The 142nd Wing is a unit of the

Oregon Air National Guard The Oregon Air National Guard (OR ANG) is the aerial militia of the Oregon, State of Oregon, United States, United States of America. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Oregon Army National Guard an element of the O ...

and the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, stationed at

Portland Air National Guard Base Portland Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base, located at Portland International Airport, in Portland, Oregon. Overview The base is the home of the 142nd Wing, Oregon Air National Guard. The 142nd FW participates aroun ...

, Oregon. When activated for federal service, the wing falls under control of

Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...

. The 123rd Fighter Squadron assigned to the wing's 142nd Operations Group, descends from the 123rd Observation Squadron, formed on 30 July 1940. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the

United States Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

formed before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The 123rd FS acts as a part of

First Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern & Air Forces Space; 1 AF-AFNORTH & AFSPACE) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission i ...

and the

Western Air Defense Sector The Western Air Defense Sector (WADS) is a unit of the Washington Air National Guard located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Tacoma, Washington. As a state militia unit, the Western Air Defense Sector is not in the normal United States Air Force ch ...

, providing

air sovereignty An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

and homeland defense of the Western United States for

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...

on a 24/7 basis. The 125th Special Tactics Squadron (STS), which conducts a wide array of special forces operations both domestically, and internationally, is also part of the wing. According to the 125th STS mission statement, the squadron is "poised for full spectrum rapid response to all crises and contingencies at home or abroad". The 125th STS is one of only two Special Tactics Units in the Air National Guard. The inclusion of the 125th STS under the Wing led to the organization re-designating itself as the 142nd Wing in order to better articulate the varied capabilities of the organization.

Units

To carry out these missions, four groups are assigned to the 142nd Fighter Wing: * 142nd Operations Group ** 116th Air Control Squadron, Camp Rilea AFTC, Warrenton ** 142nd Security Forces Squadron ** 123rd Fighter Squadron ** 125th Special Tactics Squadron ** 123rd Weather Flight * 142nd Maintenance Group * 142nd Mission Support Group * 142nd Medical Group Portland Air National Guard Base in Portland, Oregon, is host to several tenant units as well as the Air Force Reserve

304th Rescue Squadron The 304th Rescue Squadron is an Air Force Reserve Command combat search and rescue unit located at Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon. The squadron is a geographically separated unit assigned to the 943d Rescue Group at Davis–Monthan ...

History

World War II

Formed at

Westover Field Westover may refer to: People *Al Westover (born 1954), American professional basketball player in Australia * Arthur Westover (1864–1935), Canadian sport shooter and 1908 Olympian *Charles Westover (1934–1990), better known as Del Shannon, Ame ...

, Massachusetts in August 1943, the 371st Fighter Group trained in the mid-Atlantic area, and moved to the European theater during February and March 1944, serving in combat with 9th Air Force from April 1944 to May 1945. During this time, the 371st Fighter Group began operations, using P-47 fighter aircraft over France. This involved dive-bombing, and escort missions prior to the invasion of Europe. Additionally, the 371st attacked railroads, trains, vehicles, gun emplacements, and buildings in France during the invasion on June 6, 1944. The Fighter Group also patrolled beachhead areas and continued its assaults against the enemy during the remainder of the Normandy campaign. This included participation in the aerial barrage that prepared the way for the Allied breakthrough at St. Lo on July 25, and supported the subsequent drive across northern France. P-47-44-200284-404fs-371fg

Operated in the area of northeastern France and southwestern Germany during the fall and winter of 1944–1945, attacking such targets as storage dumps, trains, rail lines,

marshalling yards A classification yard (American English, as well as the Canadian National Railway), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, and Australian English, and the former Canadian Pacific Railway) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway y ...

, buildings, factories, bridges, roads, vehicles, and strong points. Conducted operations that supported Allied ground action in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

, December 1944–January 1945. Launched a series of attacks against vehicles, factories, buildings, railroad cars, tanks, and gun emplacements during the period 15–21 March 1945, being awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for this six-day action that contributed to the defeat of the enemy in southern Germany. Continued operations until May 1945. Returned to the US, October and November 1945, and inactivated.

Oregon Air National Guard

The wartime 371st Fighter Group was re-activated and re-designated as the 142nd Fighter Group, and was allotted to the Oregon Air National Guard, on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Portland Municipal Airport, Oregon, and was extended federal recognition on 30 August 1946 by the National Guard Bureau. The 142nd Fighter Group was bestowed the history, honors, and colors of the 371st Fighter Group. The group's 123rd Fighter Squadron was equipped with

P-51D Mustang Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts. Allison-engined Mustangs NA- ...

s and was assigned to the Fourth Air Force, Air Defense Command.

Korean War activation

The group was federalized and brought to active duty on March 2, 1951. It was assigned to the

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...

Western Air Defense Force The Western Air Defense Force (WADF) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 July 1960. History WA ...

. Afterwards, it was then reassigned to the federalized Washington Air National Guard's 142nd Fighter-Interceptor Wing in April 1951, and moved to

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...

, Chicago, Illinois, by May of the same year. The organization was then re-designated as the 142nd Fighter-Interceptor Group on May 1, 1951. At O'Hare International Airport, the 142nd Fighter Group controlled the

62nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 62d Fighter Squadron is part of the United States Air Force 56th Operations Group at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. It operates the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II aircraft conducting advanced fighter training. Mission The 62d Fighter ...

flying

F-86A 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 ...

interceptors. The group was inactivated on 6 February 1952, being replaced by the

4706th Air Defense Wing The 4706th Air Defense Wing is a discontinued United States Air Force (USAF) organization. Its last assignment was with the 37th Air Division of Air Defense Command (ADC) at O'Hare International Airport (IAP), Illinois where it was discontinued in ...

Cold War

Resuming its peacetime mission of the air defense of Oregon, Air Defense Command (ADC) upgraded the groups capabilities by allocating the F-94A Starfire all-weather interceptor. With this new aircraft, the mission of the 123rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron changed from day interceptor to day and night all-weather interceptor. In 1957 the 123rd again upgraded to the improved F-89J Scorpion, and again upgraded to the supersonic

F-102A Delta Dagger The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger is an interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Convair. A member of the Century Series, the F-102 was the first operational supersonic interceptor and Delta wing, delta-wing ...

in 1966. In the summer of 1958, the 142nd implemented the ADC Runway Alert Program, in which interceptors of the 123rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron were committed to a five-minute runway alert 24/7. The runway alert continues to this day. In 1972 it received the Mach-2

F-101B Voodoo The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo is a supersonic jet fighter designed and produced by the American McDonnell Aircraft Corporation. Development of the F-101 began in the late 1940s as a long-range bomber escort (then known as a penetration figh ...

. As an example of the unit's readiness and capability, in 1976, the unit won top honors at a pair of Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) competitions, the Weapons Loading Competition and the famous William Tell Air Defense Competition. In William Tell 1976, the 142nd garnered first place in the F-101 category and Lieutenant Colonel Don Tonole and Major Brad Newell captured the overall "Top Gun" title flying the McDonnell F-101B Voodoo. After the inactivation of

Aerospace Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was establishe ...

in 1979 and the reassignment to

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Lang ...

(ADTAC), the 123rd began receiving

F-4C Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

aircraft used in the interceptor mission beginning in 1981. Success came again at William Tell 1984 when the unit placed first in the F-4 category flying the McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom II and beat many of its

F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's des ...

and

F-106 Delta Dart The Convair F-106 Delta Dart is an all-weather interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Convair. The F-106 was designed in response to the 1954 interceptor program. Envisioned as an imagined "Ultimate In ...

rivals in the overall competition. Majors Ron Moore and Bill De Jager were the overall F-4 "Top Guns" of the competition. In 1985, as part of the retirement of the F-4C from the inventory, the Oregon Air National Guard began to receive

F-15A Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's desi ...

s from active-duty units receiving the upgraded F-15C. Since the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, the 142nd has served as the principal air defense unit of the Pacific Northwest. In 1992, as part of a large USAF reorganization, both the group and squadron were re-designated yet again as the 142nd Fighter Group and the 123rd Fighter Squadron, respectively. In 1995 the group was elevated to wing status, beginning its current designation as the 142nd Fighter Wing. The wing participated in a wide variety of expeditionary and humanitarian assistance missions in the turbulent post-Cold War environment while providing air defense of the Pacific Northwest. These included major deployments to Turkey in 1998 for

Operation Northern Watch Operation Northern Watch (ONW), the successor to Operation Provide Comfort, was a Combined Task Force (CTF) charged with enforcing its own no-fly zone above the 36th parallel in Iraq. Its mission began on 1 January 1997. The coalition partn ...

and to Saudi Arabia in 2000 for

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...

. The wing deployed aircraft to Panama in 1998 in support of counter-drug missions, helping stem the flow of the drug trade by air. Wing personnel deployed on various other missions, sending medical troops to Belize, civil engineers to Macedonia, and to such places around the globe as Curaçao, Denmark, Germany, Guam, Kuwait, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Twenty-first century

On September 11, 2001, the wing was one of the first units to respond to the

9/11 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

on the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

with increased air defense to enhance security on the west coast. This led into participation in

Operation Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...

. In the 50th Year of William Tell Anniversary Competition held in 2004, the 142nd Fighter Wing was rated first in maintenance, element attack and gun categories. In 2004, unit personnel provided humanitarian aid in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the 2007 floods in Vernonia, Oregon. The wing also supported ongoing contingency operations in Southwest Asia, including

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

and

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

, such as in the 2004 deployment of medical personnel to Qatar and the 2009 deployment of Security Forces Squadron personnel to Iraq. In 2005, the early 1970s F-15A model were retired and the squadron received its current aircraft, the F-15C Eagle. The base was selected by the

2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission preliminary list was released by the United States Department of Defense on May 13, 2005. It was the fifth Base Realignment and Closure ("BRAC") proposal generated since the process was created in ...

(2005 BRAC) to close. Eleventh-hour negotiations between the political delegations from the states of Washington and Oregon saved the base from closure. Ironically the argument made by several groups to save the base was that of the NORAD mission it performed and the air cover it provided for the Pacific Northwest was essential to

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

. However, the 2005 BRAC commission recommended keeping a small detachment in place at the base in order to support NORAD but close all other operations. As part of the recommendations of the 2005 BRAC, the

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

's 939th Air Refueling Wing which was also located on the Portland Air National Guard Station was forced to terminate operations. On June 26, 2007, an

from the 142nd Fighter Wing crashed into the Pacific Ocean during a simulated

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...

. Two F-15s from the 142nd were flying with two

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...

s from

Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (abbreviated NAS JRB Fort Worth) includes Carswell Field, a military airbase located west of the central business district of Fort Worth, in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. This military a ...

performing

dissimilar air combat training Dissimilar air combat training (DACT) was introduced as a formal part of US air combat training after disappointing aerial combat exchange rates in the Vietnam War. Traditionally, pilots would undertake air combat training against similar aircr ...

. The

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

performed a search using two

HH-60 Jayhawk The Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawk is a multi-mission, twin-engine, medium-range helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft and operated by the United States Coast Guard for various missions including search and rescue, law enforcement, military readines ...

s, two

Coast Guard Cutter United States Coast Guard Cutter is the term used by the U.S. Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. They are or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accommodations aboard. They carry the ship prefix USCGC. Histo ...

s, and one

HC-130 Hercules The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue (SAR)/combat search and rescue (CSAR) version of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, with two different versions operated by two separate service ...

. The night of the crash, the pilot, Major Gregory Young's body was found 40 miles west of

Cannon Beach Cannon Beach is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Its population was 1,690 at the 2010 census. It is a popular coastal Oregon tourist destination, famous for Haystack Rock, a sea stack that juts out along the coast. In 2013, ''Na ...

, Oregon. The crash was due to unrecognized spatial disorientation, which caused the pilot to misperceive his attitude, altitude, and airspeed until his aircraft impacted the water. In August 2010, two F-15 Eagles from the 142nd Fighter Wing were dispatched to Seattle, Washington, during a visit by President Barack Obama. The aircraft were scrambled due to a civilian aircraft violating protected airspace established for the President's visit. The jets produced two sonic booms over the Seattle skyline, the civilian

Cessna 182 The Cessna 182 Skylane is an American four-seat, single-engined light airplane built by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. It has the option of adding two child seats in the baggage area. Introduced in 1956, the 182 has been produced in a ...

left restricted airspace before the jets arrived. On August 10, 2018, two F-15C's from the 142nd, both originally Massachusetts Air National Guard fighters on a "swap" to the Oregon Air National Guard, intercepted a stolen Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 turboprop over Seattle. The fighters armed with live

AIM-9 Sidewinder The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile. Entering service with the United States Navy in 1956 and the Air Force in 1964, the AIM-9 is one of the oldest, cheapest, and most successful air-to-air missiles. Its latest variants rema ...

and

AIM-120 AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) ( ) is an American Beyond-visual-range missile, beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It uses active transmit-receive radar guidance ...

missiles, intercepted and escorted the plane away from populated areas before it crashed on

Ketron Island Ketron Island () is an island and a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The island had a population of 24 people according to the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census, and 17 people at the 2010 United State ...

, near

McChord Air Force Base McChord Field (formerly and still commonly known as McChord Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord AFB is the home of the 62nd Airlift Wing, ...

. In June 2019, the 142nd Fighter Wing celebrated 30 years of flying the F-15 aircraft. Due in part to the wing's long familiarity with the aircraft, it was selected as one of the first operational wings to receive the

Boeing F-15EX Eagle II The Boeing F-15EX Eagle II is an American multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle. The aircraft resulted from U.S. United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense (DoD) stud ...

fighter aircraft. F-15EX aircraft are expected to arrive sometime in 2024, or 2025. On June 6, 2024, first F-15EX for 142nd Wing arrived in Oregon.

2020s

The unit was redesignated as the 142nd Wing as of 6 March 2020, following the addition of the 125th Special Tactics Squadron. In February 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Kate Brown activated the Oregon National Guard to help administer the COVID-19 vaccine to the public. As part of this effort, members of the 142nd Medical Group worked to administer the vaccine at the Oregon Convention Center mass vaccination site. Today the 142nd Wing supports drug interdiction, United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) air defense, as well as contingency operations such as Operation

Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...

. The wing provides mission-ready units, personnel, and equipment for: *

Air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

, guarding the skies from northern California to the Canada–US border, on 24-hour alert as part of

North American Air Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...

air superiority An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmospher ...

missions * Federal augmentation in support of

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

objectives * Response to state and local contingencies *Domestic search and rescue operations * Proactive involvement in activities that add value to the people and communities which it serves Today the wing flies the

McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's desi ...

(C and D models), providing air defense and air superiority capabilities. It has more than 1,000 officers and

enlisted ranks An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States ...

personnel.

Lineage

* Constituted as 371st Fighter Group on 25 May 1943 : Activated on 15 July 1943 : Inactivated on 10 November 1945 * Redesignated 142nd Fighter Group. Allotted to Oregon ANG on 24 May 1946 : Extended federal recognition on 30 August 1946 * Established as 142nd Fighter Wing, extended federal recognition and activated on 1 November 1950 :: 142nd Fighter Group assigned as subordinate unit : Federalized and placed on active duty, 2 March 1951 : Redesignated 142nd Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 2 March 1951 : Inactivated on 6 February 1952 * Returned to Oregon state control and activated on 1 November 1952 : Redesignated 142nd Air Defense Wing on 16 April 1956 :: Group re-designated as 142nd Fighter Group (Air Defense) : Redesignated 142nd Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 1 July 1960 :: Group re-designated as 142nd Fighter-Interceptor Group : Redesignated 142nd Fighter Wing on 16 March 1992 :: Group re-designated as 142nd Operations Group : Redesignated 142nd Wing on 6 March 2020

Assignments

I Fighter Command I Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces intermediate command responsible for command and control of the fighter operations within the First Air Force during World War II. It was initially established in June 1941 as the 1st Inter ...

, 15 July 1943 : Attached to:

Philadelphia Fighter Wing The Philadelphia Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the I Fighter Command, stationed at Philadelphia Airport, Pennsylvania, where it was inactivated on 3 April 1946. History The wing was a ...

, 30 September 1943 – 14 February 1944 *

IX Fighter Command The IX Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Erlangen, Germany, where it was inactivated on 16 November 1945. IX Fighter Command was the primary tactical fight ...

, April 1944 * 100th Fighter Wing, 1 August 1944 : Attached to:

XIX Tactical Air Command The XIX Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The unit's last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force based at Biggs Field, Texas, where it was inactivated on 31 March 1946. During World War II, the mission of the ...

, 1 August 1944 *

, 29 September 1944 * 1st Tactical Air Force (Provisional), 1 November 1944 *

, 16 February 1945 – October 1945 *

Army Service Forces The Army Service Forces was one of the three autonomous components of the United States Army during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces, created on 9 March 1942. By dividing the Army into three large comman ...

(for inactivation), 9–10 November 1945 * 60th Fighter Wing, 30 August 1946 *

, 31 October 1950 : Gained by:

Fourth Air Force The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Reserv ...

* 142nd Fighter-Interceptor Wing (WA ANG), 2 March 1951 – 6 February 1952 *

, 1 November 1952 – Present : Gained by:

: Gained by:

Portland Air Defense Sector The Portland Air Defense Sector (PADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 25th Air Division, being stationed at Adair Air Force Station, Oregon. It was inactivated on 1 July 1969. History ...

, 8 June 1958 : Gained by:

26th Air Division The 26th Air Division (26th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Tactical Air Command, assigned to First Air Force, being stationed at March Air Force Base, California. It was inactiv ...

, 1 April 1966 : Gained by:

, 15 January 1968 : Gained by: Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC), 1 October 1979 : Gained by:

, 9 December 1985 : Gained by: Northwest Air Defense Sector (NWADS), 1 July 1987 : Gained by:

(WADS), 1 October 1997–Present

Components

World War II

* 404th Fighter Squadron (9Q): 15 July 1943 – 10 November 1945 * 405th Fighter Squadron (8N): 15 July 1943 – 10 November 1945 * 406th Fighter Squadron (4W): 15 July 1943 – 10 November 1945

Air National Guard

* 141st Fighter Group (Air Defense), 16 April 1956 – 1 July 1960 * 142nd Operations Group, 11 October 1995 – Present * 142nd Tactical Fighter Training Group, 1 January 1983 – 15 March 1992 *

114th Fighter Squadron The 114th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Oregon Air National Guard 173d Fighter Wing located at Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base, Klamath Falls, Oregon. The 114th is equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle. The first predece ...

, 15 March 1992 – 1 April 1996 ( Crater Lake–Klamath Regional Airport (Kingsley Field), Oregon) * 116th Fighter (later Fighter-Interceptor) Squadron, 31 October 1950 – 10 February 1951; 1 November 1952 – 16 April 1956 * 123rd Fighter (Later Fighter-Interceptor, Fighter) Squadron, 30 August 1946 – Present

Stations

Richmond Army Air Base Richmond International Airport is a joint civil-military airport in Sandston, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community (in Henrico County). The airport is about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of downtown Richmond, the capital of the ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, 15 July 1943 * Camp Springs AAF,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, 30 September 1943 *

, 18 January – 14 February 1944 * RAF Bisterne (AAF-415), England, March 1944 * Beuzeville Airfield (A-6), France, June 1944 *

Perthes Airfield Perthes Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield, which is located near the commune of Perthes in the Champagne-Ardenne department of northern France. Located probably north of the commune, it was a United States Army Air Force ...

(A-65), France, 18 September 1944 * Dole/Tavaux Airfield (Y-7), France, 1 October 1944 *

Tantonville Airfield Tantonville Airfield is an abandoned World War II United States Army Air Forces military airfield in France, which was located in the Département de Meurthe-et-Moselle approximately north of Mirecourt and south-southeast of Neuves-Maisons. Hi ...

(Y-1), France, 20 December 1944 * Metz Airfield (Y-34), France, 15 February 1945 * Frankfurt/Eschborn Airfield (Y-74), Germany, 7 April 1945 * Furth/Industriehafen Airfield (R-30), Germany, 5 May 1945 * AAF Station Hoersching, Austria, 16 August 1945 * Strasbourg/Entzheim Airport, France, September– October 1945 *

Camp Shanks Camp Shanks was a United States Army installation in the Orangeburg, New York area. Named after Major General David C. Shanks, it was situated near the juncture of the Erie Railroad and the Hudson River. The camp was the largest U.S. Army embark ...

, New York, 9–10 November 1945 * Portland Municipal Airport, Oregon, 30 August 1946 * Geiger Field, Spokane Washington, 2 March 1951 * O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, 1 May 1951 – 6 February 1952 * Portland Municipal (Later International) Airport,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, 1 November 1952 : Designated:

, Oregon, 1991–present

Aircraft

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-bombe ...

, 1943–1945 *

F-51D Mustang Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts. Allison-engined Mustangs NA- ...

, 1946–1952 *

F-86F 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 ...

, 1952–1955 * F-94A Starfire, 1955–1957 * F-89J Scorpion, 1957–1966 *

, 1966–1971 *

, 1972–1981 *

C-131B Samaritan The Convair C-131 Samaritan is an American twin-engined military transport produced from 1954 to 1956 by Convair. It is the military version of the Convair CV-240 family of airliners.Gradidge 1997, p. 20–21. This was one of the last radial en ...

, 1972–1986 *

, 1981–1989 *

C-130A Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designe ...

, 1986–1990 * F-15A/B Eagle, 1989–2009 *

F-15C/D Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's desi ...

, 2007–Present (Planned retirement date 2025) * F-15EX Eagle II, 2025–

Decorations

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force ...

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.

External links

142nd FW home page
* {{Oregon Wings of the United States Air National Guard Military units and formations in Oregon

142 142 may refer to: * 142 (number), an integer * AD 142, a year of the Julian calendar * 142 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 142 Polana, a main-belt asteroid {{numberdis ...

Military units and formations established in 1950 Portland International Airport