478th Aeronautical Systems Wing | |
|---|---|
 YF-22 during a test flight | |
| Active | 1943-1944; 1957-1963; 2007-2009 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Aeronautical Systems |
| Role | Systems Development |
| Part of | Air Force Materiel Command |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Lt GenC. D. Moore |
| Insignia | |
| 478th Aeronautical Systems Wing emblem |  |
The478th Aeronautical Systems Wing is an inactivewing of theUnited States Air Force. It was last based atWright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where it was inactivated in 2009. Thewing was first organized as the478th Fighter Group (Two Engine), which briefly served as aFourth Air Force Replacement Training Unit in 1944. The unit was disbanded when theArmy Air Forces reorganized its training units into AAF Base Units to reduce manpower requirements in the United States.
The478th Fighter Group (Air Defense) openedGrand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota underAir Defense Command in 1957 and managed its expansion as anair defense andstrategic bombardment base. In 1960, the group also assumed an alert commitment when it gained the18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. In April 1961, the group was replaced by the478th Fighter Wing as its responsibilities expanded to host aStrategic Air Command (SAC) wing. SAC activities at Grand Forks continued to expand with the planned addition of astrategic missile wing. In 1963 SAC took over host responsibilities for the base and the wing was inactivated.
In 1985 the 478th Group and 478th Wing were consolidated into a single unit. In the spring of 2007, the consolidated unit was redesignated the478th Aeronautical Systems Wing and activated with three subordinate groups as a systems development unit atWright-Patterson Air Force Base. Ohio. In 2009 the wing was inactivated along with two of its groups and its functions transferred to its subordinate478th Aeronautical Systems Group.
Thewing was first activated in late 1943 as the478th Fighter Group (Two Engine) atHamilton Field, California.[1] Its originalsquadrons were the 454th,[2]544th,[3]545th[4] and546th Fighter Squadrons.[5] The group drew itscadre from the328th Fighter Group.[6]
Thegroup moved twice in the first two months of its existence, toSanta Rosa Army Air Field in December 1943, then toRedmond Army Air Field in February 1944. Starting in January its component squadrons dispersed to separate bases in California, Oregon, and Washington.[2][3][4][5]
The group experienced delays and was not fully manned or equipped until March 1944, when it began operations as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) using single engineBell P-39 Airacobras despite its designation as a two engine unit.[1] RTUs were oversized units whose mission was to train individualpilots oraircrews.[7] The group's 454th Fighter Squadron did not equip as an operational squadron, but served as an administrative unit that processed fighter pilots before they were assigned to RTUs. This squadron was detached from the group in January 1944.[2]
However, theArmy Air Forces found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving poorly adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit,[8] while the groups and squadrons acting as RTUs were disbanded or inactivated.[9] The 478th was disbanded at the end of the month in this reorganization.[1]
The group's squadrons at Redmond and atMadras Army Air Field moved toPortland Army Air Base,[4][5] where they were replaced by the 432d AAF Base Unit (Fighter Replacement Training Unit, Single Engine).[6] The personnel and equipment of the 454th squadron atSalinas Army Air Base became part of the 451st AAF Base Unit (Night Fighter Replacement Training Unit) and those of the squadron atPaine Field were absorbed by the 465th AAF Base Unit. The 478thheadquarters provided the cadre for the317th Wing (P-39) which managed all P-39 training forFourth Air Force.[10][note 1]
The unit was reconstituted at the end of 1956 and redesignated the478th Fighter Group (Air Defense). It was activated at Grand Forks Air Force Base in February 1957, but had no tactical units assigned.[1][11] The group mission was to build upGrand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota.[12] It was initially assigned an air base squadron and a materiel squadron[13] to carry out this mission.[11]
The Air Force had announced plans to build a base in eastern North Dakota for theair defense of the United States, and Grand Forks had been selected by theDepartment of Defense.[14] By the end of 1957 the group had managed the completion of the first runway, fighter base facilities, fuel storage and refueling facilities, a control tower and operations facility.[15]
The group's first tenant, theGrand Forks Air Defense Sector was activated in December,[16] and itsSemi-Automatic Ground Environment Direction Center (DC-11) was accepted for operation in March 1958.[15] The Air Force had announced the additional expansion of Grand Forks to supportStrategic Air Command (SAC)bombers andtankers and in September 1958 SAC activated the4133d Strategic Wing to serve as the headquarters for this future expansion.[14]
In May 1960 the18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, flyingConvair F-102 Delta Daggers[17] moved to Grand Forks fromWurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan and was assigned to the group.[18] With its arrival the 478th's mission expanded to train and maintain combat ready aircrews for the defense of the United States.[19] Upon arrival at Grand Forks, the 18th began conversion toMcDonnell F-101B Voodoos, completing the transition by June.[17]
The group's host responsibilities grew as well when SAC's 4133d wing became operational, adding the905th Air Refueling Squadron and four maintenance squadrons.[11] The growth of the support mission at Grand Forks was recognized in April 1961 when ADC activated the478th Fighter Wing and a number of subordinate units to replace the group.[20]
Although the number of ADC interceptor squadrons remained almost constant in the early 1960s, attrition (and the fact that production lines closed in 1961) caused a gradual drop in the number of planes assigned to a squadron, from 24 to typically 18 by 1964. These reductions made it apparent that the primary mission of Grand Forks would be to support SAC and resulted in the inactivation of the wing[21] and, because of its expanding role at Grand Forks, SAC assumed control of the base from ADC and the wing and all the wing's support units were transferred to SAC and were inactivated.[20][22][23][24] The 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron transferred to the direct control of Grand Forks Air Defense Sector.[17]
The wing was redesignated the478th Aeronautical Systems Wing and activated atWright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio in 2007 and was assigned three groups.[25][26] The wing focused on systems development and procurement for theLockheed Martin F-22 Raptor aircraft. It was inactivated along with the 778th and 878th groups in 2009 and its mission and personnel transferred to its subordinate478th Aeronautical Systems Group as the Raptor approached operational capability.[27]
478th Fighter Group
| 478th Fighter Wing
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Groups
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Further Reading
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