The 63d Fighter Wing (63 FW) is a disbanded unit of 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 ...

, last stationed at

Ellington Field Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegi ...

, Houston, Texas. It was withdrawn from the

Texas Air National Guard The Texas Air National Guard (TX ANG) is the aerial militia of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and part of the Texas National Guard, alongside the Texas Army National Guard. No element of the Texas Air Nati ...

(TX ANG) and inactivated on October 11, 1950. This wing is not related to the 63d Troop Carrier Wing, Medium, or subsequent units that was constituted on May 10,1949 and activated on June 27,1949.

History

The wing was first organized as a command and control organization for

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

during

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 ...

. It was deployed to Algeria in January 1943, and initially used to organize air defense units. It was transferred to

XII Fighter Command Twelve or 12 may refer to: * 12 (number) * December, the twelfth and final month of the year * Dozen, a group of twelve. Years * 12 BC * AD 12 * 1912 * 2012 Film * ''Twelve'' (2010 film), based on the 2002 novel * ''12'' (2007 film), by Russia ...

and controlled fighter groups engaged in escort, patrol, strafing, and reconnaissance missions against enemy forces in North Africa. Later moved to Italy and a participant in the Italian Campaign, the Rhone Valley Campaign in Southern France, and finally the Western Allied Invasion of Germany in the spring of 1945. The 63d Fighter Wing was finally inactivated in November 1945. The wing was allocated to the

for command and control origination for units in the South Central region (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana) of the United States. It was extended federal recognition and activated on May 24,1946. In October 1950, the Air National Guard converted to the wing-base (

Hobson Plan The Hobson Plan was an organizational structure established by the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1948, following experimental organization in 1947. Known as the "Wing-Base Organization," it replaced the organization used by the United States A ...

) organization. As a result, the wing was withdrawn from the Texas ANG and was inactivated on October 31,1950. Its assigned units were federalized as a result of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and assigned to USAF Major Commands.

Lineage, assignments, and components

* Constituted as 2d Air Defense Wing on 12 December 1942 and activated the same day. : Re-designated 63d Fighter Wing in July 1943 : Inactivated on 11 December 1945. * Allotted to the Texas ANG on 24 May 1946 : Extended federal recognition and activated on 23 May 1948 : Inactivated, and returned to the control of the Department of the Air Force, on 31 October 1950 * Disbanded on 15 June 1983

Assignments

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 ...

, 12 December 1942 * XXII Tactical Air Command, 27 January 1943 *

XII Tactical Air Command The XII Tactical Air Command was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe at Bad Kissingen, Germany, where it was inactivated on 10 November 1947. History The 12th Gr ...

, 7 April 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 ...

, December 1945. *

, 23 May 1949 – 31 October 1950

Components

World War II

52d Fighter Group 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

: 16 November 1943 – 1 May 1944 *

350th Fighter Group The 350th Fighter Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Force formed in 1942 and inactivated in 1945. The fighter group consisted of 345th, 346th and 347th Fighter Squadron. The group was formed in England in 1942 flying B ...

: 6 January 1943 – 14 July 1945

Texas Air National Guard

* 136th Fighter Group, 23 May 1948 – 10 October 1950 * 137th Fighter Group, 23 May 1948 – 26 October 1950 (Oklahoma ANG) * 122d Bombardment Group (Light), 23 May 1948 – 30 October 1950 (Louisiana ANG)

Stations

Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People and fictional characters *Mitchell (surname), including lists of both people and fictional characters *Mitchell (given name), lists of people and fictional characters Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Ca ...

, New York, 12 December 1942 – 13 January 1943 *

Oran Es Sénia Airport Ahmed Ben Bella Airport (), formally Es-Sénia Airport is an airport located 4.7 nm (8.7 km) south of Oran (near Es Sénia), in Algeria. History During World War II, La Sénia Airport was used by the French Air Force as a military airfie ...

, Algeria, 27 January 1943 *

Maison Blanche Airport Houari Boumediene International Airport () , also known as Algiers Airport or Algiers International Airport, is the main international airport serving Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It is located east southeast of the city. The airport is n ...

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, Algeria, c. May 1943 *

Rerhaia Airfield Rerhaia Airfield was a World War II military airfield in Algeria, located approximately 3 km northwest of Boudouaou, about 32 km east-southeast of Algiers. It was used by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force 350th Fight ...

, Algeria, 8 August 1943 *

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

, Corsica, c. October 1943 *

San Pietro a Patierno San Pietro a Patierno is a suburb of Naples, the chief city in Campania, Italy. Geography It is one of the largest suburbs of Naples and is relatively lightly populated compared to surrounding areas, with around 20,000 residents. The district ...

(Naples),

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, c. 15 October 1944 *

Vittel Vittel (; archaic ) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mineral water is bottled and sold here by Nestlé Waters France, under the '' Vittel'' brand. A series of negotiations involving Nestlé, local agr ...

, France, 22 November 1944 *

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, Germany, c. 7 April 1945 *

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; 'Swabian Hall'; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the N ...

, Germany, 14 June 1945 *

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

, Germany, 17 July 1945 – unknown *

Camp Kilmer Camp Kilmer is a former United States Army camp in Central New Jersey that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Tra ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, December – 11 December 1945. *

, Texas, 23 May 1949 – 31 October 1950

References

* Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . {{Navboxes , list = {{USAAF 12th Air Force World War II 0063 063 Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1950