508th Fighter-Escort Wing: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 13:55, 26 March 2008
| 508th Fighter-Escort Wing | |
|---|---|
| File:508few.jpg 508th Fighter-Escort Wing Patch | |
| Active | 1952-1956 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Role | Fighter |
| Part of | Strategic Air Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Turner AFB, Georgia |
The 508th Fighter-Escort Wing is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. The wing was last active in 1956 when it was stationed at Turner AFB, Georgia as part of Strategic Air Command
Overview
The Strategic Air Command was founded by men who had flown bombing raids against Germany during World War II. They usually encountered swarms of enemy fighters and knew the importance of having fighter escorts.
Advances in technology soon made fighter-escort wings obsolete. A single atomic bomb had more explosive power than all the bombs dropped during all of World War II, so only one of them could certainly destroy a target far more effectively than the large mass formations of World War II B-17s and B-24s. Thus SAC's missions were based on the use of an individual airplane, not a formation of them.
During its first postwar decade (1945-1955), SAC flew many B-29s left over from the war and later propeller-driven B-50s and B-36s. They were soon replaced by new jet bombers, the B-47 and B-52. The jet bombers flew so fast and so high that they were virtually immune from fighters. Plus the early jet F-84s and F-86s in SAC's fighter inventory couldn't keep up with them. The fighter-escort wings were no longer necessary, so they were either inactivated or assigned to other commands.
History
Lineage
- Established as 508th Fighter-Escort Wing on 19 Jun 1952.
- Activated on 1 Jul 1952.
- Redesignated 508th Strategic Fighter Wing on 20 Jan 1953.
- Inactivated on 11 May 1956.
Squadrons
- 466th Fighter Squadron 1 Jul 1952-11 May 1956 (F-84G)
- 467th Fighter Squadron 1 Jul 1952-11 May 1956 (F-84G)
- 468th Fighter Squadron 1 Jul 1952-11 May 1956 (F-84G)
- 508th Air Refueling Squadron 25 Nov 1953-11 May 1956 (KC-97)
Operational History
The 508th FEW performed strategic fighter operations training and aerial refueling, 1953-1956.
The wing deployed at Misawa AB, Japan, to provide air defense, Feb~May 1953 and Feb~May 1954.
It was inactivated on 11 May 1956
See Also
References
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.
