23rd Fighter Group | |
|---|---|
 23rdFighter Group A-10C Thunderbolt II attached to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing takes off from a forward-deployed location duringOperation Iraqi Freedom. | |
| Active | 1942–1946, 1946–1949, 1951–1952, 1955–1959, 1991–1997, 2006–present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Close Air Support |
| Size | 900 personnel 48A-10C aircraft |
| Garrison/HQ | Moody Air Force Base, Georgia |
| Nickname | Flying Tigers |
| Mascot | Tiger with Wings |
| Engagements | World War II Iraqi no-fly zones conflict Operation Uphold Democracy War on terror Iraq War |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Colonel Nicholas DiCapua[1] |
| Notable commanders | Col.Robert L. Scott GeneralBruce K. Holloway Brig, Gen.David Lee "Tex" Hill Col.Edward F. Rector |
| Insignia | |
| 23rd Wing emblem(approved 24 January 1957)[2] |  |
The23rd Fighter Group (23 FG) is aUnited States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the23rd Wing and stationed atMoody Air Force Base, Georgia.
The 23rd Fighter Group was established inWorld War II as the 23rd Pursuit Group of theUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF).[3] Redesignated the 23rd Fighter Group before its activation, thegroup was formed in China on 4 July 1942,[3] as a component of theChina Air Task Force and received a smallcadre of volunteer personnel from the simultaneously disbanded 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) – the "Flying Tigers"[3] of theChinese Air Force.
To carry on the traditions and commemorate the history of the AVG, aircraft of the USAF 23rd Fighter Group carry the same "Shark Teeth"nose art of the AVG's CurtissP-40 Warhawks, along with the "FT" (FlyingTiger) tail code. The 23rd Fighter Group's aircraft are the only United States Air Force aircraft currently authorized to carry this distinctive and historical aircraft marking.
Currently based at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, the group is assigned as one of two operations groups of the 23rd Wing at Moody. The other group at Moody is the347th Rescue Group. Both organizations serve as part of theFifteenth Air Force andAir Combat Command. The 23rd Fighter Group's primary missions areforward air control,close air support,air interdiction andcombat search and rescue operations.
The group has two operationalsquadrons assigned: the74th and the75th Fighter Squadrons both flyingA-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft.
By 15 June 1942, under orders fromTenth Air Force, an advance cadre of pilots and aircraft had proceeded overthe Hump toKunming, China, forcombat familiarization. Without ceremony, the 23rd Fighter Group was activated 4 July 1942, marking the first such activation of a United States fighter unit on a field of battle in World War II.[4][nb 1]
Claire L. Chennault, meanwhile, had been recalled to active duty with the rank ofbrigadier general and placed at the head of theChina Air Task Force (later to grow intoFourteenth Air Force). The 23rd Fighter Group became a component of the Task Force and was assigned three squadrons, the74th,75th, and76th Fighter Squadrons.[5][6][7][8]
The group inherited the mission of theAmerican Volunteer Group "Flying Tigers" (AVG). Five of Chennault's staff officers, five pilots[4] and 19 ground crewmen entered theUnited States Army Air Forces and became members of the 23rd Fighter Group. Approximately 25 Flying Tiger pilots, still in civilian status, volunteered to extend their contracts for two weeks to train the new group following the disbanding of their organization. The original aircraft of the group were a mixture ofCurtiss P-40 Warhawks from a batch of 50 sent to China for the AVG between January and June 1942, and a follow-up shipment of 68 P-40Es transferred from the51st Fighter Group in India and flown over the Hump by personnel to be assigned to the 23rd, also mostly from the 51st Group.[citation needed]
Others from the ranks of the original Flying Tigers left China when their contracts expired,[4] although some returned to duty later with the Army Air Forces in the China-Burma-India Theater. In addition to inheriting operational responsibilities from the AVG, the 23rd Fighter Group also benefited from the knowledge and experience of the AVG pilots, and took on the nickname of the disbanded unit.
Col.Robert L. Scott Jr., already in India as a commander of the Hump operation, became the first commander of the 23rd Fighter Group.[4] He would later author the military classic, "God Is My Co-Pilot." On the very first day of its activation, the 23rd Fighter Group engaged three successive waves of enemy aircraft and promptly recorded the destruction of five enemy aircraft with no losses to itself.[citation needed]
The next three years saw the 23rd Fighter Group involved in much of the action over southeast and southwest Asia. It providedair defense for the Chinese terminus of the Hump route,[3] but its operations extended beyond China to Burma, French Indochina and as far as Taiwan.[3] The unit helped pioneer a number of innovative fighter and fighter-bomber tactics. The group used its so-called "B-40" (P-40's carrying 1,000-pound bombs) to destroy Japanese bridges and kill bridge repair crews, sometimes demolishing their target with a single bomb.[9] The unit gained another increase in capability with its conversion to theNorth American P-51 Mustang aircraft in November 1943.Representative of the encounters undertaken by this small and often ill-equipped group was the defense against a major Japanese push down theHsiang Valley inHunan 17–25 June 1944.[3] Ignoring inhibiting weather conditions and heavy ground fire, the 23rd Fighter Group provided air support for Chinese land forces and repeatedly struck at enemy troops and transportation. Its efforts in this instance earned it theDistinguished Unit Citation.[3] In 1945 it help turn the Japanese spring offensive and harassed the retreating Japanese by strafing and bombing their columns.[3]
Before the 23rd Fighter Group returned to the United States in December 1945, it was credited with destroying 621 enemy planes in air combat, plus 320 more on the ground; with sinking more than 131,000 tons of enemy shipping and damaging another 250,000 tons; and with causing an estimated enemy troop loss of more than 20,000.[4] These statistics were compiled through a total of more than 24,000 combat sorties, requiring more than 53,000 flying hours, and at a cost of 110 aircraft lost in aerial combat, 90 shot down by surface defenses, and 28 bombed while on the ground.[4] Thirty-two pilots of the group achievedace status by shooting down five or more enemy aircraft.[4]
The 23rd Fighter Group left the theater in December 1945 and was inactivated 5 January 1946, atFort Lewis, Washington.[3]
The 23rd Fighter Group was reactivated 10 October 1946, inGuam and assigned to theTwentieth Air Force, equipped with the long-rangeRepublic P-47N Thunderbolt, replacing the21st Fighter Group and assuming its equipment, personnel, and mission.[3][10] While stationed in Guam, the 23rd became a part of theUnited States Air Force (USAF) when it became a separate military service on 18 September 1947. In 1948 it was assigned to the 23rd Fighter Wing[2] as part of the USAFWing/Base Reorganization,[5][11] which was intended to unify command and control on air bases by assigning operational and support groups to a single headquarters.[12] In April 1949, the group moved with the wing toHoward Air Force Base[3] in thePanama Canal Zone, where it assumed the air defense mission of the Panama Canal, taking over the personnel and equipment of the 5600th Composite Group.[11] It was inactivated along with the wing a few months later when the Air Force consolidated its operations in thePanama Canal Zone atAlbrook Air Force Base.[3][11]
The group was redesignated as the 23rd Fighter-Interceptor Group (FIG), activated once again[3] and assigned to the 23rd Fighter-Interceptor Wing (FIW) atPresque Isle Air Force Base, Maine as part ofAir Defense Command (ADC), with the 74th and 75th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons (FIS) assigned, flyingNorth American F-86E Sabre aircraft.[13] Before the year was over, both squadrons had converted to older F-86As.[13] In February 1952, the wing and group were inactivated,[3] in a major reorganization ofAir Defense Command (ADC) responding to ADC's difficulty under the existing wing base organizational structure in deploying fighter squadrons to best advantage.[14]
In August 1955, ADC implemented Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list the fighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars.[15] As a result of this project, the group, now designated the 23rd Fighter Group (Air Defense), replaced the528th Air Defense Group at Presque Isle and once again assumed command of the 75th and 76 FIS,[3][16] which also returned to Presque Isle to replace the82nd and319th FIS,[17] because Project Arrow was also designed to reunite wartime squadrons with their traditional headquarters.[15] However, the two squadrons were now operatingNorthrop F-89 Scorpions[13] In addition, the group assumed USAF host responsibility for Presque Isle and was assigned the 23rd USAF Infirmary[18] (later USAF Dispensary), 23rd Air Base Squadron,[19] 23rd Materiel Squadron,[20] and in 1957, the 23rd Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron[21] to carry out these duties. In 1957, the group converted from the F-89D to the nuclear capable F-89H[13] armed withAIR-2 Genierockets. In 1958, the 76th FIS moved toMcCoy Air Force Base, Florida and was assigned away from the group. The 75th FIS was in the process of converting toF-101 Voodoos, when the group was inactivated in 1959[22] as Presque Isle was being transferred toStrategic Air Command as host base for theSM-62 Snark Missile and the702nd Strategic Missile Wing.
On 1 June 1992, the 23rd Tactical Fighter Group was redesignated the23rd Operations Group and activated atPope Air Force Base, North Carolina under the redesignated23rd Wing under the USAF Objective Wing plan. It was given the mission of controlling the flying components of the parent 23rd Wing. These included both fighters providingclose air support and theater airlift aircraft.[5]
In December 1992,Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft from the group's2nd Airlift Squadron deployed toMombasa, Kenya, to participate inOperation Provide Relief. The aircraft and crews delivered tons of food and other relief supplies to small airstrips throughout Somalia. 23rd Wing C-130s were also tasked to assist in other humanitarian relief efforts, to includeHurricane Andrew in Florida. They also airdropped relief supplies into Bosnia and Herzegovina and flew relief missions intoSarajevo for more than 28 months.[citation needed]
In September 1994, its C-130s participated in what was to be the largest combat personnel drop since World War II,Operation Uphold Democracy. They were to assist in dropping more than 3,000 paratroopers from the82nd Airborne Division ontoPort au Prince Airport, Haiti. The invasion force was recalled at the last minute after word that the Haitian president had resigned upon hearing that the aircraft were on their way. The 75th Fighter Squadron's A-10s deployed their aircraft toShaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, where they were scheduled to launch close air support operations for the invasion force before recovering in Puerto Rico.[citation needed]
The first operational deployment of a composite wing happened in October 1994, when Iraqi troops began massing near the Kuwaiti Border. Within 72 hours, 56 aircraft and 1,500 personnel deployed to the Persian Gulf region forOperation Vigilant Warrior. Eventually, the 75th Fighter Squadron redeployed toAl Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, becoming the first U.S. fixed-wing aircraft to be stationed in that country since the end of the Gulf War.[citation needed]
On 1 July 1996, the 74th Fighter Squadron'sF-16C/D Fighting Falcons were transferred to the27th Fighter Wing's524th Fighter Squadron atCannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, and thesquadron transitioned toFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II received from the20th Fighter Wing's55th Fighter Squadron at Shaw.[citation needed] This gave the 23rd Group a second A-10 squadron.[5]
On 1 April 1997, the 23rd Operations Group was inactivated and replaced by the downsized 23rd Wing, which was redesignated as the 23rd Fighter Group.[5] The 23rd Fighter Group was assigned to the347th Wing ofAir Combat Command atMoody Air Force Base, Georgia but the group remained at Pope as a Geographically Separated Unit (GSU). Its C-130s and Pope Air Force Base were realigned toAir Mobility Command and assigned to the43rd Airlift Wing.
In June 2023, theUSAF announced that two squadrons ofLockheed Martin F-35A Lighting II will be based at Moody AFB from 2029 to replace the 23rd Fighter Group'sA-10C Thunderbolt IIs.[23]
On 1 October 2006, the 347th Rescue Wing at Moody redesignated as the 347th Rescue Group, while the 23rd Fighter Group was expanded and redesignated the 23rd Wing. Along with the 347th Rescue Group, the original 23rd Fighter Group was reactivated, this time at Moody Air Force Base,[5] for only the second time in over fifty years. The 23rd Fighter Group was then assigned as one of the 23rd Wing's operations groups, although retaining the designation of "Fighter Group".[5]
Both the 23rd Wing and 23rd Fighter Group are charged with carrying on the historic Flying Tiger's heritage.[24]
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 17 June 1944–25 June 1944 | 23rd Fighter Group Hunan Province, China[3] |
 | Air Force Meritorious Unit Award | 1 June 2008–31 May 2010 | 23rd Fighter Group[27] |
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 31 May 1995–31 March 1997 | 23rd Operations Group[5] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | [30 July 2007]-31 May 2008 | 23rd Fighter Group[27] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | India-Burma | 2 April 1943 – 28 January 1945 | 23rd Fighter Group[3] |
| China Defensive | 4 July 1942 – 4 May 1945 | 23rd Fighter Group[3] |
| Western Pacific | 17 April 1944 – 2 September 1945 | 23rd Fighter Group[3] |
| China Offensive | 5 May 1945 – 2 September 1945 | 23rd Fighter Group[3] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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