 when it was inactivated in a reduction of manned interceptors as the United States faced a reduced threat from Soviet bombers.

The group was activated in its current role as an associate unit in 2010, flying and maintaining the same aircraft as the regular Air Force 4th Fighter Wing.

Overview

The 414th Fighter Group was activated as an

group is an associate unit of the 4th Fighter Wing of Air Combat Command (ACC) and if mobilized the wing is gained by ACC. The role of the new group is to help Seymour Johnson Air Force Base produce more qualified McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle aircrew and provide skilled maintainers to assist in the maintenance of the F-15E aircraft.[1]

History

World War II

The 414th Fighter Group as activated on 15 October 1944 at

456th Fighter Squadrons.[2][7]

3-ship formation of Very Long Range P-47N Thunderbolts

In November 1944 the group relocated to

Bluethenthal Field, North Carolina[2]
in preparation for their departure to the Pacific war zone.

An advance echelon left in May 1945 and the remainder of the group left for the Pacific on converted aircraft carriers. The first element left from the Pacific Coast in June

Harmon Field to Truk, one of the Caroline Islands,[2] beginning on 13 July[9] intending to attack Japanese planes, but found none. The group suffered its first combat loss on these missions.[4]

The portion of the group on Iwo Jima began operations with an attack against a

marshalling yards and shipping.[2] A raid on Okazaki was diverted due to visibility and the secondary target, Nagoya Airfield, had no planes, so the group's fighters strafed buildings on the field.[4]

North Field he landed at a small Navy airstrip on the island's coast because of his lack of fuel.[4]

On 12 August 1945, the portion of the group at Guam attempted to join the rest of the unit on Iwo Jima, but severe weather forced them to divert to Tinian and Saipan. Two pilots, Roy Abbott, and George W. Caka, were lost on this flight due to the weather. On 16 August, they again departed from Guam, where they had re-gathered, and flew the 720 miles to Iwo.[4] No attack missions to Japan were flown by the group after 14 August.[10] In total, the group flew five missions to Japan from Iwo Jima.[4]

The group's final mission was in a show of force on 30 August 1945, three days before

V-J Day. Their fighters and B-29s flew over Tokyo as the instrument of surrender was being finalized by General Douglas MacArthur on USS Missouri.[4]

The group was reassigned to

18th Fighter Group.[4] The 414th was inactivated at the end of September.[2]

Air Defense Command

437th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron F-89H, AF Ser. No. 54–0310 in 1956
437th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron F-101B, AF Ser. No. 57-0434 in 1967

The 414th Fighter Group (Air Defense) was activated in 1955 at

McGhee-Tyson Airport, Tennessee.[13]

The 414th became the USAF host organization for Oxnard and was assigned several support organizations to carry out this mission.

Air Defense Command Air Force Stations (radar sites) in the vicinity of Oxnard.[19] The group mission was "to provide [the] southern California area with combat ready aircraft and crews to repel an enemy force attempting to strike against the United States."[20]

By April 1956, the group traded in its F-94s for

Northrop F-89D Scorpions.[21] Like the F-94 it replaced, the F-89D was armed with Mighty Mouse rockets. Within a month, the squadron began to receive F-89H aircraft alongside its D models.[21] The H model was capable of carrying AIM-4 Falcon guided missiles in addition to its unguided rockets. In the spring of 1958 the squadron converted to the most recent Scorpion, the F-89J,[21] which was capable of carrying the nuclear capable AIR-2 Genie
as its armament.

460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Convair F-106A refueling from a KC-135 September 1968

In December 1957, the

59th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, a Convair F-102 Delta Dagger unit.[26]

Air Force Reserve

The 414th was activated in 2010[3] as an associate fighter group with the 4th Fighter Wing of Air Combat Command, once again at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina, where it had first been activated in 1944. This time its mission was to train aircrew and assist in maintaining the F-15E.[1] It was assigned the 307th Fighter Squadron and the 414th Maintenance Squadron to carry out this mission.[3]

Lineage

  • Constituted as 414th Fighter Group, Single Engine on 5 October 1944
Activated on 15 October 1944
Inactivated on 30 September 1946
  • Redesignated 414th Fighter Group (Air Defense) on 20 June 1955
Activated on 18 August 1955
Inactivated on 31 December 1969
  • Redesignated 414th Tactical Fighter Group on 31 July 1985 (remained inactive)
  • Redesignated 414th Fighter Group on 22 June 2010
Activated on 15 July 2010[27]

Assignments

Subordinate Units

Stations

Aircraft flown

Awards and campaigns

Award streamer Award Dates Notes
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
 1 July 1966-30 June 1968 414th Fighter Group (Air Defense)[31]
Campaign Streamer Campaign Dates Notes
Air Offensive, Japan 7 July 1945 – 2 September 1945 414th Fighter Group, Single Engine[2]
Eastern Mandates 7 July 1945 – 2 September 1945 414th Fighter Group, Single Engine[2]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Mann, Maj Shannon (31 October 2011). "414th Fighter Group is official". 916th ARW Public Affairs Office. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 298–299
  3. ^ a b c d e Robertson, Patsy (9 May 2013). "Factsheet 414 Fighter Group (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "414th Fighter Group History". 7th Fighter Command Association. 2004. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  5. ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 504–505
  6. ^ a b c Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 541–542
  7. ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 562
  8. ^ "Abstract, History 414 Fighter Group Apr–Jun 1945". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  9. ^ a b c "Abstract, History 414 Fighter Group Jul 1945". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  10. ^ "Abstract, History 414 Fighter Group Aug 1945". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  11. ^ Buss, et al., p. 6
  12. ^ a b Cornett & Johnson, p. 80
  13. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 439–440
  14. ^ a b Cornett & Johnson, p. 140
  15. ^ a b Cornett & Johnson, p. 146
  16. ^ a b "Abstract, History 414 Air Base Squadron Jan–Mar 1962". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  17. ^ a b "Abstract, History 414 USAF Infirmary Jul [sic]-Dec 1955". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  18. ^ a b "Abstract, History 414 Supply Squadron Oct–Dec 1969". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  19. ^ "Abstract, History 414 Fighter Group 1960". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  20. ^ "Abstract, History 414 Fighter Group Jan–Jun 1958". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  21. ^ a b c Cornett & Johnson, p. 128
  22. ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 248–249
  23. ^ Cornett & Johnson, p. 118
  24. ^ "Abstract, History 414 Fighter Group Jul–Dec 1968". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  25. ^ "Abstract, Oxnard Air Force Base CA Closure". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  26. ^ Cornett & Johnson, p. 117
  27. ^ a b c d e f Except as noted, lineage, including assignments, stations, components, and aircraft are from Robertson, AFHRA Factsheet.
  28. ^ Kane, Robert B. (23 September 2010). "Factsheet 301 Fighter Wing (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  29. ^ "Abstract, History 414 USAF Dispensary Jan–Jun 1967". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  30. ^ "Abstract, History 414 Combat Support Squadron Apr–Jun 1965". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  31. ^ AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits Archived 4 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC, 15 June 1971, p. 372

Bibliography

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

Further reading

External links
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