:
See 33rd Operations Group for related lineage and history. Air Defense The
headquarters of the 33rd Fighter Wing became operational upon movement to
Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, in mid-November 1948. The wing trained to maintain
tactical proficiency and participated in exercises and
aerial demonstrations from November 1948 to November 1949. It assumed an air defense mission in December 1949 and provided air defense in the northeastern United States until inactivated in February 1952, when it was inactivated and most personnel were transferred to the
4707th Air Defense Wing. Once again it provided air defense in the northeastern United States, from October 1956 to June 1957, but was non-operational from 1 July 1957 to 18 August 1957.
Tactical fighter operations On 1 April 1965, the wing was activated at
Eglin Air Force Base, Florida and embarked on a program of tactical training operations to maintain proficiency. It operated a test support division, from July 1965 to December 1967, and a special test squadron, from December 1967 to April 1971, in support of tests for weapon systems, aircraft armament and munitions, and tactical procedures of the
Tactical Air Warfare Center. The first
Tactical Air Command McDonnell F-4D Phantom IIs assigned to a combat unit arrived at the 33rd at Eglin on 21 June 1966. The wing also provided F-4 replacement training from 15 December 1966 to 28 February 1967. Through deployment of combat-ready tactical components, with personnel and equipment transferred to
Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) units upon arrival, the wing provided fresh aircraft and aircrews for the forces in
Southeast Asia and in
Korea. The wing also transferred two of its combat-ready squadrons to PACAF, the
25th Tactical Fighter Squadron in May 1968 and the
4th Tactical Fighter Squadron in April 1969. The wing's last combat-ready squadron, the
58th Tactical Fighter Squadron, deployed to Southeast Asia for combat operations from April to October 1972 and again from June to September 1973. The wing supported the
4485th Test Squadron of the Tactical Air Warfare Center in weapon systems evaluation program tests from January to December 1973, and periodically thereafter until July 1978. Aircrews ferried F-4Es to Israel in October 1973. The wing augmented intercept defense forces of the
North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) from 1 January 1976 to 15 January 1979 and from 4 January 1982 to 5 April 1982. While awaiting delivery of
McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagles, the
60th Fighter Squadron conducted F-15 mission qualifications training for the
18th Tactical Fighter Wing (
Kadena Air Base, Japan) from 15 July 1979 to 30 April 1980. The wing provided personnel and equipment to fly
combat air patrols and air intercept missions for contingency operations in
Grenada, from October to November 1983, and
Panama, from December 1989 to January 1990.
Recent operations During combat operations while deployed in
Southwest Asia from 26 August 1990 to 12 April 1991, 33 FW personnel were credited with sixteen air-to-air victories. Wing personnel and aircraft continued rotations to Saudi Arabia to protect coalition assets and to ensure that Iraq complied with treaty terms. From 1992 to 2002 the 33rd Operations Group continued to deploy aircraft and personnel to Saudi Arabia, Canada, the Caribbean, South America,
Jamaica,
Iceland, Italy, and
Puerto Rico and participated in various operations. Twelve of the 19 airmen killed in the
Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia on 25 June 1996 were members of the 33rd Wing. The 33rd Fighter Wing divested itself of its F-15C and F-15D Eagle aircraft in 2008 and 2009 and completed the transition from
Air Combat Command (ACC) to Air Education and Training Command (AETC) on 1 October 2009. At the same time, it became the first American F-35 Lightning II training unit. On 13 January 2011, the 33rd Fighter Wing received four
General Dynamics F-16s from the
56th Fighter Wing at
Luke AFB, Arizona. The jets will help establish a "battle rhythm," as the wing stands up the first Joint Training Center for the fifth generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In July 2011, the wing received its first two F-35A Lightning II aircraft. ==Lineage==