Lt. Ervin David Shaw The base is named in honor of
World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw. Lt. Shaw was one of the first Americans to fly combat missions in
World War I. Shaw, a
Sumter County native, was assigned to
No. 48 Squadron of the
Royal Air Force, as a member of the
Royal Canadian Flying Corps. Shaw died after three enemy aircraft attacked his
Bristol F.2B while he was returning from a reconnaissance mission on 9 July 1918.
World War II Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the
U.S. Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center. The mission of the new airfield was a basic (Phase II) flying school to instruct air cadets in flying, and the
Air Corps Basic Flying School was activated at the field on 26 June to operate the school. The airfield consisted of three runways and several auxiliary airfields. • Shaw AAF Aux No. 1 – (Burnt Gin Airfield),
Wedgefield, South Carolina • Shaw AAF Aux No. 2 – (Rembert Airfield),
Rembert, South Carolina • Shaw AAF Aux No. 3 – (Monaghan Airfield),
Sumter, South Carolina • Shaw AAF Aux No. 4 – (Sumter Airfield),
Sumter, South Carolina Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee
BT-13 Valiants. Enough construction was completed for the first group of cadets entered training 15 December 1941, and the first class completed training in February 1942. The concrete parking ramp was completed during May 1942.
Postwar era Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent USAAF installation after the war, being transferred to
Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945. After a period of reorganization, jurisdiction was transferred to
Air Defense Command on 1 March 1946. From July 1946 until May 1947 Shaw was the home of the
414th and
415th Night Fighter Squadrons. The squadrons flew the
P-61 Black Widow in Europe with
Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities. The 414th was transferred to
Caribbean Air Force at
Río Hato Army Air Base, Panama in March 1947 to perform an air defense mission of the
Panama Canal. The 415th was reassigned to
Alaska Air Command at
Adak Island,
Alaska in May 1947 also to perform an air defense mission, over the
Aleutian Islands and the territorial waters of western Alaska.
United States Air Force 20th Fighter Group " on the fuselage along with the AAF Wartime fuselage marking and checkered wartime paint at the cowling and tail. Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to
Tactical Air Command (TAC) on 23 March 1946. The
20th Fighter Group was reassigned to Shaw on 20 October 1946 from
Biggs Army Airfield, Texas which was transferred to
Strategic Air Command. The 20th FG came under
Ninth Air Force. After the establishment of the
United States Air Force (USAF) as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed
Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the
20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the
Hobson Plan. In addition to the 363 TRW, Headquarters
Ninth Air Force was transferred to Shaw from
Pope Air Force Base,
North Carolina on 1 September 1954. •
Martin RB-57A Canberra •
Douglas RB-66 Destroyer •
McDonnell RF-101 Voodoo •
McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363 TRW changed frequently. Nearly all tactical reconnaissance aircraft aircrews in the United States Air Force were trained or stationed at Shaw Air Force Base.
432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing , AF Serial No.
52-1457 of the 43d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. This aircraft is currently on static display at the Museum of Aviation,
Robins AFB, Georgia. On 23 March 1953, the
432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was re-activated at Shaw. The group's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW. When elevated to the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing on 8 February 1958, the wing operated the USAF Advanced Flying Training School, Tactical Reconnaissance. The 432d TRW and 363d TRW both were under the
837th Air Division, headquartered at Shaw. The group initially conducted training with two squadrons (20th, 29th) flying the Republic RF-84F "Thunderflash" and two squadrons (41st, 43d) flying the Martin RB-57A "Canberra". In 1957, the group upgraded the 20th and 29th to the McDonnell RF-101C "Voodoo", and the 41st and 43d transitioned to the electronic warfare EB-66C Destroyer. The 363 TFW received its first F-16 on 26 March 1982. The 363 TFW flew F-16A/B Block 10 aircraft until 1984 then converted to Block 15s; F-16C/D Block 25s in autumn 1985 and Block 42s in late 1991. All aircraft carried the "SW" Tail Code. On 9 August 1990, the 17 TFS and 33 TFS of 363 TFW became the first F-16 squadrons to deploy to the
United Arab Emirates in
Operation Desert Shield. Operating from
Al Dhafra Air Base as the 363d Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional), along with the 10 TFS from the 50 TFW,
Hahn Air Base, Germany. The wing flew combat missions to
Iraq and
Kuwait during Operation
Desert Storm between 17 January and 28 February 1991. Following Desert Storm, the 19th and 33d Tactical Fighter Squadrons deployed to the
Persian Gulf in support of
Operation Southern Watch, a coalition effort to enforce the Iraqi
No-fly zone south of the
32nd parallel north. The 33 TFS made history when one of its pilots downed an Iraqi aircraft with an
AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. The incident marked the first time an AIM-120 was fired in combat and was the first U.S. F-16 air-to-air kill. On 1 June 2011, Third Army Headquarters at Shaw, Patton Hall, was dedicated during a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new headquarters. Third Army continued the transfer of its personnel and equipment in order to be fully operational at Shaw AFB by 15 June 2011. An estimated 3,000 people relocated to the Sumter area, including families. This includes approximately 1,200 service members, who will be working out of the $100 million, command and control facility. The new Patton Hall took 22 months to build, has 42 conference rooms, a 200-seat auditorium and can support up to 1,500 personnel. ==Major commands to which assigned==