The 33rd Fighter Wing, sometimes written 33d Fighter Wing, (33 FW) is a

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 ...

unit assigned to

Air Education and Training Command The Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine List of major commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was esta ...

's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test ...

, Florida where it is a tenant unit. The 33 FW is an AETC training unit. Its main mission is to train

and partner nation pilots and maintainers on the

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...

. When the wing was initially assigned the F-35 training mission on 1 October 2009 it was to include USN/USMC F-35C and USMC F-35B training as well as USAF F-35A and international partner training. Navy squadron VFA-101 was assigned to the wing to conduct F-35C training and USMC squadron VMFAT-501 to conduct F-35B training. In July 2014 VMFAT-501 was detached from the 33rd Fighter Wing and reassigned to Marine Aircraft Group 31 (MAG-31) at MCAS Beaufort, SC ending the USMC presence in the wing. In December 2017 the USN reactivated VFA-125 at NAS Lemoore, CA under Strike Fighter Wing Pacific Fleet to conduct F-35C training for the USN and USMC. On 1 July 2019 VFA-101 was deactivated ending the USN presence in the 33rd Fighter Wing. Prior to its assignment as a training wing, while still an operational fighter wing, following the

11 September 2001 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 ...

, the Nomads provided armed over-watch throughout

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

for

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.. ...

, securing two presidents of the United States, multiple

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

launches and other high-visibility events. The 33rd Fighter Wing closed its operations with the F-15 Eagle in September 2009 and became the

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, ...

's first F-35 Lightning II training wing on 1 October 2009.

Subordinate organizations

The wing is composed of two groups, the 33d Operations Group (OG) and 33d Maintenance Group (MXG). The 33 OG operates two flying squadron, the 58th Fighter Squadron and 60th Fighter Squadron, the 33d Operations Support Squadron as well as the 728th and 337th Air Control Squadrons. The 33 MXG commands the 33d Maintenance Operations Squadron, the 33d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, the 33d Maintenance Squadron. * 33d Operations Group ** 58th Fighter Squadron ** 60th Fighter Squadron ** 728th Air Control Squadron ** 337th Air Control Squadron, located at

Tyndall Air Force Base Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (3 ...

** 33d Operations Support Squadron * 33d Maintenance Group ** 33d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron ** 33d Maintenance Operations Squadron ** 33d Maintenance Squadron

History

: ''See 33rd Operations Group for related lineage and history.''

Air Defense

The

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

of the 33rd Fighter Wing became operational upon movement to Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, in mid-November 1948. The wing trained to maintain tactical proficiency and participated in exercises and aerial demonstrations from November 1948 to November 1949. It assumed an air defense mission in December 1949 and provided air defense in the northeastern United States until inactivated in February 1952, when it was inactivated and most personnel were transferred to the 4707th Air Defense Wing. Once again it provided air defense in the northeastern United States, from October 1956 to June 1957, but was non-operational from 1 July 1957 to 18 August 1957.

Tactical fighter operations

On 1 April 1965, the wing was activated at

, Florida and embarked on a program of tactical training operations to maintain proficiency. It operated a test support division, from July 1965 to December 1967, and a special test squadron, from December 1967 to April 1971, in support of tests for weapon systems, aircraft armament and munitions, and tactical procedures of the Tactical Air Warfare Center. The first

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 ...

McDonnell F-4D Phantom IIs assigned to a combat unit arrived at the 33rd at Eglin on 21 June 1966. The wing also provided F-4 replacement training from 15 December 1966 to 28 February 1967. Through deployment of combat-ready tactical components, with personnel and equipment transferred to

Pacific Air Forces The Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PAC ...

(PACAF) units upon arrival, the wing provided fresh aircraft and aircrews for the forces in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

and in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. The wing also transferred two of its combat-ready squadrons to PACAF, the

25th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 25th Fighter Squadron is part of the US Air Force's 51st Operations Group, 51st Fighter Wing, at Osan Air Base, South Korea. It operates the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft conducting close air support missions. Mission ...

in May 1968 and the 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron in April 1969. The wing's last combat-ready squadron, the 58th Tactical Fighter Squadron, deployed to Southeast Asia for combat operations from April to October 1972 and again from June to September 1973. The wing supported the 4485th Test Squadron of the Tactical Air Warfare Center in weapon systems evaluation program tests from January to December 1973, and periodically thereafter until July 1978. Aircrews ferried F-4Es to Israel in October 1973. The wing augmented intercept defense forces of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) from 1 January 1976 to 15 January 1979 and from 4 January 1982 to 5 April 1982. While awaiting delivery of McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagles, the 60th Fighter Squadron conducted F-15 mission qualifications training for the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing ( Kadena Air Base, Japan) from 15 July 1979 to 30 April 1980. The wing provided personnel and equipment to fly combat air patrols and air intercept missions for contingency operations in

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

, from October to November 1983, and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, from December 1989 to January 1990.

Recent operations

33d Tactical Fighter Wing - F-15s Desert Storm

During combat operations while deployed in

Southwest Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenia ...

from 26 August 1990 to 12 April 1991, 33 FW personnel were credited with sixteen air-to-air victories. Wing personnel and aircraft continued rotations to Saudi Arabia to protect coalition assets and to ensure that Iraq complied with treaty terms. From 1992 to 2002 the 33rd Operations Group continued to deploy aircraft and personnel to Saudi Arabia, Canada, the Caribbean, South America,

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, Italy, and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and participated in various operations. Twelve of the 19 airmen killed in the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia on 25 June 1996 were members of the 33rd Wing. The 33rd Fighter Wing divested itself of its F-15C and F-15D Eagle aircraft in 2008 and 2009 and completed the transition from

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 ...

(ACC) to Air Education and Training Command (AETC) on 1 October 2009. At the same time, it became the first American F-35 Lightning II training unit. On 13 January 2011, the 33rd Fighter Wing received four General Dynamics F-16s from the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona. The jets will help establish a "battle rhythm," as the wing stands up the first Joint Training Center for the fifth generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In July 2011, the wing received its first two F-35A Lightning II aircraft.

Lineage

* Established as the 33rd Fighter Wing on 15 October 1947 : Organized on 5 November 1947 : Redesignated 33rd Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 20 January 1950 : Inactivated on 6 February 1952 * Redesignated 33rd Fighter Wing (Air Defense) on 14 September 1956 : Activated on 18 October 1956 : Inactivated on 18 August 1957 * Redesignated 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing and activated on 9 February 1965 (not organized) : Organized on 1 April 1965 * Redesignated 33rd Fighter Wing on 1 October 1991

Assignments

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

, 5 November 1947 (attached to 509th Bombardment Wing, 17 November 1947 – 15 November 1948) * First Air Force, 1 December 1948 (attached to Eastern Air Defense Force, 10 November 1949 – 31 August 1950, 32d Air Division, 20 February 1950– ) * Eastern Air Defense Force, 1 September 1950 – 6 February 1952 (remained attached to 32d Air Division to 1 February 1952) * 26th Air Division (Defense), 18 October 1956 (attached to 4622d Air Defense Wing, 18 October 1956 – 7 January 1957) * Boston Air Defense Sector, 8 January – 18 August 1957 *

, 9 February 1965 (not organized) * 836th Air Division, 1 April 1965 * Ninth Air Force, 30 June 1971 * Nineteenth Air Force, October 2009 – present

Stations

* Roswell Army Air Field (later Walker Air Force Base), New Mexico, 5 November 1947 * Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, 16 November 1948 – 6 February 1952 * Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, 18 October 1956 – 18 August 1957 *

, Florida, 1 April 1965 – present

Components

Wing * 50th Fighter (later, 50th Fighter-Interceptor): attached 1 June 1949 – 2 June 1951 Group * 33rd Fighter Group (later 33rd Fighter-Interceptor Group, 33rd Fighter Group, 33rd Operations Group): 5 November 1947 – 6 February 1952 (detached until 15 November 1948), 18 October 1956 – 18 August 1957 (detached after 1 July 1957); 1 December 1991 – present Squadron * 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 20 June 1965 – 12 April 1969 * 16th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 20 June 1965 – 1 November 1970 (detached 27 August – 13 September 1966, 13–31 October 1967, 26 May – 9 September 1970) * 25th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 20 June 1965 – 28 May 1968 * 40th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 20 June 1965 – 15 October 1970 * 58th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 1 September 1970 – 1 December 1991 (detached 29 April – 14 October 1972, 8 June – 14 September 1973, 8–22 August 1975, 31 January – 14 February 1977; 28 August 1990 – 1 December 1991) * 59th Tactical Fighter Squadron (later 59th Fighter Squadron): 1 September 1970 – 15 April 1999 (detached 24–29 March 1974) * 60th Tactical Fighter Squadron (later 60th Fighter Squadron): 1 September 1971 – 1 January 2009 * 133rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: attached 21 July 1951 – 6 February 1952 * 786th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 1 April – 20 June 1965 * 787th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 1 April – 20 June 1965 * 788th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 1 April – 20 June 1965 * 789th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 1 April – 20 June 1965 * 4533rd Tactical Training Squadron (Test): 7 December 1967 – 12 April 1971

Aircraft

* North American F-51 Mustang (1948–1950) * Republic F-84 Thunderjet (1948–1950) * North American F-86 Sabre (1950–1952) * Lockheed F-94 Starfire (1951–1952, 1956–1957) * Republic F-47 Thunderbolt (1951–1952) * Northrop F-89 Scorpion (1956–1957) * McDonnell F-4 Phantom II (1965–1979) * McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle (1978–2009) *

(2010–present) *

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

(2011–2011)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Knaack, Marcelle Size. ''Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems, Volume 1, Post-World War Two Fighters, 1945–1973''. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1978. * * *

External links

*
33rd Fighter Wing Home Page
{{USAF Air Combat Command Military units and formations in Florida Military units and formations established in 1947 0033 Aerospace Defense Command units