World War II The
343d Fighter Group was activated at
Elmendorf Field, Alaska on 3 September 1942 and began operations immediately. and
18th Fighter Squadrons, flying
Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, were already operational at
Fort Glenn Army Air Base and
Big Delta Army Air Field, respectively, while the
54th Fighter Squadron and its
Lockheed P-38 Lightnings were flying missions from
Adak Army Air Field. All three squadrons had been assigned directly to
XI Fighter Command. was activated at Elmendorf Field and assigned to the group. The two squadrons stationed on the mainland soon moved to the Aleutians, the 18th Squadron joined the 54th at Adak in November and the 344th deployed to
Fort Randall Army Air Field in December. The 18th Fighter Squadron returned to the Alaskan mainland, where it converted to
North American P-51 Mustangs in 1946.
343d Ftr Gp Air Defense Command The group was redesignated the
343d Fighter Group (Air Defense) and activated at
Duluth International Airport and assuming the 515th's personnel and equipment as part of
Air Defense Command (ADC)'s 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. The 11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, flying
Northrop F-89 Scorpions, was reassigned from the 515th as the group's operational squadron. In June 1956, the 11th Squadron upgraded from Scorpions to
Convair F-102 Delta Daggers. Flying its new "Deuces" in 1957, group aircraft placed first and second in the
Bendix Trophy competition. In July 1960 the group converted to the
Convair F-106 Delta Dart. On 22 October 1962, at the beginning of the
Cuban Missile Crisis, when
President Kennedy announced the presence of Soviet
intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Cuba,
Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) directed the dispersal of
interceptors within the United States. Although the group's planned dispersal base was
RCAF Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, dispersed aircraft were not sent to Canadian airfields. Instead, the group sent one third of its aircraft to
Volk Field, Wisconsin. All group aircraft, including those at home and those at Volk Field were armed and placed on fifteen-minute alert status. The increased alert posture was maintained through mid-November, when CONAD returned units to their normal alert status, except for those under the control of its 32d Region, which controlled air defense in the Southeastern United States. The 11th Squadron was discontinued in the fall of 1968 The group performed the air defense mission for the upper Great Lakes region of the north central United States until 1970, when it was inactivated. The 87th Squadron was reassigned directly to the
23d Air Division Return to Alaska Group at Elmendorf The group was redesignated as the
343d Tactical Fighter Group and activated at
Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska in November 1977 to serve as the headquarters for the two fighter squadrons of the
21st Composite Wing. The 21st Tactical Fighter Wing's other operational group was the
531st Aircraft Control and Warning Group, which controlled air defense units and stations throughout Alaska. The following year aircraft maintenance was transferred from the wing and three maintenance squadrons were added to the group's strength. The group was inactivated in January 1980. Its operational squadrons were reassigned directly to the 21st Wing, which converted from a composite wing to a standard fighter wing and became the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing. The personnel and equipment of the group's maintenance squadrons were transferred to squadrons assigned directly to the wing.
Wing at Eielson The 343d became
Eielson Air Force Base's host unit on 1 October 1981 as the
343d Composite Wing, when it replaced the
5010th Combat Support Group and absorbed the 5010th's personnel and equipment. The
25th Air Support Operations Squadron, flying the
Cessna O-2 Skymaster, was transferred from the 5010th as the wing's initial operational squadron. In January 1982, the wing received its second operational squadron when the 18th Tactical Fighter Squadron moved from Elmendorf to Eielson with its Thunderbolt IIs and was again assigned to the 343d. On 8 June 1984, the
343d Composite Wing was redesignated the
343d Tactical Fighter Wing. In July 1986, the 25th's O-2s were retired and replaced by
North American Rockwell OV-10A Broncos. The 18th Tactical Fighter Squadron was assigned to the newly activated 343d Operations Group, while the maintenance squadrons that had been assigned directly to the wing became part of the 343d Logistics Group. Also that year, the 343d gained a second flying unit, the
3d Fighter Training Squadron, which moved from
Clark Air Base following the eruption of
Mount Pinatubo, which forced the closure of Clark. Despite the "Fighter" in its name, the 3d flew
Bell UH-1N Twin Hueys. The squadron was responsible for range support and administration of
Exercise Cope Thunder, which had also moved from Clark, its home since 1976, to Alaska. The Alaskan Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation Range achieved Initial Operational Capability at the Stony Military Operating Area, which permitted the move. During 1991, the 18th Squadron handed off its Thunderbolts to the 11th Tactical Air Support Squadron of the 11th Air Control Wing and transitioned to Block 40
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons. ==Lineage==