World War II The unit was originally constituted as the
15th Pursuit Group (Fighter) and was activated at
Wheeler Field, Hawaii, on 1 December 1940 as part of the defense force for the Hawaiian Islands. The original
squadrons of the group were the
45th,
46th, and
47th Pursuit Squadrons. The group drew its
cadre from the
18th Pursuit Group, which had been stationed at Wheeler since 1927. In addition to its primary combat aircraft the group flew the
Curtiss A-12 Shrike,
Grumman OA-9 Goose,
Martin B-12 and
Boeing P-26 Peashooter during the prewar period. Because of the heavy casualties suffered by the group in the attack, it was remanned and reorganized. although the squadron remained at
Christmas Island during its assignment. The group also deployed other
squadrons to the Central and South Pacific for operations against Japanese forces. In March 1943, the
78th Fighter Squadron was assigned to the group. The 78th in effect replaced the 46th Fighter Squadron, which moved to
Makin Island and
Canton Island for operations against the Japanese, although the 46th remained assigned to the group until June 1944. On 8 February 1946, the unit moved to
Wheeler Field, where it remained until inactivated on 15 October 1946.
Air Defense Command The 15th was again activated on 18 August 1955 as the
15th Fighter Group (Air Defense) at
Niagara Falls Municipal Airport, New York, where it replaced the
518th Air Defense Group as a result of
Air Defense Command (ADC)'s Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list fighter units which had compiled memorable records during the two World Wars. There it was responsible for the air defense of an area that included Western and Northern New York and parts of Ontario, Canada. It was reunited with one of its former units, now designated the 47th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (FIS), which was already at Niagara Falls, where it had been assigned to the 518th. (later 15th USAF Dispensary) The 47th FIS was equipped with
radar equipped and
rocket armed
North American F-86D Sabres. In the fall of 1957, the squadron upgraded to
data link equipped F-86Ls
Vietnam War Error On 1 July 1962, the
15th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) was organized by
Tactical Air Command at
MacDill Air Force Base, Florida and assigned to the
836th Air Division. Operational squadrons of the wing and squadron tail codes were: • 45th Tactical Fighter Squadron (FB)(Activated on 8 January 1964 as part of a wing transition from three squadrons of 25 aircraft each to four squadrons of 18 aircraft each.) •
421st Tactical Fighter Squadron (briefly assigned in 1967 on redeployment from
Southeast Asia (SEA), then moved to
Homestead AFB, Florida The wing was initially equipped with the obsolescent
Republic F-84F Thunderstreak which were obtained from
Air National Guard units. In 1964 the wing upgraded to the
McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom II. The 15 TFW was the second wing to be equipped with the F-4. The mission of the 15 TFW was to conduct tactical fighter combat crew training. The wing participated in a variety of
exercises,
operations and
readiness tests of Tactical Air Command. The squadron and eleven aircraft deployed to
Ubon RTAFB, Thailand on 1 October 1970. Three B-57Gs were left behind at MacDill with the 4424th CCTS as trainers. In 1969, the wing assumed host USAF responsibility for MacDill from the 836th AD and was assigned the
15th Combat Support Group to carry out this mission. The 15th was inactivated on 1 October 1970, The 4424th CCTS remained at MacDill, coming under the 1st TFW and finally discontinuing on 30 June 1972 This reactivation reestablished the organization in Hawaii, where the 15th Pursuit Group was formed in 1940, and the lineage, history and honors of the
15th Fighter Group were bestowed on the Wing. The 15th Air Base Wing managed Hickam, Wheeler,
Dillingham, and
Johnston Island Air Force Bases,
Bellows Air Force Station, and several smaller subsidiary bases. Its 9th Airborne Command and Control Squadron provided
airborne command and control support for CINCPAC. On 28 April 2003, the wing was redesignated the
15th Airlift Wing and begun preparation to stand up a first-of-its-kind active duty/associate
Air National Guard C-17 Globemaster III organization. Almost three years later, on 8 February 2006 the wing welcomed in the first of eight C-17 Globemaster III cargo jets changing Hickam's identity and mission from strictly en route support to include performing local and worldwide airlift operations in support of combat and humanitarian missions. On 18 May 2010, the wing was redesignated the
15th Wing in anticipation of the addition of air refueling and fighters to its airlift mission, which occurred on 23 July, when the 96th Air Refueling Squadron was assigned to the wing's operations group. ==Lineage==