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343d Wing
The 343d Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Pacific Air Forces at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, where it was inactivated on 20 August 1993. The unit was formed at Eielson as the 343d Composite Wing and activated in October 1981 to replace the 5010th Combat Support Group. It operated both fighter and forward air control aircraft. In 1991, it also became the administrator for periodic Exercise Cope Thunder operations, which moved to Alaska from the Philippines after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo resulted in the evacuation of units from Clark Air Base When the wing was inactivated, it was replaced at Eielson by the 354th Fighter Wing.
The unit was first activated in September 1942 as the 343d Fighter Group, a headquarters for three fighter squadrons in Alaska that had been assigned to XI Fighter Command and flew a mix of Curtiss P-40 Warhawks and Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. It added a fourth squadron the following month and participated in the Aleutian Islands Campaign through the fall of 1943. After combat ceased in Alaska, the group continued to fly patrols and participate in the air defense of Alaska until the end of the war. The 343d inactivated in August 1946, when its personnel and equipment were transferred to the 57th Fighter Group.
The group was activated again at Duluth International Airport in August 1955 as part of Air Defense Command's Project Arrow, which replaced post-World War II air defense groups with fighter units from World War II. In 1957, a group pilot earned the Bendix Trophy, flying a Convair F-102 Delta Dagger. During the Cuban Missile Crisis the group dispersed its interceptor aircraft and placed all its planes on alert. The 343d continued to provide air defense of the north central United States until it was inactivated in August 1970.
In 1977, the 21st Composite Wing added the group, renamed the 343d Tactical Fighter Group, as the headquarters for its fighter squadrons at Elmendorf Air Force Base, while the wing's air defense units throughout Alaska were assigned to the 531st Aircraft Control and Warning Group. In 1981, the wing's air defense units were transferred to Alaskan Air Command and the 343d was inactivated when the 21st reorganized as a standard fighter wing.
The 343d Fighter Group was activated at Elmendorf Field, Alaska on 3 September 1942 and began operations immediately. Its initial squadrons, the 11th and 18th Fighter Squadrons, flying Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, were already operational at Fort Glenn Army Air Base and Big Delta Army Air Field, respectively, while the 54th Fighter Squadron and its Lockheed P-38 Lightnings were flying missions from Adak Army Air Field. All three squadrons had been assigned directly to XI Fighter Command. As soon as it was organized the 343d moved forward to Umnak Island in the Aleutians, where it joined its 11th Squadron.
In October 1942, a third P-40 squadron, the 344th Fighter Squadron, was activated at Elmendorf Field and assigned to the group. The two squadrons stationed on the mainland soon moved to the Aleutians, the 18th Squadron joined the 54th at Adak in November and the 344th deployed to Fort Randall Army Air Field in December. Although all its squadrons were operating in the Aleutians, group headquarters returned to Elmendorf in December 1942. This relocation was brief, however, and headquarters returned to the Aleutians the following March.
The group provided air defense for the Aleutian Islands. It bombed and strafed Japanese camps, antiaircraft emplacements, hangars, and radio stations on Kiska. The group escorted bombers that struck enemy airfields, harbor facilities, and shipping. It flew its last combat mission in October 1943, but carried out patrol and reconnaissance missions in the area until the end of the war.
The 343d later trained, carried mail, and served as part of the defense force for Alaska. In 1943, the 11th and 18th Fighter Squadrons began flying P-38s in addition to their P-40s, as did the 344th in 1944. It was not until 1945 that all four squadrons lost their last P-40s and the group became an all-Lightning unit. In 1945, the group and three of its squadrons were united at Shemya Army Air Base, at the end of the Aleutian chain. Early in 1945 the 54th Squadron began to fly special high-altitude missions designed to intercept Japanese fire balloons drifting toward the United States on the jet stream. These weapons were launched from the Japanese home islands into the upper atmosphere to carry incendiary charges which would be released onto the United States and Canada. The balloons' flight path crossed the Aleutians, where American planes had the first chance to shoot them down. The airfield at Alexai Point was directly in the flight path of the balloons, which passed overhead at between 30,000 to 37,000 feet (9,100–11,000 m).
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343d Wing
The 343d Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Pacific Air Forces at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, where it was inactivated on 20 August 1993. The unit was formed at Eielson as the 343d Composite Wing and activated in October 1981 to replace the 5010th Combat Support Group. It operated both fighter and forward air control aircraft. In 1991, it also became the administrator for periodic Exercise Cope Thunder operations, which moved to Alaska from the Philippines after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo resulted in the evacuation of units from Clark Air Base When the wing was inactivated, it was replaced at Eielson by the 354th Fighter Wing.
The unit was first activated in September 1942 as the 343d Fighter Group, a headquarters for three fighter squadrons in Alaska that had been assigned to XI Fighter Command and flew a mix of Curtiss P-40 Warhawks and Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. It added a fourth squadron the following month and participated in the Aleutian Islands Campaign through the fall of 1943. After combat ceased in Alaska, the group continued to fly patrols and participate in the air defense of Alaska until the end of the war. The 343d inactivated in August 1946, when its personnel and equipment were transferred to the 57th Fighter Group.
The group was activated again at Duluth International Airport in August 1955 as part of Air Defense Command's Project Arrow, which replaced post-World War II air defense groups with fighter units from World War II. In 1957, a group pilot earned the Bendix Trophy, flying a Convair F-102 Delta Dagger. During the Cuban Missile Crisis the group dispersed its interceptor aircraft and placed all its planes on alert. The 343d continued to provide air defense of the north central United States until it was inactivated in August 1970.
In 1977, the 21st Composite Wing added the group, renamed the 343d Tactical Fighter Group, as the headquarters for its fighter squadrons at Elmendorf Air Force Base, while the wing's air defense units throughout Alaska were assigned to the 531st Aircraft Control and Warning Group. In 1981, the wing's air defense units were transferred to Alaskan Air Command and the 343d was inactivated when the 21st reorganized as a standard fighter wing.
The 343d Fighter Group was activated at Elmendorf Field, Alaska on 3 September 1942 and began operations immediately. Its initial squadrons, the 11th and 18th Fighter Squadrons, flying Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, were already operational at Fort Glenn Army Air Base and Big Delta Army Air Field, respectively, while the 54th Fighter Squadron and its Lockheed P-38 Lightnings were flying missions from Adak Army Air Field. All three squadrons had been assigned directly to XI Fighter Command. As soon as it was organized the 343d moved forward to Umnak Island in the Aleutians, where it joined its 11th Squadron.
In October 1942, a third P-40 squadron, the 344th Fighter Squadron, was activated at Elmendorf Field and assigned to the group. The two squadrons stationed on the mainland soon moved to the Aleutians, the 18th Squadron joined the 54th at Adak in November and the 344th deployed to Fort Randall Army Air Field in December. Although all its squadrons were operating in the Aleutians, group headquarters returned to Elmendorf in December 1942. This relocation was brief, however, and headquarters returned to the Aleutians the following March.
The group provided air defense for the Aleutian Islands. It bombed and strafed Japanese camps, antiaircraft emplacements, hangars, and radio stations on Kiska. The group escorted bombers that struck enemy airfields, harbor facilities, and shipping. It flew its last combat mission in October 1943, but carried out patrol and reconnaissance missions in the area until the end of the war.
The 343d later trained, carried mail, and served as part of the defense force for Alaska. In 1943, the 11th and 18th Fighter Squadrons began flying P-38s in addition to their P-40s, as did the 344th in 1944. It was not until 1945 that all four squadrons lost their last P-40s and the group became an all-Lightning unit. In 1945, the group and three of its squadrons were united at Shemya Army Air Base, at the end of the Aleutian chain. Early in 1945 the 54th Squadron began to fly special high-altitude missions designed to intercept Japanese fire balloons drifting toward the United States on the jet stream. These weapons were launched from the Japanese home islands into the upper atmosphere to carry incendiary charges which would be released onto the United States and Canada. The balloons' flight path crossed the Aleutians, where American planes had the first chance to shoot them down. The airfield at Alexai Point was directly in the flight path of the balloons, which passed overhead at between 30,000 to 37,000 feet (9,100–11,000 m).
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