The 413th Flight Test Group (413 FTG) is a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

Air Force Reserve Command unit. It is stationed at

Robins Air Force Base Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force installation located in Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of the city of Warner Robins, south-southeast of Macon and approximately south-southeast o ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

as a tenant unit. The 413 FTG conducts flight tests on aircraft after the programmed depot maintenance is completed. Its history goes back to 1944 when the 413th Fighter Group flew very long range (VLR) escort missions of

Twentieth Air Force The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (20th AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. 20 AF's primary mission is Interco ...

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 F ...

bombardment groups against Japan. During the Cold War, the unit was a Strategic Air Command fighter-escort wing and later Tactical Air Command tactical fighter group in the 1950s. Today, the group's units are stationed throughout the United States to help conduct functional flight tests. The group is a partnership between the Air Force Materiel Command and the Air Force Reserve Command and is the operational supervisor of all the depot flight test units. The group manages five squadrons and two flights is made up of 140 full-time Airmen, 78 traditional reservist and nine civil servants. Once PDM is completed, members of the flight crew begin a variety of ground checks to make sure the aircraft is ready for a functional test flight. Once the aircraft is deemed airworthy, then the airplane is delivered to the home station and is configured to fly whatever mission it is assigned to fly.

Assigned units and aircraft flown

10th Flight Test Squadron The 10th Flight Test Squadron is part of the 413th Flight Test Group of Air Force Materiel Command based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It performs acceptance testing on refurbished Rockwell B-1 Lancer, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Boeing ...

(Tinker AFB, OK) B-1, B-52, E-3, KC-135, RC-135, KC-46
313th Flight Test Flight (Lackland AFB, TX) KC-135, C-17 (2001–2013)

339th Flight Test Squadron The 339th Flight Test Squadron is a United States Air Force unit based at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is part of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, with a mission to certify aircraft as worthy to return to service. The squadron ...

(Robins AFB, GA) C-5, C-130, F-15

370th Flight Test Squadron The 370th Flight Test Squadron is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 413th Flight Test Group, stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Mission The squadron is assigned to the United States Air Force Reserve and performs fl ...

(Edwards AFB, CA) C-12, KC-10, KC-135

415th Flight Test Flight The 415th Flight Test Flight is a United States Air Force reserve unit. It is assigned to the 413th Flight Test Group of Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. The squadron was first activated during W ...

(Randolph AFB, TX) T-38, T-6

514th Flight Test Squadron The 514th Flight Test Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force, which has been stationed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah since 1973, performing functional flight checks on aircraft undergoing major maintenance. The first predecessor ...

(Hill AFB, UT) A-10, F-16, F-22, F-35, C-130
413th Force Support Flight (Robins AFB, GA)
413th Aeromedical Staging Squadron (Robins AFB, GA)

History

World War II

The unit served primarily in the

Pacific Ocean theater of World War II The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

as part of

. The 413th Fighter Group's aircraft flew very long range (VLR) escort missions of

bombardment groups against Japan. Constituted as 413th Fighter Group on 5 October 1944 and activated on 15 October. Trained for very-long-range operations with P-47N Thunderbolts. Moved to the

South West Pacific Area South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the ...

, April–June 1945. The group was assigned to the

VII Fighter Command,

301st Fighter Wing The 301st Fighter Wing (301 FW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Carswell Field, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Tex ...

. Was reassigned to the

Seventh Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...

early in August 1945. Flew a few strafing missions from Saipan to the

Truk Islands Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific. It lies about northeast of New Guinea, and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, around, encloses a natural harbo ...

in May before beginning operations from

Ie Shima , previously romanized in English as Ie Shima, is an island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, lying a few kilometers off the Motobu Peninsula on Okinawa Island. The island measures in circumference and covers . As of December 2012 the island had ...

in June. Engaged in dive-bombing and strafing attacks on factories, radar stations, airfields, small ships, and other targets in Japan. Made several attacks on shipping and airfields in China during July. Flew its only escort mission on 8 August 1945 when it covered B-29's during a raid against

Yawata, Kyoto is a city located in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. the city has an estimated population of 70,433 and a population density of 2,893 persons per km². The total area is 24.35 km². The city was founded on November 1, 1977 and currently has a ...

, Japan.

Cold War

Served as a part of the air defense and occupation force for the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...

after the war. Inactivated on

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

on 15 October 1946. Activated as part of Tactical Air Command in 1954. Trained to achieve and maintain combat readiness by participation in tactical exercises, firepower demonstrations, joint training with US Army and US Marine Corps units, and tactical evaluations. Provided augmentation of

Sixteenth Air Force The Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) (16 AF) is a United States Air Force (USAF) organization responsible for information warfare, which encompasses intelligence gathering and analysis, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber warfare and ele ...

in Spain, through deployment of assigned squadrons on a rotational basis, 1958–1959.

Lineage

* Established as 413th Fighter Group, Single Engine on 5 October 1944 : Activated on 15 October 1944 : Inactivated on 15 October 1946 * Redesignated 413th Fighter-Day Group on 27 October 1954 : Activated on 11 November 1954 : Inactivated on 8 October 1957 * Consolidated (31 January 1984) with the 413th Strategic Fighter Wing, which was established on 23 March 1953. : Redesignated 413th Fighter-Day Wing on 26 September 1957 : Activated on 8 October 1957 : Redesignated 413th Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 July 1958 : Inactivated on 15 March 1959 * Redesignated 413th Flight Test Group on 18 July 2003 : Activated in the Reserve on 1 October 2003.

Assignments

* First Air Force, 15 October 1944 *

, 2 November 1944 – 15 October 1946 *

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

, 11 November 1954 : Attached to 479th Fighter-Day Wing, 11 November 1954 – 7 October 1957 *

Eighteenth Air Force Eighteenth Air Force (Air Forces Transportation) (18 AF) is the only Numbered Air Force (NAF) in Air Mobility Command (AMC) and one of the largest NAFs in the United States Air Force. 18 AF was activated on 28 March 1951, inactivated on 1 Janu ...

, 1 October 1957 * 831st Air Division, 8 October 1957 – 15 March 1959 *

Twenty-Second Air Force Twenty-Second Air Force (22 AF) is a Numbered Air Force component of Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It was activated on 1 July 1993 and is headquartered at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. In the event of mobilization, some of the Twenty ...

, 1 October 2003–present

Components

* 1st Fighter (later, 1st Fighter-Day; 1st Tactical Fighter) Squadron: 15 October 1944 – 15 October 1946; 11 November 1954 – 15 March 1959 (detached 27 June – c. 12 November 1958) *

: 1 October 2003–present * 21st Fighter (later, 21st Fighter-Day; 21st Tactical Fighter) Squadron: 15 October 1944 – 15 October 1946; 11 November 1954 – 15 March 1959 (detached 14–15 March 1959) * 34th Fighter (later 34th Fighter-Day; 34th Tactical Fighter) Squadron: 15 October 1944 – 15 October 1946; 11 November 1954 – 15 March 1959 *

: 1 October 2003–present *

: 1 October 2003–present * 474th Fighter-Day Squadron (later, 474th Tactical Fighter Squadron): 8 October 1957 – 15 March 1959 (detached 11 November 1958 – 15 March 1959) *

: 1 October 2003–present * 413th Aeromedical Staging Squadron Flights * 313th Flight Test Flight: 1 October 2003 – 2013 * 415th Flight Test Flight: 1 October 2003–present * 420th Flight Test Flight: 1 October 2003 – 1 September 2007 * 413th Force Support Flight:

Stations

* Seymour-Johnson Field, NC 15 October 1944 * Bluethenthal Field, NC November 1944 – 6 April 1945 *

Ie Shima Airfield is a training facility, managed by the United States Marine Corps and a former World War II airfield complex on Ie Shima, an island located off the northwest coast of Okinawa Island in the East China Sea. The airfield as such was inactivated ...

, 19 May 1945 * Kadena Field, Okinawa 10 November 1945 *

Yontan Airfield Yontan Airfield (also known as Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield) is a former military airfield located near Yomitan Village on the west coast of Okinawa. It was closed in July 1996 and turned over to the Japanese government in December 2006. Today it i ...

, 29 January – October 1946 *

George Air Force Base George Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, 8 miles northwest, of central Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. Established by the United States Army Air C ...

, California, 11 November 1954 – 15 March 1959 *

, 1 October 2003–present

Aircraft Assigned

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bom ...

1944–1946 *

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

, 1954–1956 * F-100 Super Sabre, 1955–1959

References

* * * *
Robins AFB press release about 413th Flight Test Group

External links

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