312th Tactical Fighter Wing
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. It was last assigned to the 832d Air Division
832d Air Division
The 832d Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command, assigned to Twelfth Air Force, being stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona...
and stationed at Cannon Air Force Base
Cannon Air Force Base
Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Force Special Operations Command ....
, New Mexico.
History
- see 312th Fighter-Bomber Group for additional lineage and history
The 312th TFW was formed at Clovis (later Cannon) AFB, New Mexico in 1953 as a permanent wing, after a series of temporary wings were formed and trained at Clovis prior to being deployed to NATO to enhance the defense of Western Europe. The 312th was assigned to the Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
upon activation.
The 312th was initially equipped with F-86H Sabres when it activated, however it began to receive the F-100D Super Sabre in December 1956. On 8 November 1954, the 474th Fighter Bomber Group was transferred to Clovis AFB from Taegu AB, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
after fighting in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. The 474th FBG became a second flying component of the 312th FBW, its mission to be a training organization.
From April 1956 to October 1957 the 312th TFW rotated tactical squadrons to either Châteauroux-Déols Air Base
Châteauroux-Déols Air Base
Châteauroux-Déols Air Base is a former United States Air Force base in France. It is located in the Indre département of France, located about 3 miles northeast of Châteauroux and about 1 mile northeast of Déols on the east side of the Départemental 920 road in Central France.During the Cold...
or Etain-Rouvres Air Base
Etain-Rouvres Air Base
Étain - Rouvres Air Base is a former USAF base in France. It is located on the Lorraine Plateau in northeastern France, 1 mile to the west of Étain; on the west side of the Départemental 906 road, adjacent to the village of Rouvres-en-Woevre in the Meuse département about 12 miles east of...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, for six month deployments to NATO. The 312th also furnished units for TAC composite air strike forces in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
during 1957 and 1958, deploying F-100s and crews to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
during the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China governments in which the PRC shelled the islands of Matsu and Quemoy in the Taiwan Strait in an attempt to seize them from...
. Also in 1958, F-100s from Cannon deployed to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
HQ USAF redesignated the 312th as a Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 July 1958 as part of a world-wide re-designation of unit. In February 1959 with the transfer of Bergstrom AFB, Texas to Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
, HQ TAC deactivated the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing at Bergstrom and activated it in place at Cannon AFB on 18 February, replacing the 312th TFW which was deactivated in place the same day for reasons of precedence.
Lineage
- Established as 312th Fighter-Bomber Wing on 23 Mar 1953.
- Activated on 1 Oct 1954
- Re-designated 312th Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 Jul 1958
- Inactivated on 18 Feb 1959, assets re-designated as 27th Tactical Fighter Wing.
Assignments
- Ninth Air ForceNinth Air ForceThe Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
, 1 Oct 1954 - Eighteenth Air ForceEighteenth Air ForceEighteenth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force component of the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It was activated on 1 October 2003 and headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois...
, 1 Oct 1957 - 832d Air Division832d Air DivisionThe 832d Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command, assigned to Twelfth Air Force, being stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona...
, 8 Oct 1957-18 Feb 1959
Components
- 312th Fighter-Bomber Group: 1 Oct 1954-8 Oct 1957
- 474th Fighter-Bomber Group: attached 22 Dec 1954-8 Oct 1957
- 386th Tactical Fighter Squadron386th Tactical Fighter SquadronThe 386th Tactical Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 312th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Cannon Air Force Base. New Mexico...
: 8 Oct 1957-18 Feb 1959 (detached 12 Nov-6 Dec 1957) - 387th Tactical Fighter Squadron387th Tactical Fighter SquadronThe 387th Tactical Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 312th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Cannon Air Force Base. New Mexico...
: 8 Oct 1957-18 Feb 1959 - 388th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 8 Oct 1957-18 Feb 1959 (detached 4 Sep-3 Dec 1958)
- 477th Tactical Fighter Squadron477th Tactical Fighter SquadronThe 477th Tactical Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 312th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Cannon Air Force Base. New Mexico. It was inactivated on 18 February 1959.-History:...
: 8 Oct 1957-18 Feb 1959 (detached 8 Sep-ll Dec 1958