78th Fighter-Interceptor Wing
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The 78th Air Base Wing is a
wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...
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 ...
stationed at
Robins Air Force Base Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force installation located in Houston County, Georgia, Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of the city of Warner Robins, Georgia, Warner Robins, south-southea ...
, Georgia. The 78th acts as the host unit at Robins. The wing was first activated as the 78th Fighter Wing in September 1948 as part of the wing base reorganization. It performed
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 ...
duties on the Pacific Coast until 1952, when it was inactivated in a general reorganization of
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 ...
. The wing was again activated in 1956 and continued the air defense mission until 1969. In 1972,
Air Training Command The Air Training Command (ATC) is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command designation. It was headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, but was initially formed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It was re-designated ...
replaced its MAJCON 3560th Pilot Training Wing at
Webb Air Force Base Webb Air Force Base , previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in West Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring. Webb AFB was a maj ...
with the unit, then designated the 78th Flying Training Wing. The wing continued to train pilots at Webb until 1977, when Webb was closed.


Units

* 78th Civil Engineer Group * 78th Mission Support Group :: 78th Logistics Readiness Squadron :: 78th Force Support Squadron :: 78th Security Forces Squadron * 78th Medical Group * 78th Operations Support Squadron * 78th Contracting and Comptroller Squadron * 78th Communications Directorate


History

: ''For related history and lineage, see 78th Fighter Group''


Air Defense Command

On 24 September 1948 the 78th Fighter Wing was established at
Hamilton Air Force Base Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, California by the
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 ...
, with the 78th Fighter Group becoming a component of the wing, controlling its flying resources Redesignated the 78th Fighter-Interceptor Wing in January 1950 as part of
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 ...
. The group's squadrons (82d, 83d, 84th FIS) flew numerous interceptors for West Coast air defense. Inactivated on 6 February 1952 as part of a reorganization of ADC, its operational element was replaced by the
4702d Defense Wing The 4702nd Defense Wing (Def Wg) is a discontinued wing of the United States Air Force, last assigned to the 25th Air Division at Geiger Field, Washington. It was established in 1952 at Hamilton AFB, California in a general reorganization of Air ...
. Its support elements were replaced at Hamilton by the 566th Air Base Group the same day. This group was redesignated the 566th Air Defense Group and assumed operational responsibilities at Hamilton on 16 February 1953. On 18 August 1955, the 566th Air Defense Group was replaced by a former element of the wing, the 78th Fighter Group (Air Defense). In 1956, it was decided to elevate the operational units at Hamilton back to a Wing level, and the wing was reactivated, with its operational squadrons still controlled by the 78th Fighter Group. The group component of the wing was considered to be a redundant level of organization by the late 1950s, and the 78th FIG was inactivated on 1 February 1961, with its flying units being directly assigned to the Wing. The 78th Fighter Wing was the host unit at Hamilton until it was inactivated at the end of December 1969 and its mission, equipment were transferred to the
1st Fighter Wing The 1st Fighter Wing (1 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, VA. where it is a tenant unit, being supported by the 633d Air Base Wing. Its ...
, which transferred to Hamilton on paper from
Selfridge Air Force Base Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Un ...
, Michigan.


Air Training Command

The 78th Flying Training Wing replaced and absorbed resources of the 3560th Pilot Training Wing at
Webb Air Force Base Webb Air Force Base , previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in West Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring. Webb AFB was a maj ...
, Texas, on 1 December 1972. Squadrons were 82d, 83d, 3389th Flying Training Sqdns. The wing performed pilot training for both USAF and allied officers. In 1977 the end of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
meant a decrease in the need for Air Force pilots and Webb was closed. The 78th FTW was inactivated. In 1989 the Dutch government allowed USAF to upgrade its headquarters unit at Soesterberg AB from squadron to group status. The story goes that the USAF wanted to change the 32d into the 78th TFG but that the Dutch government didn't allow another number as not to stir up the people who were against the American presence in the Netherlands.


Robins AFB

Since its reactivation in 1994, the 78th Air Base Wing has provided host services and support for the Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center and its tenant organizations.


Lineage

* Constituted as the 78th Fighter Wing on 24 September 1948 : Activated on 16 November 1948 : Redesignated 78th Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 20 January 1950 : Inactivated on 6 February 1952 * Redesignated as 78th Fighter Wing (Air Defense) on 14 September 1956 : Activated on 18 October 1956 : Inactivated on 31 December 1969 * Redesignated 78th Flying Training Wing on 14 April 1972 : Activated on 1 December 1972 : Inactivated on 30 September 1977 * Redesignated 78th Air Base Wing on 16 September 1994 : Activated on 1 October 1994


Assignments

*
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 ...
, 16 November 1948 : Attached to
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 ...
, 10 November 1949 – 31 July 1950 *
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 ...
, 1 August 1950 – 6 February 1952 *
28th Air Division The 28th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Tactical Air Command at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It was inactivated on 29 May 1992. History Established in December 1 ...
, 18 October 1956 *
San Francisco Air Defense Sector The San Francisco Air Defense Sector (SFADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 28th Air Division, being stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California. The sector was established in February 1 ...
, 1 July 1960 *
28th Air Division The 28th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Tactical Air Command at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It was inactivated on 29 May 1992. History Established in December 1 ...
, 1 August 1963 *
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 *
27th Air Division The 27th Air Division was a United States Air Force numbered air division and the geographic Air Defense Command region controlled by the 27th AD. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command (ADC)'s Tenth Air Force, at Luke Air Force Bas ...
, 15 September 1969 *
Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswel ...
, 19 November-31 December 1969 *
Air Training Command The Air Training Command (ATC) is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command designation. It was headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, but was initially formed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It was re-designated ...
, 1 December 1972 – 30 September 1977 * Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (later Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex), 1 October 1994 1 October 2012 (attached to Air Force Sustainment Center after 17 July 2012) * Air Force Sustainment Center, 1 October 2012 – Present


Components


Groups

* 78th Fighter (later, 78th Fighter-Interceptor, 78th Fighter) Group: 16 November 1948 – 6 February 1952; 18 October 1956 – 1 February 1961 * 78th Air Base Group (later 78th Combat Support Group, 78th Air Base Group, 78th Support Group, 78th Mission Support Group): 16 November 1948 – 6 February 1952; 18 October 1956 – 31 December 1969; 1 September 1972 – 30 September 1977; 1 October 1994 – present * 78th Maintenance & Supply Group (later 78th Logistics Group): 16 November 1948 – 6 February 1952; 8 July 1957 – 1 February 1961; 1 August 1998 – 19 September 2002 * 78th Station Medical Group (later 78th Medical Group, 78th USAF Hospital, 78th Medical Group): 16 November 1948 – 6 February 1952; 18 October 1956 – 31 December 1969; 1 October 1994 – present


Squadrons

* 82d Fighter-Interceptor (later, Flying Training): 1 December 1972 – 15 June 1976 (attached 9 January 1957 – 1 July 1960) * 83d Fighter-Interceptor (later, Flying Training): 1 February 1961 – 1 July 1963; 1 December 1972 – 30 September 1977 * 84th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 1 February 1961 – 31 December 1969 * 3389th Flying Training Squadron: 1 January 1974 – 30 September 1977.


Stations

*
Hamilton Air Force Base Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, California, 16 November 1948 – 6 November 1952 *
Hamilton Air Force Base Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, California, 18 October 1956 – 31 December 1969. *
Webb Air Force Base Webb Air Force Base , previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in West Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring. Webb AFB was a maj ...
, Texas, 1 December 1972 – 30 September 1977 *
Robins Air Force Base Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force installation located in Houston County, Georgia, Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of the city of Warner Robins, Georgia, Warner Robins, south-southea ...
, Georgia, 1 October 1994–present


Aircraft operated

*
P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...
(1949–52) *
F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet is an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thunde ...
(1949–52) *
F-89 Scorpion The Northrop F-89 Scorpion is an all-weather, twin-engined interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the first jet-powered aircraft to be designed for the interceptor role f ...
(1951–52, 1956–59) *
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 ...
(1956–58) *
F-102 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 fighter op ...
(1957–60) *
F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an all ...
(1958–60) *
F-101 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 fighte ...
(1959–68) *
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 ...
(1959–60, 1968–69) *
T-37 Tweet The Cessna T-37 Tweet (designated Model 318 by Cessna) is a small, economical twin-engine jet trainer aircraft. It was flown for decades as a primary trainer of the United States Air Force (USAF) as well as in the air forces of several other nati ...
(1972–77) *
T-38 Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced. The T-38 can be tra ...
(1972–77) *
T-41 Mescalero The Cessna T-41 Mescalero is a military version of the popular Cessna 172, operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and United States Army, Army, as well as the armed forces of various other countries as a Trainer (aircraft), pilot-training ...
(1972–73)


See also

*
Aerospace Defense Command Fighter Squadrons The second iteration of Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) was established on 21 March 1946 as a component of the United States Army Air Forces, with the mission of planning for and executing the air defense of the United States. Air Defense Comman ...


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

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External links


Robins AFB Home Page
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=autocollapse Military units and formations in Georgia (U.S. state) 0078 Aerospace Defense Command units