World War II of the 23rd FG in 1942. By 15 June 1942, under orders from
Tenth Air Force, an advance cadre of pilots and aircraft had proceeded over
the Hump to
Kunming, China, for
combat 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.
Claire L. Chennault, meanwhile, had been recalled to active duty with the rank of
brigadier general and placed at the head of the
China Air Task Force (later to grow into
Fourteenth Air Force). The 23rd Fighter Group became a component of the Task Force and was assigned three squadrons, the
74th,
75th, and
76th Fighter Squadrons. The group inherited the mission of the
American Volunteer Group "Flying Tigers" (AVG). Five of Chennault's staff officers, five pilots The unit gained another increase in capability with its conversion to the
North 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 the
Hsiang Valley in
Hunan 17–25 June 1944. While stationed in Guam, the 23rd became a part of the
United 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 which was intended to unify command and control on air bases by assigning operational and support groups to a single headquarters. In April 1949, the group moved with the wing to
Howard Air Force Base Before the year was over, both squadrons had converted to older F-86As. 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. As a result of this project, the group, now designated the 23rd Fighter Group (Air Defense), replaced the
528th Air Defense Group at Presque Isle and once again assumed command of the 75th and 76 FIS, which also returned to Presque Isle to replace the
82nd and
319th FIS, because Project Arrow was also designed to reunite wartime squadrons with their traditional headquarters. (later USAF Dispensary), 23rd Air Base Squadron, 23rd Materiel Squadron, and in 1957, the 23rd Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron to carry out these duties. In 1957, the group converted from the F-89D to the nuclear capable F-89H as Presque Isle was being transferred to
Strategic Air Command as host base for the
SM-62 Snark Missile and the
702nd Strategic Missile Wing.
Reactivation 23rd Operations Group On 1 June 1992, the 23rd Tactical Fighter Group was redesignated the
23rd Operations Group and activated at
Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina under the redesignated
23rd 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 providing
close air support and theater airlift aircraft.
Moody Air Force Base 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, ==Lineage==