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479th Tactical Training Wing
The 479th Tactical Training Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Tactical Training, Holloman, stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. It was inactivated on 26 July 1991.
Upon inactivation, all personnel, equipment and aircraft were transferred to the 479th Fighter Group.
On 1 December 1952 the unit was established as the 479th Fighter-Bomber Wing at George AFB, California, replacing the Federalized Missouri Air National Guard's 131st Fighter-Bomber Wing, which had been brought to active duty during the Korean War.
The 479th FBW inherited the F-51D Mustangs of the ANG unit as well as becoming the host wing of George AFB for almost the next 20 years. Its operational squadrons were the 434th, 435th, 436th, and the wing squadrons participated in numerous exercises, augmented air defenses of the West Coast, and deployed overseas to support both USAFE during periods of tension in Western Europe; to Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis and to PACAF during the Vietnam War.
Initially, the new wing maintained tactical proficiency with the World War II–era F-51Ds inherited from the Air National Guard, then in February 1953 upgrading to the North American F-86H Sabre jet aircraft. The wing was chosen to be the first USAF wing to be equipped with the North American F-100A Super Sabre, receiving its first aircraft in November 1953. The 479th became operationally ready with the F-100A on 29 September 1954.
However, the F-100A had been rushed into service with unseemly haste, often over the objections of Air Force flight crews who found the Super Sabre had serious problems that were not being adequately addressed. Disaster struck on 12 October 1954. On that day, veteran test pilot George Welch was carrying out a maximum performance test dive followed by a high-G pullout with the ninth production F-100A (52-5764) when his aircraft disintegrated in midair. Deficiencies were found with the design of the airplane and modifications were made. The F-100A's performance was considered good but there were still some major operational deficiencies which prevented the F-100A from being an acceptably-good day fighter. Consequently, the F-100A was never very popular with its flight crews.
With the F-100A considered to not meet the requirements of an effective air superiority fighter, its service life in the USAF phased out of active inventory, beginning in 1958. Beginning in October 1958, the 479th was re-equipped with a new aircraft: the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. The Starfighter was primarily intended for a nuclear strike, but Tactical Air Command wanted to use it to carry out ground attack missions with conventional weapons.
However the range, endurance, all-weather capability, and offensive capability of the F-104 made it ill-suited to USAF ground attack needs. Out of a total of 722 Starfighters originally ordered for the USAF, only 296 were actually delivered, the remainder being canceled. However the modifications made to the F-104G led to a large number of foreign sales, with the Starfighter metamorphosing from a mediocre air-superiority day fighter into a highly capable multirole all-weather strike fighter. The excellent flying weather in Southern California gave the 479th a new mission to train F-104 pilots from West Germany, Canada, the Netherlands and Italy during January 1962 – August 1963 as a result of these foreign-sale success of the G-model Starfighter.
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479th Tactical Training Wing
The 479th Tactical Training Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Tactical Training, Holloman, stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. It was inactivated on 26 July 1991.
Upon inactivation, all personnel, equipment and aircraft were transferred to the 479th Fighter Group.
On 1 December 1952 the unit was established as the 479th Fighter-Bomber Wing at George AFB, California, replacing the Federalized Missouri Air National Guard's 131st Fighter-Bomber Wing, which had been brought to active duty during the Korean War.
The 479th FBW inherited the F-51D Mustangs of the ANG unit as well as becoming the host wing of George AFB for almost the next 20 years. Its operational squadrons were the 434th, 435th, 436th, and the wing squadrons participated in numerous exercises, augmented air defenses of the West Coast, and deployed overseas to support both USAFE during periods of tension in Western Europe; to Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis and to PACAF during the Vietnam War.
Initially, the new wing maintained tactical proficiency with the World War II–era F-51Ds inherited from the Air National Guard, then in February 1953 upgrading to the North American F-86H Sabre jet aircraft. The wing was chosen to be the first USAF wing to be equipped with the North American F-100A Super Sabre, receiving its first aircraft in November 1953. The 479th became operationally ready with the F-100A on 29 September 1954.
However, the F-100A had been rushed into service with unseemly haste, often over the objections of Air Force flight crews who found the Super Sabre had serious problems that were not being adequately addressed. Disaster struck on 12 October 1954. On that day, veteran test pilot George Welch was carrying out a maximum performance test dive followed by a high-G pullout with the ninth production F-100A (52-5764) when his aircraft disintegrated in midair. Deficiencies were found with the design of the airplane and modifications were made. The F-100A's performance was considered good but there were still some major operational deficiencies which prevented the F-100A from being an acceptably-good day fighter. Consequently, the F-100A was never very popular with its flight crews.
With the F-100A considered to not meet the requirements of an effective air superiority fighter, its service life in the USAF phased out of active inventory, beginning in 1958. Beginning in October 1958, the 479th was re-equipped with a new aircraft: the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. The Starfighter was primarily intended for a nuclear strike, but Tactical Air Command wanted to use it to carry out ground attack missions with conventional weapons.
However the range, endurance, all-weather capability, and offensive capability of the F-104 made it ill-suited to USAF ground attack needs. Out of a total of 722 Starfighters originally ordered for the USAF, only 296 were actually delivered, the remainder being canceled. However the modifications made to the F-104G led to a large number of foreign sales, with the Starfighter metamorphosing from a mediocre air-superiority day fighter into a highly capable multirole all-weather strike fighter. The excellent flying weather in Southern California gave the 479th a new mission to train F-104 pilots from West Germany, Canada, the Netherlands and Italy during January 1962 – August 1963 as a result of these foreign-sale success of the G-model Starfighter.
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